Weekend trip to Liberia, Costa Rica (June 11 - 14)...recommendations?

Hubby & I are trying to plan an affordable ($500 max, including accomodations, all transportation, all activities) weekend to celebrate our anniversary June 13. First trip just the two of us since having kids. We're looking for canopy tours and horseback riding, maybe snorkeling (but only w/our gear, which would mean checking luggage - which would be nice to avoid). I have been under an extreme amount of stress lately, so I might need someone to hold my hand on this vacation...ie: i don't really want to rent a car and drive - especially since I can't drive a stick shift, i want horseback riding and canopy tour to be easy but nice and simple to arrange.
How did we pick Liberia? Well, keep in mind I want easy - NO stress please. So I simply went on travelnet and checked almost every international destination out of atlanta outbound on june 11 and returning june 14. Liberia looks to be the easiest with 17 in bus and 94 in coach on the outbound, 24 in bus and 48 in coach on the return. Dubai looked ok, but I doubt hubby would do it. Maybe Montego Bay (bus class wide open all day long), but Liberia sounds better.
SO...and recommendations? We've never been to Costa Rica, and I'm sure this will not be our only visit.

Liberia is a beautiful place to stay! Might want to look into perx.com and find a good deal on an all inclusive resort around the Guanacaste Providence area. For the canopy and the horseback riding I recommend a day trip to Monteverde, which is where the rain forest reserve is located, they also have hanging bridges that take you above the tree lines and give you a expectacular view of the forest, the vegetation and its animals.

I also recommend a quick volcano tour, there are many in Costa Rica, so you choose which one. Liberia is defenetly a great choice, consedering that the flight is so quick.

Perx offers the All Inclusive Allegro Papagayo 3.5 Star Hotel for 52Dollars per person per night! So the three nights will run you about 312 Dollars for all meals, drinks and accomodations!

Perx.com by Interline Vacations - Resorts - Central America - Costa Rica - Occ Allegro Papagayo

Here is some info on Monteverde and the canopy tours as well as the horseback tours:

Monteverde Costa Rica Cloud Forest - info / maps / Hotels / Rainforest


Have Fun, let me know if need any more help!!!

you can book the same resort at some interline agencies w/no fees--it really is an exceptional buy off-season.
we did a few yrs ago and I will gladly pass a PM about a sister resort near the Arenal volcano/forest are and you can book direct w/out any agency
We booked a really cheap rental car (still ahve to pay for mandatory insurance) but get a manual compact and it's cheaper than the transfers
I'd love to get more recent details from you, please. We'd like to graduate to the Occidental Grand next time, but like you said, the Allegro is such a good value for an AI.
The zipline at Witches Rock (only 5 minutes from teh resort) is one of the best offered on that coastal area. LIR is SOOOOO convenient.

snorkelmomma--I will send you the link to book direct tomorrow

can you pass me the link as well please! I'd apreciate it!

But please remember, driving in Costa Rica is nothing like driving in the U.S.A, and buses are used by everyone to get around, they are also very economical. I go to Costa Rica every three months and the buses are my favorite form of transportation.

Also If you like from Liberia there are buses to Nicaragua If you like to make a day trip up there.

the drive to Allegro Papagayo is only 30 minutes from LIR

If they can get cheap transfer/taxi--so much the better--but if they want ot go elsewhere that;s another cost added on RT

oh yeah--I agree about driving in otehr parts of the country-would not be my choice!!

I'll get that PM out tomorrow

CO flies to Liberia. Out of Houston. (IAH) Never been to Liberia but I've been to GUANACASTE which borders Nicaragua many years ago. (1974) I think Liberia is in the province of Guanacaste. Lots of neat history there. Did you know that WILLIAM WALKER tried to invade Costa Rica via Guanacaste and got beat back? This when he was self imposed President of Nicaragua back in the day, 1840's when eventually he was killed in Honduras after ship running aground. I happened to see his burial place by accident when my ship pulled into Puerto Castilla near Trujillo. He was shot by firing squad. I'm more recently familiar with San Jose, Alajuela area of Costa Rica. CR is a great place.

