Our Trip Plan

Our Philosophy

We started out simply wishing to escape the cold New England weather. We investigated places like Florida, Georgia, and Puerto Rico, before we discovered Costa Rica. We were deeply drawn to this country and made our choice.  Our trip is scheduled to last nine weeks, and we had neither the budget nor the desire to spend our time or money at resort locations.  Instead, we wanted to experience the Costa Rican culture, get to know some Ticos (or Ticas, Costa Rican men or women), travel on our own when desired, and learn Spanish. Although we will undoubtedly visit some of the tourist destinations, this is not the main focus of our trip. Some people come here with no previous plan or reservations. Though we are keen to be spontaneous and unstructured most of the time, we did book lodging ahead.

Air Travel

Lucky us!  Connie had enough frequent flyer miles on American Airlines to buy us two round trip tickets to Costa Rica, with some points left over. We will fly from Boston to Miami, change planes, and  then fly from Miami to Liberia, Costa Rica.  On the return trip, we will leave from the San Jose Airport instead, and from there reverse the trip. We are hoping that all will go smoothly. But if it doesn't, it will be part of the adventure and we will have a story to tell. Stay tuned.

Lodging

For the months of February and March, we have booked a condo in two different geographical areas of Costa Rica. For the final six days, we are staying in a hotel/B&B in Escazu, a suburb of San Jose. We will get to explore, in some depth, the Pacific West Coast, the hill country in the Central Valley, and the capital city.

Transportation

There are several ways to get around in Costa Rica:

• Domestic air flights
• Rental car
• Private mini-van or private driver
• Tour van or bus (for small groups)
• Taxi
• Private bus (for large groups and individuals) 
• Public bus
• Boat
• Bicycle, motor scooter, motorcycle, etc.

Tourists generally combine more than one option for a long trip.  It is our intention to travel by public bus whenever possible. This plan combines two of our major goals: traveling on a budget and experiencing the local people and culture.