I had for some time wanted to visit Costa Rica, so when my wife suggested renting a villa there for her birthday it seemed like a good opportunity to go for a few days & check it out first. Having found a couple of interesting villas in Manuel Antonio, and with flights, hotel & car arranged, off we went. I am old enough to know to keep an open mind when travelling to a foreign country, however my expectations were high.
The Good: $2.00 sim card at the airport.
The Bad: 3 hour drive from San Jose.
The Ugly: Rip-off $30.00 upcharge (each) to add shrimp to a $14 pasta dish at hotel restaurant.
Our flights on American through Miami were a little late, but as we had hand luggage only, it wasn't cause for concern. I had done some research beforehand regarding cell phone coverage & currency exchange. So on arrival we went to the Kolbi desk in baggage claim & bought a local SIM card for $2.00, including 30 minutes of local calls! Additional airtime, including overseas calls & data was available in $5.00 increments but as incoming calls are free in C.R. we didn't see the need to add any. As it turned out local calls from the hotel were free, but it provided peace of mind in case of emergency and a contact number for the folks back home. Not having any local currency, our next stop was the departure area where there is a local bank branch which offers good rates & no commission. It's a short walk from arrivals - across the road & upstairs - but we couldn't shake a guy who was trying to make himself useful by showing us where (we knew) we needed to go & insisting on waiting for us to come back out. We rented a car through Sixt, it is off airport, but true to their word, having given them our flight number, the shuttle was passing as we came back down to the arrivals area. Our 'helper' flagged down the shuttle and waited as we got in - his 'too much' response to my $1.00 tip made me smile. I know people have to make a living but I am one of those people who, having managed to get my luggage to, through and from the airport, object to tipping a guy for carrying it from the curb to the hotel check-in desk & then another guy for taking it to my room. Or, maybe my wife is right & I'm 'just cheap'.
The rental process at Sixt was straightforward. The staff were both friendly & professional. I had taken the basic CDW/Loss insurance & the excess was covered by my credit card. They did offer insurance to reduce the excess to zero, and 'vandalism' cover, but there was no hard sell, as I had been told some rental agencies indulge in. I did however opt for the GPS, which at $9.00 a day was expensive, but as it turned out worth it's weight in gold. There was no way we would have found the hotel, and I can only imagine the arguments we would have had, without it. I could have have added the South American map to my own Garmin, but that would have been something extra to carry. The only annoying thing about the GPS was that it would beep a warning for every school zone, and rock-fall danger, which betwen them seemed to be about every 2 to 3 minutes. Still, there was no way you could fall asleep while driving!
We stayed at Issimo Suites in Manuel Antonio, and as it turned out we had rented the Honeymoon Suite (room 101), which explained the flower petals on the bed each night. Two 'walls' were glass providing a panoramic view of the foliage below and Pacific coast beyond. There was no balcony, but it had a sliding floor to ceiling window at one corner, which provided fresh air & jungle sounds in the mornings. Definitely not child friendly, but perfect for anyone wanting to commit suicide. The bathroom was open to the sleeping area - a modicum of privacy being provided for the loo & bidet by a half (five foot) wall & cafe style swing doors. Hence need to open the window for fresh air & jungle sounds! The hotel staff were vey nice & friendly, and apart from the 'shrimp' incident we enjoyed our stay there. A word of caution - you cannot hurry breakfast or dinner. There was one waiter, & one chef & multi-tasking was not a strong point. Also, typical of latin culture, although the owner/manager & his wife were omnipresent, they did not jump in to help hurry things along. All part of 'Pura Vida' I expect. One other 'interesting' incident occurred as we were coming down one day, I was checking the weather when my wife said - "he's naked" - referring to a man taking a nude outdoor shower in full view of anyone & everyone passing by. Not content with exhibiting his rear, he turned full frontal before putting on a towel. Something told me the honeymoon was over!
Only having a couple of days we didn't do very much. We spent a day at a small beach near the hotel, and visited the Manuel Antonio National Park. The oldest National Park in Costa Rica, it seemed a bit of a rip-off at $16 each to enter (cheaper for locals). We walked every trail in the park, saw a few monkeys, some iguanas, no birds, and a couple of sloths sleeping high up in the branches. Watching sloths is not a great spectator sport. They are a bit like babies, they eat, sleep & poop only not as often, coming to ground once every 8 days to defecate. We took towels from the hotel so that we could swim at the park beach, which we were told wouldn't be busy at this time of year. It was still too busy for me & the weather didn't fully cooperate. If you go take plenty of water and some snacks as there is nothing in the Park - making for good business for the street vendors selling cold coconut milk at the entrance.
As for restaurants, we enjoyed pizza at El Wagon and dinner at Emilio's Cafe. My wife also enjoyed the sangria at Ronny's Place (I was driving!). It is a bit off the beaten path but well worth the effort.
For me, Costa Rica & Manuel Antonio, did not fully live up to the hype, but there is something about the place that makes you want to go back. The people are very friendly & getting around wasn't the nightmare I had feared. In fact, with the GPS, navigating the ring roads of San Jose turned out to be no problem at all.
