TORTUGUERO TAMARINDO ARENAL MONTEZUMA JACO ZANCUDO
STATS
Sandra and I visited Costa Rica in 2011 from January 28 - March 25 and this is what we did and what we thought of it. We had reservations for all accommodations for the first month, but did not reserve anything for the second month. We left March wide open so we could revisit places we went to in February if we wanted, or to explore new places we might have heard about during our February travels. This isn't everyone's style of travel, but it worked out great for us. This was my fourth time to CR, and my second time to CR with Sandra, so we were both experienced CR travellers. Sandra has virtually no Spanish and I have very limited Espanol malo but this was never a barrier and we always got what we needed using my terrible Spanish and a Tico's limited English. Driving directions were not needed this time round because we had a Garmin Nuvi GPS with CR map from navsatcr.com which performed flawlessly.
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Jaco was a pleasant surprise, not at all what I expected. From what I'd read and heard from friends who've been there I had formed a picture in my head. I was expecting architecture and construction similar to Puerto Viejo. Jaco was more modern and from a distance it reminded me of Miami Beach. From what i had read on TA I was expecting more of a shady element, but this wasn't the case. We stayed at Clarita's, at the northern end of the beach. The room was okay, but you could hear every word the people in the next room were saying which means they can hear all the noises you're making. Food here was okay, but the bar service got a little out of whack when it got busy. Sandra was drinking frozen Margaritas and only one girl was making them out of a staff of four. We would order a Margarita and the barmaid would mark it down on our tab and tell another girl to make it, once she made it, she would mark it down on our tab. A two for one special for Clarita. We only noticed this when we asked for the bill and it showed nine Margaritas instead of the four Sandra actually had. Anyone who's done even minimal research on Jaco will have heard about the working girls here and Clarita's is not immune. I will tell you that it wasn't a problem. They were well behaved, not actively soliciting and well dressed. In fact most gringos in the bar had no idea they were surrounded by professionals. We only spent two nights in Jaco, on two separate occasions, only because it didn't suit our tastes. We prefer being in the jungle or right on the edge of it and Jaco doesn't offer this, but if you are looking for a near 24/7 party then Jaco is it. If I was still in my twenties this would've been just my speed for a few days.
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