Costa Rica

[midtown 3338]

Costa Rica has no covid entry requirements. Your only issue would be testing positive while down there. I believe they still have the insurance requirement which was absolutely checked. Negative test at the airport less so. I could have shown the guy my Texas vehicle registration and would have been fine.

I would highly doubt CR would ever have a vaccine requirement. That's just my gut feeling. I could see a negative test requirement. They do take sanitizing and mask seriously. Masks are law. It's not enforced outside for tourists but inside yes.

I don't see where it was mentioned if you were going to the Quepos area or Tamagringo. If you read surly you will think that tulemar is the only resort in MA. There is every level of accommodation. Personally I prefer the smaller boutique type places.

[Brew 2917]

1 hour ago, midtown said:

Costa Rica has no covid entry requirements. Your only issue would be testing positive while down there. I believe they still have the insurance requirement which was absolutely checked. Negative test at the airport less so. I could have shown the guy my Texas vehicle registration and would have been fine.

I would highly doubt CR would ever have a vaccine requirement. That's just my gut feeling. I could see a negative test requirement. They do take sanitizing and mask seriously. Masks are law. It's not enforced outside for tourists but inside yes.

I don't see where it was mentioned if you were going to the Quepos area or Tamagringo. If you read surly you will think that tulemar is the only resort in MA. There is every level of accommodation. Personally I prefer the smaller boutique type places.






 

We’re wide open to suggestions on locations. I’m not a resort person although we will probably still look at them since it’s the first trip. Typically we rent a house in the non touristy area and avoid the large resorts although we do want access to decent restaurants. For instance, Grand Cayman we rent a house on Rum Point, Turks we rent a house near Sapodilla Bay, etc. 

Entire group is vaccinated, parents all have boosters at this point. 

[HornPhD 1316]

6 minutes ago, Brew said:

We’re wide open to suggestions on locations. I’m not a resort person although we will probably still look at them since it’s the first trip. Typically we rent a house in the non touristy area and avoid the large resorts although we do want access to decent restaurants. For instance, Grand Cayman we rent a house on Rum Point, Turks we rent a house near Sapodilla Bay, etc. 

Entire group is vaccinated, parents all have boosters at this point. 

Tulemar Resort isn’t a typical resort as it’s mostly individual houses (our place had 4 bedrooms on three levels and a private pool). The pool and beach food/beverage service + the concierge access makes it more like a resort. Down the road from the main entrance (within walking distance) are several restaurants. You can also have a personal chef come to your house and make as many meals as you’d like. 

[midtown 3338]

We’re wide open to suggestions on locations. I’m not a resort person although we will probably still look at them since it’s the first trip. Typically we rent a house in the non touristy area and avoid the large resorts although we do want access to decent restaurants. For instance, Grand Cayman we rent a house on Rum Point, Turks we rent a house near Sapodilla Bay, etc. 
Entire group is vaccinated, parents all have boosters at this point. 

Just get on any number of hotel sites and find your style.

[Brew 2917]

1 hour ago, HornPhD said:

Tulemar Resort isn’t a typical resort as it’s mostly individual houses (our place had 4 bedrooms on three levels and a private pool). The pool and beach food/beverage service + the concierge access makes it more like a resort. Down the road from the main entrance (within walking distance) are several restaurants. You can also have a personal chef come to your house and make as many meals as you’d like. 

Going to take a look at it further. Thanks.

[Wally Pryor 5208]

Stayed at Tulemar twice and have nothing but good things to say about it. 

[justhookit 4165]

On 12/31/2021 at 5:38 PM, Brew said:

Going to take a look at it further. Thanks.

Golfing isn’t exactly a thing in CR, but the Los Suenos Marriott about an hour drive from Manuel Antonio has a nice course. They’ve got the hotel and a huge property with a bunch of nice condos and houses.  It’s also about 20 minutes from Jaco which is the party scene in that part of the country.

it wasn’t a big deal but the insurance requirement has been dropped if you are vaccinated. Since you aren’t going until summer who knows what will be going on by then. I’ll be down there for a few months starting at the end of January and I’ll let y’all know if anything has changed. As of today, everything is pretty much open but be prepared to wear your mask.

