UKC

Heading to Latin America for the winter, starting in CR early November.
Any tips from people who've been already for places to go/things to see there for a first time traveller?

Gracias

In reply to Kimono:
Mal pais/Santa teresa on the nicoya peninsula is a great laid back spot perfect for surfing or learning to surf. Lots of yoga places and nice eateries. I'd strongly recommend 5he mal pais surf camp as a super cool place to stay. Waves are mellow atthe south end near mal pais and get progressively faster and hollower as you head north along santa teresa. I've been told that there is kiting at bahia salinas in the north, but the wind gets very strong and gusty.

I found outside of San Jose, Costa Rica tobe a very safe and friendly country. The tapwater is good to drink inmost places and the public buses work well.

In reply to Kimono:
The hike up Cerro Chirripo is well worth it. The highest peak in South Central America. No technical stuff. Just walking but really stunning. Stay in the hut overnight. Corcovado is also fabulous. Hike along the beach from Karate to the Sirena ranger station. So much bewildering wildlife. Macaws, spider monkeys, squirrel monkeys, howler monkeys, crocs, big cats it's extraordinary. Arenal the volcano is brilliant. Camp on it's flanks and watch the red hot boulders erupt from it as the light fades. I surf so loved Tamarindo and various other places like Jaco and Dominical. Kayaking on Rio Sarapiqui was amazing. Everything about this country left me spellbound. We did it cheaply and travelled rough staying in budget cabins but we're never uncomfortable. The only place we lived it up was at a friends house in Escazu where we watched hummingbirds feed in the garden while we breakfasted. I would go back in the blink of an eye. Have a wonderful trip. Cheers, Karl

In reply to Kimono:

Although everyone says Costa Rica is very safe you still need to take care. We got out bags stolen on the local bus to Jaco within a couple of days of arriving. I've previously travelled in many countries in latin america and asia so am normally very careful, I may have been off guard as everyone keeps saying how safe CR is.

As mentioned Nicoya Peninsula is nice, Arenal area and Monteverde are worth seeing. Lots of jungle and beach stuff to do and good whitewater kayaking/rafting.

In reply to Karl Bromelow:
The Ticos are lovely people and many are gentle and generous but there is of course poverty and there is crime. We watched an American business woman get into a flap over some stolen stuff when she was supping coffee in San Jose, shouting loudly into her mobile phone and then walking away from all her gear to take a leak or something. There were beggars on the pavement down the road. This kind of ostentatious display would draw the attention of opportunist petty criminals. Show me a country without crime. I watched my belongings carefully, but I wouldn't walk away from my rucksack at many stations in the UK and be surprised if it was missing when I returned. With the usual care you would have to be unfortunate to suffer any problems as I'm sure philipivan sadly was. It can happen to the most experienced but I would still suggest Costa Rica is essentially a safe place to travel.

In reply to Kimono:

Echo all of the above sentiments, Costa Rica felt like a very safe and friendly place to travel and had an awesome time there last year. We hired a little 4x4 and made our way to various places. Highlight for me was probably the Corcovado National Park, we did a boat trip from Uvita to the park and saw loads of humpback whales on the way.
Everyone we met was incredibly friendly and eager to help and it is definitely somewhere that I would like to go back to!

In reply to Kimono:
Ok, some good suggestions there folks. As regards safety, I actually live in the Dominican Republic so am pretty good at surviving poor Latin countries.

How about packing tips? I like to travel light so am hoping to bring as little as poss and not have a huge rucksack on my back. Hot weather clothing, a fleece, some trekking sandals and a few odds and sods. How did others fare with this?