Visiting CR to check it out.

[GRAINNE FOLEY]

Hi Jason,

We have been thinking about moving to CR for a while now and so we would like to visit it to see what we think. We are a family of four, our kids are 4 and 5 and we want to make the trip this summer.

Is there a good month June/July/August?

We are interested to look around places you have suggested to us such as Tamarindo and Playas del Coco and Jaco, Herradura.

My thought is to maybe find somewhere close by for the first night and then rent a car and sightsee and find accommodation as we go or should we pre-book in advance?

How far are the places I mentioned above from each other?

We would also like to schedule time to speak with an attorney about setting up a business and a realtor to look at some properties so we get an idea of what’s available, should we just pick someone from the rolodex?

We also want to do some fun things with the kids such as horseback riding and zip lining, any recommendations?

Our plan is to be there for 10 days to two weeks.

Any help you can provide would be great.

Grainne

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Grainne,

Sounds like a fun trip. You’ll definitely be busy visiting all those locations, checking out real estate, meeting an attorney, and doing the fun stuff. Doable. But you’ll need a vacation from your vacation, as they say. 🙂

In answer to your questions…

June, July, or August are pretty much the same. It’ll be rainy season, so expect heavy afternoon showers, though less so in Coco and Tamarindo. But it’s also low season, so less tourists and “snowbirds.”

As far as renting a car, my recommendation would be to get a car when you first arrive. Considering your the places you want to check out, you have two options. You could fly into Liberia, in the northern part of the country, which is near Tamarindo and Coco – about an hour by car from each. Or you could fly into San Jose, which is an hour to an hour and a half from Herradura and Jaco. The distance between the two areas, Central Pacific and Northern Pacific, is about 5 – 6 hours.

For accommodation, that’s a tough one. It really depends on how flexible you want to be. But keep in mind that Tamarindo or Coco would be a good home base to explore real estate and different towns in that region, same for Jaco and Herradura. So no need to stay in a different place every night.

The Rolodex is an excellent source of contacts as far as legal and real estate help. But I would try to set up appointments before the trip to make sure you get a chance to meet with them.

All the areas you mention have opportunities for fun. All sorts of activities are available. Ziplining will have to be done with a guide at that age. I don’t have any particular outfitters in mind for those areas.

[GRAINNE FOLEY]

LOL Jason, I think you may be right. We might just take a look at Tamarindo and Cocoa as we are most interested in them. Can you recommend any B & B’s in that area owned by expats. We would love to stay with someone and chat to them about running a B & B and find out the good and the bad.

Thanks

Grainne

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Grainne,

In Tamarindo, you might try Villa Alegre, which is technically in Playa Langosta but still within a quick walk of Tamarindo. I don’t have any recos for Coco, I’ve never stayed overnight there. But you could check TripAdvisor.com. I always get good places out of that site.

Jason

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