[justhookit 4165]

On 12/31/2021 at 5:38 PM, Brew said:

Going to take a look at it further. Thanks.

Also you will be there in the off-season so I’d look hard at renting a house. You’ll find some really good deals on some great properties. Just make sure it comes with a concierge or similar than can hook you up with drivers, chef, tours, etc.

[justhookit 4165]

And now I’ve been told by someone else that the insurance requirement is still in place. I’ll check for sure but whenever your trip might be https://ticotimes.net pretty much always has up to date info.

[Rudiger 1148]

I just got my paso de salud by uploading my vaccination card with no insurance required. 

[justhookit 4165]

1 hour ago, Rudiger said:

I just got my paso de salud by uploading my vaccination card with no insurance required. 

Good to hear. I just wanted to be sure. Where are you there?

[Rudiger 1148]

10 hours ago, justhookit said:

Good to hear. I just wanted to be sure. Where are you there?

Peninsula Papagayo. 

[Immaculate Vibes 114]

Family was looking for some where different this summer for a trip. Just booked a summer week at Westin Reserva Conchal. Looks pretty nice. Has anyone stayed there or close by? I’m curious what attractions are nearby that are worth checking out? We always try to venture off the property wherever we’re staying. 
 

I’ve been to a bachelor party in Jaco (whoa), otherwise I know very little about CR. 

[tokamak 6324]

38 minutes ago, Immaculate Vibes said:

Family was looking for some where different this summer for a trip. Just booked a summer week at Westin Reserva Conchal. Looks pretty nice. Has anyone stayed there or close by? I’m curious what attractions are nearby that are worth checking out? We always try to venture off the property wherever we’re staying. 
 

I’ve been to a bachelor party in Jaco (whoa), otherwise I know very little about CR. 

We stayed there a couple years back. Nice property. It was mostly a chill-out vacation for us, but we did drive down to Tamarindo one day, and up to Rincon de la Vieja another day.

[justhookit 4165]

Another 9 days until I am down, but my captain caught 7 blue marlin and 8 sailfish today. Pretty sure he’s cheating.

[justhookit 4165]

And we are here. 
Got in late late last night no problems. Fill out their Health Pass online and they basically wave you thru.

[justhookit 4165]

Also I don’t necessarily recommend that hotel but it’s next door to our favorite bar in town.

[justhookit 4165]

3/7 blue marlin today and 3/5 on sails. 2 of the marlin we lost were really bad luck. And we caught this cute little guy.

 

 

 

[justhookit 4165]

The view from El Avion in Manuel Antonio still doesn’t suck.

[midtown 3338]

On 1/23/2022 at 12:26 AM, justhookit said:

3/7 blue marlin today and 3/5 on sails. 2 of the marlin we lost were really bad luck. And we caught this cute little guy.

Guess I'm the only one that can't see this?

Apparently CR dropped the insurance requirement if you are vaccinated. 

Edited January 24, 2022 by midtown

[justhookit 4165]

22 minutes ago, midtown said:

Guess I'm the only one that can't see this?

Apparently CR dropped the insurance requirement if you are vaccinated. 

Don’t know. It works for me.

yeah the insurance requirement is gone. You just have to upload a copy of your vaccine card on their health pass website and answer some questions. It generates a QR code you save on your phone and use that when you enter the country. Some stores/restaurants/bars will ask you to show that but we haven’t run into any of that down here on the coast. Maybe it’s a San Jose thing.

[FigurelliPwC 115]

On 1/10/2022 at 10:43 AM, Immaculate Vibes said:

Family was looking for some where different this summer for a trip. Just booked a summer week at Westin Reserva Conchal. Looks pretty nice. Has anyone stayed there or close by? I’m curious what attractions are nearby that are worth checking out? We always try to venture off the property wherever we’re staying. 
 

