Costa Rica Here I Come!!! Anyone want to meet up there? :)

[loveliberate]

Hola!

After years of daydreaming about heading down to Costa Rica I have booked my flights and will be arriving down there in a few weeks. I will have about 2 weeks in the country and this will be my first visit to central America. Woohoo!

As you can likely guess: I am very excited! I would love to meet up with cool vegan locals and other visitors - and to get your suggestions on how to make the most of my visit. Generally I'd like to have folks to visit and explore with. A specific thing I'd appreciate advice on is where I can pick up camping supplies in the San Jose area.

Sooo... Please get in touch!

[loveliberate]

Saludos desde San Jose, Costa Rica!

So I have arrived, will be wandering around the country for a couple of weeks and would still love to hear from and/or meet up with any of yáll who are also down this way!

Also please let me know if there is anything specific about Costa Rica that I can get info on for any of ya while I am down here!

[vegan hal]

cool trip. was there almost 15 yrs ago. had a great time doing many things. i'm sure things have changed a lot. my parents were there a few months ago (not veg), but they sent me this link which looks pretty cool. I think they had lunch there.

http://www.landsinlove.com/

good luck. definitely do some white water rafting (we did the Pacuare River. that was a highlight for me. and the cloud forests were incredible. can;t provide many details as it's just been so long since I was there.

[loveliberate]

Thanks for the reply and tips Hal. I'm figuring things out as I go - though I could really use help with finding cheap vegan food!

[xrodolfox]

My wife and I might go down there in July to celebrate our 10yr anniversary. Any tips on PRIVATE boring places where we can enjoy quiet nature and perhaps some beach or waterfront, and VEGAN food, would be great. I wish I could offer help, but I can only offer the fact that we will need help.

[aspara-gus]

I was in Costa Rica not long ago and rafting on the Pascuare was definitely my highlight. I didn't think much of the Monteverde cloud forest, though, although if you go there make sure you stay at the Miraposa. The owner is super nice and they have great deals during off season.

I found a fantastic veg restuarant in Puerto Viejo which is where you want to be if you like Caribbean beaches and reggae music. I forgot the name of the place but it is an upstairs restaurant on the main road right as you enter town. The name of the restaurant was a female name, Jessica's or something like this. Her husband is vegan and he is the main cook. Their veg burgers are to die for.

Costa Rica is a bit pricey, especially taxis which cost 10 times more than in neighboring countries.

By the away, make sure you don't go to the Baldi hotsprings near the Arenal volcano. This place is awfully commercialized.

[laura76]

loveliberate, how's your trip going? Sorry I didn't see this earlier, not sure if this will be useful to you or not now. We went to Manuel Antonio in January; pros: lots of wildlife (mainly monkeys, tropical birds, some sloths here and there), the beaches in the national park were beautiful; cons: Manuel Antonio has become incredibly commercialized and the vegan options were just okay (beans and rice, pasta, salads, etc).

Looking forward to hearing about your trip!

[loveliberate]

Thanks for the replies!

Rodolfo,
I think that you will find many good options in Costa Rica. Based on my trip, the Cahuita y Puerto Viejo area comes to mind most strongly. Vegan offerings in Costa Rica were pretty limited, esp outside of the greater San Jose area but this place was pretty good: http://www.veronicasplacepv.com

The towns are fairly hectic considering their size but you can find great and quiet nature spots nearby. Veronica can probably point in the right direction.

Best wishes amigo!

aspara-gus
Neat that ya recommend (I think) Veronica's Place too! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and tips.

laura76,
My trip went pretty well. I also went to Manuel Antonio & agree with your assessment. Let me know if you have any questions about my trip!