HamBar06 Loc: Philadelphia, PA

I am planning a trip to Costa Rica in late November- early December and would be interested in any "must see" or other travel tips. I will have at most 15 days and have to be selective. Any recommendations?
Larry

Pytrouble

Check out Lapa Rios online. It is an eco resort on the Oso peninsula. We spent 4 days and three nights there in 2009. Beautiful! There are so many wonderful places in Costa Rica, you can't go wrong. If in San Jose, go to the gold museum. It is underground in the main plaza. Sarchi is a town of artisans particularly known for their hand painted ox carts of all sizes. Have fun. We hope to go back in 2020. (I hate auto correct. I just had to go back and change a bunch of things that were "corrected")

timcc Loc: Virginia

Manuel Antonio and Arenal Volcano National Parks for wildlife and good scenic views. Recommend signing up for guided tours of the parks, since the guides can spot animals that most of us would never see. They are often in radio contact with other guides and share sightings with one another, and they know where the sloth was yesterday -- and is likely to still be today. Some also carry tele-spotting devices that you can attach your smartphone to for nice telephotos of critters high up in the trees. La Fortuna is a pretty town near the Arenal Volcano. The large crocodiles on the Tárcoles River are also a good photo opportunity, and any of the bird sanctuaries in can give you close-ups of toucans and other local birds. We saw fantastic dolphin activity off the coast of Puerto Jimenez, and lots of wildlife on a small boat trip in the mangroves of Bahia Drake. Treetop ziplining is also fun -- we found a good one in Alajuela, but there are others as well. I suggest keeping your equipment in Ziploc bags until it reaches the ambient temperature -- the humidity can cause condensation that could damage your camera and lenses, especially when you leave an air conditioned hotel room or car. CR is very photogenic -- have a great trip!

HamBar06 Loc: Philadelphia, PA

Hi,
Thanks; I will add your info to the file I've started. I will have a hard time picking an itinerary for the short time I'll be there.
Larry

Piltdown1952

If you are on Facebook join the group Gringo Expats in Costa Rica. You will get an unvarnished look at what to expect, including some roads that are horrible to iinpassible and outrageous rental vehicle costs. Keep in mind also that, although CR is a small country it has a huge variety of geographic zones, mountain highlands, north Pacific coast, south Pacific coast, Carribean coast, etc. Also be aware that CR has very distinct wet and dry seasons varying by region. Foliage that might be beautiful in the rainy season might be dull and brown in the dry season. Do a lot of research because there are many pitfalls but many rewards if you do your homework. There are some excellent tour guides and guided tours (and a few bad ones) Lots of birds, monkeys, iguanas and crocodiles to shoot so bring the longest lens you can afford.

AndyGarcia

I live in Playa Tamarindo, Guanacaste Province. NW Pacific coast. As others have said Costa Rica is a fantastic country for photography. It's a fantastic country! Fabulous landscape opportunities. Amazing sunsets where I live.With late November being at the end of the rainy season , on the cusp of the beginning of the dry season, you will have AMAZING GREENS - they visually shout at you! My town is a holiday resort considered too commercial by some but I love it! I get Howler Monkeys in the trees around my home, iguanas in the garden, Ospreys nesting on the beach, Pelicans, crested terns that's within 3 minutes of my from door! Go to the OSA, go to the parks I avoid San Jose smelly and lots of traffic pollution (as any big city). Guanacaste is the hottest and driest Province. Right now our Temps are between 34 -39C H and 26 L. November/December a bit lower.The mountainous areas are much cooler. The Caribbean Coast is said to be amazing.

In Costa Rica it's very hard to have a bad time. The people are great, the flora and fauna amazing, the light is fantastic a dream location for photographers (or anyone). I'm very biased of course. Have a great trip. If you want more info PM me.

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gary northrop

For the best places to visit, I suggest you check out the itineraries for various photo tour
companies with websites on the internet. You'll find many of the best locations commonly
listed. (I'll be making my third Costa Rican photo tour in two weeks; you're going to have
a great time!)

RichJ207 Loc: Sammamish, WA

We arrived at the main airport at the same time as a number of other planes. The impact was that it took over two hours to get through their customs. There are two giant serpentine customs lines. One is for citizens of CR. The other is for tourists.

The tourist line was overflowing and was serviced by customs desks that varied from about three to down to one as the agents came and went to the bathroom, lunch or stood around with other agents.

The native line usually had just a few people in it and sometimes they let some folks in the tourist line to cut over when it was empty for a while. This line had about 6-8 staffed desks. If you were not in this line, the agents didn’t like you cutting over on your own.

There was actually another line that was not obvious in the crush of humanity: a handicapped line (located way over to the right). It usually was empty.

So...if you are faced with a situation like we had, there are a total of three choices I would consider if I was going again.

fromo1946 Loc: Sacramento, CA

Any, I was in Tamarindo back in ‘95, what a great place to visit, I felt like I was teleported into a tropical paradise. Great place to get away from the madding crowd, I’m sure it’s gotten a lot better as it’s lodging is very accommodating. You’re living there I presume? You’re a lucky man, I was going there after retiring, but life has a way of changing one’s plans...

LouieP Loc: Sebring/Avon Park, FL area

For groups offering photo tours, Roads Scholar (formerly known as Elder Hostel) has a pretty good reputation