I’ve been to a bachelor party in Jaco (whoa), otherwise I know very little about CR. 

We went a few years ago, 4 couples without the kids amd had a blast.  Lots of full day and 1/2 day excursions to stay busy if you don’t want stay at the resort all day.  We did one trip through the hotel (river boat tour) and a few others we booked from a guy on the beach that hangs out by the hotel beach entrance and offers the same tours for way less $$.  Erik Garcia I believe is his name, and he wears a TripAdvisor shirt so you can’t miss him. We did a 4 wheeler trip that was awesome (wear mosquito repellent!), a zip line trip in the jungle and we booked a private sailing trip on our own that was fantastic.

Overall the resort was great - tons of wildlife like monkeys and iguanas at the resort as well as coati everywhere.  The food was pretty impressive for an all-inclusive - plenty of variety and high quality.  I would recommend upgrading the beverage package if you like the good stuff - the standard drinks were lower quality alcohol and wine.  The vendors at the beach weren’t overly pushy, and you could get a decent massage on the beach for like $10 for 30 mins.  No happy ending, however.

[ernest_t_bass 1196]

March will be here before you know it.  We're booked for a Sunday-Thursday stay at Tulemar.  I'm an Ohio resident.  Two questions...

1) What are some MUSTS that me and my daughters need to pack for our trip?

2) What are some MUSTS for excursions?  We won't go on a fishing excursion, so getting that out of the way.

[midtown 3338]

39 minutes ago, ernest_t_bass said:

2) What are some MUSTS for excursions?  We won't go on a fishing excursion, so getting that out of the way.

Check Viator or with Tulemar

 

Depends on age of course but rafting is world class

Find a waterfall etc.  I think you can do this by way of ATV depending on age

Surf lessons?

Definitely go down to Dominical (two birds with one stone as there is a big ass waterfall near by)

The national park is cool and I've been 3 times.  If you are up for it you can walk home. 

Kayak somewhere

Drive to Jaco and get some drugs and see the hookers

And even though its not the rainy season.  Anytime I go near water I bring a rain jacket so maybe toss a few throw away panchos

Edited January 25, 2022 by midtown

[midtown 3338]

Btw if you've ever been in the men's bathroom at El Fuego in Dominical you've seen this angler fish art. The brown one. Long story short I offered to buy it but instead they sent me the name of the artist and now I have my own the black one.

[justhookit 4165]

23 hours ago, ernest_t_bass said:

March will be here before you know it.  We're booked for a Sunday-Thursday stay at Tulemar.  I'm an Ohio resident.  Two questions...

1) What are some MUSTS that me and my daughters need to pack for our trip?

2) What are some MUSTS for excursions?  We won't go on a fishing excursion, so getting that out of the way.

All of what midtown said. Let me know when you get down and we will take you on a booze cruise to watch the sunset offshore of the National park

[justhookit 4165]

On 1/25/2022 at 10:07 AM, ernest_t_bass said:

March will be here before you know it.  We're booked for a Sunday-Thursday stay at Tulemar.  I'm an Ohio resident.  Two questions...

1) What are some MUSTS that me and my daughters need to pack for our trip?

2) What are some MUSTS for excursions?  We won't go on a fishing excursion, so getting that out of the way.

Also as far as packing you don’t need any clothes besides shorts and t-shirts. It’s muy caliente here. Bring hats and lots of sunscreen. The sun is way stronger than in the United States.

Edited January 26, 2022 by justhookit
yeah shorts. Just T-shirts’ might be a problem

[ernest_t_bass 1196]

13 minutes ago, justhookit said:

 Let me know when you get down and we will take you on a booze cruise to watch the sunset offshore of the National park

For real!?  I'm down, but minus the booze.  I'm coming up on 7 years sober, and I'll have my 16 and 12 year old daughters.

[justhookit 4165]

10 minutes ago, ernest_t_bass said:

For real!?  I'm down, but minus the booze.  I'm coming up on 7 years sober, and I'll have my 16 and 12 year old daughters.

