Costa Rica- lameass tourist vacay planned, have questions

[El Presidente]

Flying in to Liberia Int'l Airport in Dec and taking a shuttle directly to a All Inclusive on the Pacific Coast at Guanacaste near Puerto Viaje for 4 full days of leisure. Never been to CR, heard nothing but great things about this country, but have some questions:

-Mexico's Cancun International Airport has an army of time share salesmen waiting to con unwary travelers seeking their ground transport. Will I have similar problems at the Costa Rican Liberia terminal? I am taking Swiss Travel as my transport to the resort, are there any scams I should be aware of before I find my shuttle?

-A friend of mine is married to Costa Rican, and goes there every winter to visit with his family. I am told the bugs are awful and so is the sun. Will normal OFF! suffice as an insect reppelant, and what grade sunblock should I bring?

-I have been promised that the all-inclusive has everything any traveller will want, jungles, etc etc ..I can tell you now Senora Presidente is NOT climbing to the top of Arenal. Are there any "easy" side trips I can look forward to?

-Any other useful tips for a first time visitor to this gem of a country would be greatly appreciated! :)

[Atrax]

Obviously, FriendlySkies is the one to consult with on most of your questions. But, for what it's worth I went to CR at 16 by myself and didn't get ripped off too bad, aside from taxi's and that stupid fee you pay when you leave the country.
Wish I had more to tell you. Enjoy swilling the Imperial and Guaro.

[Kurt]

One of my co-workers went to Liberia for some kind of weirdo herbal spa thing and she loved it.

But what was funny is when I heard she was going to Liberia to see an herbalist I warned her that she was bound to be raped by amputees or some other kind of scam to get her to part with her money and possibly her life.

Then I remembered that there was a Liberia in Costa Rica.

Then I had to explain to her that she would be safe among Costa Rican quacks and I thought she was going to the country of Liberia.

[bearanddragon]

ya, i'd definetely hit up friendly skies. i was in costa rica a couple months ago and got tons of great advice before going, although i was mostly in the southeast of the country.

[vagabond]

One of my co-workers went to Liberia for some kind of weirdo herbal spa thing and she loved it.

But what was funny is when I heard she was going to Liberia to see an herbalist I warned her that she was bound to be raped by amputees or some other kind of scam to get her to part with her money and possibly her life.

Then I remembered that there was a Liberia in Costa Rica.

Then I had to explain to her that she would be safe among Costa Rican quacks and I thought she was going to the country of Liberia.

Or she thought you meant Liberia, SC. The same could've happened there.

[mb]

i don't know if there's timeshare scammers in the liberia airport... but i doubt it. from what i hear (and i've passed it but not been in it) there's basically a runway and a minimal terminal. satellite pic

with only 4 days... eh, stay nearby. roads are crap so it's slow going anywhere. playa conchal has a beautiful beach.

[El Presidente]

I am back! And the answer is, no, no scammers at Liberia airport. It is tiny, it is fast, and it is hassle free. It's basically a big metal building, you walk in one side, go through immigration, and exit out the other side where your shuttle service is waiting for you.

We stayed mostly at the resort in Playa Conchal, very touristy bullshit, and made a side trip to go zip lining and went to Monkey Park, which is between Conchal and Filadelfia. Monkey Park is a privately owned sanctuary for injured or abused animals, and for a $50 cab ride and $10 a head, your cab driver will wait for you while a pretty college age female gives you a private English speaking tour. If you like monkeys, its a quick and easy way to to get close to them, and its for a good cause:

http://www.monkey-park.org/ingles/inginicio/index.html

I DID find one DP--- the fucking Pacific Ocean! I almost drowned the first day, and 5 minutes later a big fat hispanic woman almost got sucked in by the undertow the next day. The next day the ocean was swelling up to near the resort entrance, and one of the beach bums told me that there were 5 recuses in the area that day.

If you are lucky, you will walk the beach away from the resort and maybe see some topless female Ticos sunbathing or walking along the water.

Overall, the Ticos are very freindly, and most of them seem to be pretty happy people. A least the ones waiting on us turistas. Don't know about the darker skinned Ticos who were gardening and painting the resort all day long in 95 degree heat.

Stay out of resort convenience stores unless you feel like paying $30 for a bottle of sun block.

Don't exchange any American money for Colones. Everything in Guanacaste is in American.

The drivers are fucking nuts too, and love to use the narrow left hand lane to pass slower vehicles, the line markers be damned.

Iguanas everywhere, they are like rabbits. We saw one pregnant iguana knock over a tourists cocktail and eat the fruit in it. There was also a family of moneys, and some very fearless raccoons and coatimundis running around.

Certainly one of the least adventurous Costa Rican treks in Black Flag history, but I am really looking forward to returning one day, maybe with more time and a more adventuresome agenda.

[friendlyskies]

Oh, sorry I missed this post until too late! Playa Conchal is OLD SCHOOL, that's one of Guanacaste's first resorts, serious luxury travelers always bitch about it not being up to ecosnuff. I like it though, their beach is outstanding! Usually pretty safe for swimmers but, well, the Pacific is the Pacific, she takes who she wants.

Overall, the Ticos are very freindly, and most of them seem to be pretty happy people. A least the ones waiting on us turistas. Don't know about the darker skinned Ticos who were gardening and painting the resort all day long in 95 degree heat

Those were probably Nicaraguans. They're probably pretty happy too, since they're sending tons of cash (by Nica standards) home to their families. Resorts pay better than coffee farms.

Glad you had fun! I agree, Monkey Park is a very cool operation, it was started by hippies rescuing monkeys hurt by power lines, now it's a real and respected animal sanctuary. Unlike a lot of the glorified petting zoos in CA. Rock on.