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| Why book your vacation thru CentralAmerica.Com? We would like to share a couple of the many comments we receive. |
 Thank you, Tom Kelsch"
"Just wanted to let you know that everything with the trip went perfect.
Transfers, hotels, flights, etc. Thank you very much for your help, and I
will make sure to book my trips through you again in the future. "We just returned after eleven fabulous days in Costa Rica. My wife and I want to thank you for your help in arranging the hotel and the tour package to meet our needs. Everything went well just as planned.
Ticos are wonderful and warm people. Please continue doing the good work
and make people happy. Thanks. "We had a great time in Costa Rica, thanks to your wonderful drivers Tony and Angelo. I wrote three travel stories for my newspaper, The Post and Courier in Charleston, S.C., that included a dozen pictures and covered three pages, including the section cover. I even mentioned your name and phone number in one of the stories. Thanks. James Beck" Scan of travel article in the Post and Courier. |
| Costa Rica, while small, is an extremely diverse. The following steps will help you move through our large site and discover all the wonderful things you can see and do in our beautiful and friendly country. As you follow the links you can return to this page by either using your browser's "Back" button or clicking on "Vacation Planning" on any menu bar. At any point that you have questions or would like a recommendation please feel free to call one of the friendly, bilingual travel advisers in our San José, Costa Rica office at 800-948-3770. |
| Please Note! Costa Rica has become a very popular destination and not enough new hotel rooms have been added. High season is filling rapidly. Naturally, the most popular hotels fill up first. The number of visitors in July and August also has increased due to more European travelers and more families from the United States taking advantage of the summer school break. What ever time of the year you would like to visit, reserving well in advance is the best way to get the hotels and activities you prefer. |
| Flying to Costa Rica | |
| While most international flights land in the capital, San José, there are also international flights to Liberia. If you plan to spend your time in the northwestern part of Costa Rica you may want to consider this option. For most of Costa Rica, San José is still the best choice. Due to the local geography (we do not recommend driving over the mountains at night), we suggest you spend at least your first night in San José. With its cosmopolitan flavor and comfortable temperature, some people choose to spend several days in the capital city. Many tours are available from San José hotels. From our list of Recommended Hotels in San José you can select one that fits your budget and taste. | |
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As the most visited internet travel site for Costa Rica, CentralAmerica.Com has access to special discount airfares through our Amadus reservation system. On some flights we can offer our clients significant savings, on others only the lowest published fare. We have direct access to specific airline representatives that we can speak with should we need to contact the airline directly on your behalf. Something the big online systems such as Expedia or Travelocity won't do. | Decide which areas of Costa Rica you would like to visit. | |
| These are the most popular tourism areas in Costa Rica. Following the brief description of each area is a list of the hotels Centralamerica.Com recommends. | |
| Tip: We suggest that if you are staying one week or less you don't try to visit more than two areas outside the central valley. | |
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| Monteverde - Famous for the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, there are several other nature reserves in the area. This is a very popular destination for birdwatchers and nature lovers. By road is the only way to get to Monteverde. The roads into Monteverde are very bumpy but most people condsider the rewards worth the drive. | |
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| Arenal Area - The active volcano puts on regular displays and is most impressive at night. It is not unusual for the there to be cloud cover and the odds are about 50-50 on seeing an eruption. On a clear night the sight is incredible and much of the area is beautiful rainforest. | |
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| Northen Pacific Coast (Guanacaste & Nicoya Peninsula) - This area has many beautiful and isolated beaches. | |
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| Central Pacific Coast - This is the easiest beach area to reach from San José. | |
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| Southern Pacific Coast & Osa Peninsula - This is one of the most remote, biologically intense and beautiful areas of Costa Rica. The two main attractions in this region are Corcovado National Park, the crown jewel of Costa Rica's world-renowned national park system and Caño Island. | |
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| Northern Caribbean Coast (Tortuguero) - A unique series of natural inland waterways. Since this area cannot be reached by car, we recommend the two or three day tour as the best way to visit this area. | |
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| Southern Atlantic Coast - This area is known for beautiful beaches and a laid back lifestyle with a definite Jamaican influence. Cahuita National Park is one of the attractions. | |
| Please consult our extensive map section and plan an appropriate order in which to visit the different areas you wish to see. |
| Is there a tour package that fits your plan? | |
| Now that you have an idea of which areas of Costa Rica you would like to visit the next step is to see if we offer a package tour that suits your needs. For those who prefer guided tours we offer guided Nature Tours and guided Adventure Packages from the best tour operators in Costa Rica. CentralAmerica.Com can also offer package discounts if you book both your tour package and airfare through us.
Unguided packages include: You Drive Tours, Luxury Tours, and in the summer Green Season Specials. If you prefer to put together you own customer vacation, no one knows Costa Rica like we do. This is what we have the most requests for and this is where our travel advisers really excel. Our staff in San José have visited all the hotels we recommend. Having traveled the country they also can advise you on the travel arrangements for you trip and the day tours you may want to consider at each stop. Very few travel companies have this kind of intimate knowledge of our country. | |
| Travel within Costa Rica. |
| If you are traveling independently instead of opting for a package your next step is to decide how you want to get around our beautiful country.
Buses: There are regularly scheduled buses to most parts of the country. They are cheap and fairly punctual, but can be difficult to use if you don't speak Spanish and we do not recommend them for most tourists.
Rental Cars: Renting a car allows you to stop where you want and explore the country on your own schedule. A large percentage of our clients choose the rental car option and now that GPS is available finding your way around is even easier. For more information see our Private Transfer: Private van transfers have become increasing popular. We receive more great comments from our clients about these transfers and the drivers than any other aspect of their trip. While the drivers are not tourist guides they still answer a lot of questions during a trip and provide a safe and convenient transportation option.
Local Airlines: There are two local carriers: Sansa and Nature
Air. They both have regularly scheduled flights to most destinations. Air travel is relatively inexpensive because of the short distances involved. If scheduled flights don't fit you plans, we can arrange a charter flight or a charter helicopter. |
| Reserving Your Vacation with Centralamerica.Com |
| Now that you have made some decisions about where you want to go, what you want to do and how you want to travel, it is time to talk with one of our knowledgeable travel advisers. They will see if your choices are available. They will also advise you on other details such as suggesting that you fly here and drive there or that you need to get to a hotel the night before to make a early morning canopy tour. After helping thousands of clients a year, we know what fits together best and even the best web sites cannot replace the latest local knowledge. After advising you on your itinerary we will make all the necessary arrangements to help ensure that your trip to Costa Rica is fun-filled and trouble free.
Telephone: The best way to take advantage of our expertise is after looking at the site call us at 1-800-948-3770. We will let you know, by e-mail, the total price of your custom package, including taxes and transfers. We will also indicate deposit amounts, deadlines, and payment instructions. Once we have confirmed availability and received your deposit, your reservation will be held until the payment deadline. If you should encounter any problems while in Costa Rica please call one of our travel advisers in San José at 243-1900, or stop by our centrally located office on the second floor of the Lufthansa Building, on Calle 5, between Avenidas 7-9. Just tell a taxi, 175 meters North from Hotel Aurola Holiday Inn. This is the normal fine print that applies to all travel agencies. |
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