Yeah as long as you don’t mind us having a few beers. Don’t worry my captain doesn’t drink. I’ll send you my contact info.

[midtown 3338]

51 minutes ago, justhookit said:

you don’t need any clothes besides shirts and t-shirts

He's going to look funny with his dick hanging out of his the neck hole of his shirt being worn like shorts

[RPM 26096]

On 1/23/2022 at 12:26 AM, justhookit said:

3/7 blue marlin today and 3/5 on sails. 2 of the marlin we lost were really bad luck. And we caught this cute little guy.

 

IMG_0161.MOV 29.06 MB · 1 download  

 

 

Well it sounded cool, but I'm not paying to dl some rando codec to watch it.

[justhookit 4165]

2 hours ago, RPM said:

Well it sounded cool, but I'm not paying to dl some rando codec to watch it.

It’s just an upload from a video I took on my iPad to surlyhorns so pretty sure you wouldn’t need to download anything. I don’t know. Pura Vida.

[RPM 26096]

Just now, justhookit said:

It’s just an upload from a video I took on my iPad to surlyhorns so pretty sure you wouldn’t need to download anything. I don’t know. Pura Vida.

It gave me some weird codec error and offered to fix it for a cash d/l.

[squib 1112]

On 1/25/2022 at 11:07 AM, midtown said:

Btw if you've ever been in the men's bathroom at El Fuego in Dominical you've seen this angler fish art. The brown one. Long story short I offered to buy it but instead they sent me the name of the artist and now I have my own the black one.


 

I have peed near that piece of art many a time. (not the one at your house--yet)

[justhookit 4165]

Fished the other day it’s a little slow we caught 5 sails and 4 dorado. Raised 2 blue marlin that wouldn’t eat and a bunch more sails. Hit the beach today at Playa Biesanz. Good day.

[midtown 3338]

Normally that beach is teeming with 20 somethings in g-strings.   Guess some of the pictures aren't loading for me

[justhookit 4165]

Oh they were there. Forgot I had my phone on me until it was almost time to go. I’ll do a better job next time.

[MirrOlure 14464]

Headed to fish out of Los Suenos next week....trying to decipher what, if any, Covid-related entry requirements there may be?  Also on-the-ground as in vaccination cards, masks, etc.?

Was in Tulum a couple of weeks ago and it was pretty much a wide open free-for-all.

Thanks in advance for any info.

[MirrOlure 14464]

4 minutes ago, MirrOlure said:

Headed to fish out of Los Suenos next week....trying to decipher what, if any, Covid-related entry requirements there may be?  Also on-the-ground as in vaccination cards, masks, etc.?

Was in Tulum a couple of weeks ago and it was pretty much a wide open free-for-all.

Thanks in advance for any info.

Hey.  Dumbass.  Read up-thread a few posts, then upload your vaccination card.  You'll be all good.  

Read first.  Post later.  Dipshit.

[midtown 3338]

Hey.  Dumbass.  Read up-thread a few posts, then upload your vaccination card.  You'll be all good.  
Read first.  Post later.  Dipshit.

What a dipshit this guy is

[Chewbacca 7620]

March will be here before you know it.  We're booked for a Sunday-Thursday stay at Tulemar.  I'm an Ohio resident.  Two questions...
1) What are some MUSTS that me and my daughters need to pack for our trip?
2) What are some MUSTS for excursions?  We won't go on a fishing excursion, so getting that out of the way.

Waterfall tour with Paddle 9 was great. Definitely do that.

[justhookit 4165]

4 hours ago, MirrOlure said:

Hey.  Dumbass.  Read up-thread a few posts, then upload your vaccination card.  You'll be all good.  

Read first.  Post later.  Dipshit.

Once you are out of the airport it’s all good. I carry a photo of my vax card just in case but you won’t need it. You WILL need a mask to enter some places. Mostly stores. The bars/restaurants don’t really care here in Quepos so I assume Los Suenos is the same. Who are you fishing with?

