Costa Rica Windstar Questions

[Surfgirl]

I'm considering booking a cruise to Costa Rica in December. I've sailed on Windstar once before, and loved it, but I have a few questions about this particular trip, and I wonder if anyone could help...

 

1. I understand it takes 2 1/2 hours to get from the airport to the ship. The Windstar transfers seem very pricey ($180 RT). Did anyone take a cab or local bus? Can you advise, please.

 

2. Did you have vaccinations prior to the trip?

 

3. How were the bugs?

 

4. Did anyone do the Congo Canopy Tour? I would love to hear any feedback on this.

 

5. Any excursions are a "must do?" or a "skip it?"

 

6. I have a choice of a return trip leaving at 10am or 3pm... I'm guessing 10am wouldn't give me enough time to get to the airport and through security? (BTW.. how are the lines at the airport?)

 

7. Do you recommend this trip, or should I book something else?

 

Any other comments, tips, etc. would be most appreciated.

[nancyrg]

let me try to answer your questions.

 

We took the Windstar transfers and it is a long ride to the ship-you can hire a private van to get there, but i dont think you would save that much money since it is a long ride. We saw no public transportation to the pier-it is in the middle of nowhere.

no issues with bugs at all

i did the congo canopy tour and it was AWESOME-do not miss it!

you will not make a 10am flight and the airport lines are SLOW! not too long, but slow! but the airport was comfortable and if you are there for a few hours it is no big deal-lots of food and drinks and even some shopping to keep you occupied

we loved this trip and would recommend it!

 

nancy

[maminaz]

Surfgirl,

 

The Costa Rica trip is one of our favorites. We did a four day pre-cruise land stay at Arenal and we all agree that made the trip special.

 

The ship transfers are pricey, but private transfers will be about the same. Not sure if the Canopy excursion you mention is the zipline, but if it is, you must go! You'll be eye level with Howler monkeys. We've done a few ziplines and this was the best.

 

Hope you have a great time.

[Surfgirl]

Thanks so much for your quick responses.

 

The 2 1/2 hour bus ride is what is keeping me from booking the trip. It's just one heck of a long day after flying from the NY area. I don't think my back can take all of that sitting in one day. I think I'm going to pass this one up.

[Xoe]

This is a fantastic travel experience, one of my favorites ever. Please have a look at my photo album/story at http://fredasphotos1.shutterfly.com

At the site, go down and click on "Costa Rica / Wind Star".

 

The trip from San Jose to the ship can be a plus, not a minus. I flew in a day ahead (always a good idea in case of travel delays) and stayed at a very reasonable local hotel near the airport, Hotel La Riviera (recommended by the Coach Costa Rica staff), and the next day was reserved with Coach Costa Rica to get to the ship. It was a great way to go with a personable driver/guide who made the drive a pleasure. I used their services coming back too, and had sightseeing before being returned to my hotel for another overnight before flying out the next morning.

 

The ship excursion in Nicaragua was very well done, and I would not have wanted to miss it. Our guide was knowledgeable and gave us a great deal of history and understanding of his country.

 

The ship and its crew were wonderful, as was the entire cruise. Our on-board naturalist, Carlos, was a treasure.

 

If you book overnights before and after the cruise so as to separate the plane trip from the drive to the port, you will find yourself having a marvelous winter vacation with your drives between San Jose and Puerto Caldera providing sightseeing for those parts of Costa Rica. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED trip!

[Surfgirl]

I had already looked at your pictures while I was researching the trip, and they're fabulous. Are you a professional photographer? They were really good!

 

Yes, I was getting excited about Costa Rica, but I can't get that much time off from work to stay any extra days. (In addition to my regular career, I teach some specialty classes twice a week.. I'd already have to cancel two classes.. can't do any more.)

 

The bus ride was the deal breaker due to my back problems. The long plane ride was already pushing it, I just know I couldn't do 2 1/2 hours additional in a bus that same day.

 

I already had a tentative reservation in for Dec. 13th, and am going to call and cancel it tomorrow. Maybe another time. :(

 

I love Windstar. I did the St. Thomas trip last time around. I really wish they would change their winter itineraries a bit because I'd love to do another one with them somewhere else on one of their two smaller ships.

 

On to Plan B. I have a week of "use it or lose it" vacation time, so I need to find something to do with that week in December.

[nancyrg]

I don't know if this makes a difference, but the bus does make a stop along the way to the port at a giftshop/restaurant so you will have an opportunity to walk around and stretch your legs and back.

It is a fantastic trip and if you can handle the travel you will LOVE this trip

[Xoe]

I can see the challenges for you, Surfgirl -- and I'm still sorry you can't make that trip. I also have recurring back problems and understand your concerns about a long plane ride followed by the bus ride. Oh for a magic carpet!!

 

Glad you found the photos helpful. I love photography!

 

Good luck with your search for the perfect December vacation. There are lots of bargains out there right now, so I hope you'll find the perfect trip.

[Len3]

We're booked on a February sailing and did a ton of research. To take a cab is much more expensive than taking the Windstar bus. If you really want to do this, then just pay the price and forget it. We're going 3 days pre-cruise and days post-cruise. Great hotels in San Jose seem to be really cheap by the standards that we see in U.S. major cities.

[inaflash]

We took a cab from our hotel (Courtyard Marriott) last year. Worked out great! They negotiated a rate with one of the cabbie's they work with (that always hung out with the security/front desk staff) and it worked out to be around $80-100 max. I believe we did tip around 20 as it is a long drive out of the way for anyone.

 

It depends what you're looking for. We had a great time stopping every now and then to pick up fruit or a quick snack. The roads are also much better in a car that a bus. Picture extremely steep roads and tight turns on a 60-70 person bus as oppose to a car. The only nice thing about the bus is you will get to meet your shipmates immediately (and most likely get to compain together about the long bus ride ;)

 

I would recommend the cab if you are coming from a hotel. I'd hesitate to pick one up at the airport only for safety reasons. It was nice having the hotel staff 'screening' the legitimacy of cab driver and his price.

[cruister71]

One of the Captain's on Windstar (sorry cant remember his name) use to refer to Costa Rican cabs as 'Somdies'... Somdie, I'll get the shocks fixed, Somdie, I'll fix the air-conditioning, Somdie, I'll buy breaks.

[La Cueva]

1. Yes .... Ship is in Pourto Caldera. Narrow two lane road through mountains to the port. Would recommend you stay with Windstar arranged transportation to & from ship, hotel and/or airport.

 

2. No vaccinations required

 

3. Did not experiance bugs!

 

4. Canopy and trail hiking back into rain forest not for someone not in good condition. All tours were of interest.

 

5. Can't think of any bad tours

 

6. Take your time in exiting. Later flights work best. Airport terminal is new and very good.

 

7. Yes I recommend this trip. The flowers, birds are unbelievable

[jandar0721]

We flew in a few days early, stayed at the Intercontinental, and used Coach Costa Rica for all our transfers and for several tours of the countryside before and after our cruise. Coach Costa Rica provided cars + driver/naturalists who were great. Costa Rica is encouraging tourism and everywhere we were taken was clean and interesting.