Hey all - so after reading some posts on here about how awesome Costa Rica is, I booked a flight for myself and my girlfriend in the first week of December.
Now I've been researching where to go/what to do and would love some hotel/experience advice from fellow redditors/real people rather than just reading TripAdvisor or whatever.
Here is our rough itinerary (no accomodations are booked right now):
Land in San Jose, stay there for 1 night
2 nights in Arenal / La Fortuna - probably do hot springs and volcano tours (advice on good ones / tourist traps to avoid??)
2 nights in Monteverde - canopy tour and whatever else is good there (advice on good ones / tourist traps to avoid / recommendations??)
4 nights in Tamarindo - surfing and chillin on the beach / checking out local food & beer
We have a bit of a wide budget / needs. We are open to a mixture of hostels, hotels and resorts while obviously avoiding anything too budget friendly if you know what I mean, don't want to sacrifice cleanliness and/or enjoyment to save a couple bucks.
Would love to hear of any cool hidden gems to stay at or awesome stuff to do that's kinda off the beaten path. We like the "local lifestyle" experience when we travel.
Hope that's enough info, appreciate any advice. Cheers!