Edited February 1, 2022 by justhookit

[MirrOlure 14464]

15 hours ago, justhookit said:

Once you are out of the airport it’s all good. I carry a photo of my vax card just in case but you won’t need it. You WILL need a mask to enter some places. Mostly stores. The bars/restaurants don’t really care here in Quepos so I assume Los Suenos is the same. Who are you fishing with?

Thanks...sounds about like what we experienced in Mexico.  We are going out through Maverick, on the Spanish Fly all three days.  

[justhookit 4165]

8 hours ago, MirrOlure said:

Thanks...sounds about like what we experienced in Mexico.  We are going out through Maverick, on the Spanish Fly all three days.  

If I remember right you’ve fished with them before. Great boat. Great crew. We will try to fish at least one of the days y’all are out and we can bet a beer on the winner. 

[justhookit 4165]

On 2/1/2022 at 2:47 PM, MirrOlure said:

Thanks...sounds about like what we experienced in Mexico.  We are going out through Maverick, on the Spanish Fly all three days.  

How’s the trip going?

we were thinking about going to los suenos and Jaco this week but put it off until the 20th.

[Wally Pryor 5208]

On 1/25/2022 at 10:07 AM, ernest_t_bass said:

March will be here before you know it.  We're booked for a Sunday-Thursday stay at Tulemar.  I'm an Ohio resident.  Two questions...

1) What are some MUSTS that me and my daughters need to pack for our trip?

2) What are some MUSTS for excursions?  We won't go on a fishing excursion, so getting that out of the way.

As what midtown says....and if your girls have never been horseback riding there's a good tour that can be booked through your Tulemar concierge. 1/2 day tour. Nice jungle scenery. Takes you to a cool waterfall and there's a place you change clothes and swim. Good breakfast and lunch at a local woman's little cafe overlooking a river. Forget what little town we went to for the tour but it's about 30 minutes from the resort. 

[MirrOlure 14464]

On 2/11/2022 at 12:42 AM, justhookit said:

How’s the trip going?

we were thinking about going to los suenos and Jaco this week but put it off until the 20th.

It was really good.  Despite a proliferation of knuckleheadery on the boat, over two days offshore we landed and released 3 blue marlin and 2 sailfish, landed 5 dorado and 3 yellowfin tuna, another broke off right at the boat.  Spent the third day on an easier roosterfish/bottom fishing trip and got 4 roosters and a variety of other random fish, but no grouper or snapper, which was a little surprising.  Saw two full-size whales put on a Sea World show just up form Manuel Antonio on the way in on Day 3.

[justhookit 4165]

14 hours ago, MirrOlure said:

It was really good.  Despite a proliferation of knuckleheadery on the boat, over two days offshore we landed and released 3 blue marlin and 2 sailfish, landed 5 dorado and 3 yellowfin tuna, another broke off right at the boat.  Spent the third day on an easier roosterfish/bottom fishing trip and got 4 roosters and a variety of other random fish, but no grouper or snapper, which was a little surprising.  Saw two full-size whales put on a Sea World show just up form Manuel Antonio on the way in on Day 3.

We never bottom fish here but I’m afraid the commercial fishermen have basically decimated the snapper and grouper population here. I know some guys that do well but that’s the exception. Awesome on the whales, we haven’t seen any yet this trip.

Edited February 15, 2022 by justhookit

[MirrOlure 14464]

8 hours ago, justhookit said:

We never bottom fish here but I’m afraid the commercial fishermen have basically decimated the snapper and grouper population here. I know some guys that do well but that’s the exception. Awesome on the whales, we haven’t seen any yet this trip.

We ate with an ex-pat couple one night and they said that sadly, CR has sold its soul to the devi.....er, I mean Chinese.  Sad if true.

[ernest_t_bass 1196]

Without googling it, what is the current procedure for flying out of the country, and into Costa Rica?  I read on Tulemar's site that vaxxed don't need insurance, but unvaxxed need travel insurance.

Is USA (or CR) still doing/requiring a negative test before you leave the country?

This is by far the thing that is giving me the most anxiety as we approach our departure from the states (3/20/22).