Thanks everyone!
Ok, so perx quote (after contacting directly) for Occ Allegro Papagayo ended up at $380, RT transfers at $120, canopy tour at $200 ($100 pp), horseback at $70 ($35 pp). But the warnings about sea urchins from trip advisor reviews scared me off. Sorry, I"m a sissy. I once swam at Olympic speeds in Barbados when I found myself lost in a swarm of jellyfish. Almost everyone got stung multiple times - except for me. I'm been scared ever since. When pregnant in Hawaii I was trying to get out of the water after snorkeling, only to find sea urchins covering the rocks that I needed to use to climb out...that and the hard waves sent me into a panic and I started having contractions...thankfully it was a busy spot and two wonderfully helpful scuba divers helped me out (hubby was taking care of 2 yr old in a different area). So the slightest chance of sea urchins shut down my hopes for Occ All Papa. Considered The Sanctuary from luxurylink ($500 for 5 nights) but then realized I'd have to do the guarnateed dates things, for more $$. (Plus transportation...although horseback and canopy are included I believe). Ended up booking the 3rd floor as Casabombora (vrbo.com - 40+ great reviews) for $80 per night, $150 for canopy/horseback pick up/drop off from the front door w/pura aventura, and just chilling at the pool and waterfall. RT transportation from LIR $36 (total for 2 people). Basically up the hill by Tamarindo. If hubby gets brave maybe we'll rent a car next time, but if not then I can't take advantage of the cheap manuals cause I can't drive them. (Not for a lack of trying!!! Just ask my siblings! And my dad who got stuck with my tiny Omni while I got his Taurus!) I can see we'll have to be taking another trip back to Costa Rica.
Mrs767er - please do send the PM w/the direct book info! I'll plan on using it next visit!
Usndario - what luck you have! Visiting CR every 3 months?! I'll have to ask you more questions in advance next time we plan a trip to CR!
I'll post again after we return! Leaving for CR on friday morning - fingers crossed please! It sure would be nice to sit in business class again! Flying with two little children for years in coach is getting old. :)

All you needed was a nice pair of aqua shoes. Never saw anything in the water but little fishes. It's hardly a big swimming area because all the beaches right there are coarse dark sand and it's almost like a lake (being a small gulf)
they actually have a few light sand beaches which are probably artifically created w/trucked in sand. Your zipline wil prob be very crowded on wkend.
Great deal on bus transfers--what';s the link for that service please?
You will have such a goooooood time.

"Considered The Sanctuary from luxurylink ($500 for 5 nights) but then realized I'd have to do the guarnateed dates things, for more $$. (Plus transportation...although horseback and canopy are included I believe)."
that's a nice deal Momma, but you could have bought the auction. All you have to do is contact the hotel first, ask about dates open--if yours are, buy it and then have LL Concierge make the res for you. They have a direct toll-free line listed for the hotel on the LL offer page. I also go to the website and if they have real-time res booking, see what sort of rooms are available for my dates. I have never had a problem getting exactly what i want if I communicate w/hotel beforehand. I recently bought 2 pkgs at different times to use back to back--with the hotel's blessing, they held the extra 2 nts room until I secured the second auction.
Looks like you did some good homework and you deserve a fabulous reward!! AND your flights look super for biz class--woohoo!

Do what I do when I visit Acapulco. Just swim in the pool. Much cleaner, no sand to mess with, drinks not too far away, shade everywhere so you don't get sun blasted and nothing wild lurking below. If you want nice clean water, go to the Caribbean side, like Cancun, Cozumel, or Atlantic side, in Costa Rica which is really the Caribbean. I wouldn't look for no surprises on the Pacific coast for clear blue waters and sandy beaches. Mostly, the Pac side in Central America, and Mexico is quite turbulent and rough waves.

Palms--the resorts Snorkelmom is comparing are all on the Gulf Of Papagayo-it's really a small gulf--I doubt you could find a wave even if you had a beach full of politicians and beauty queens!
(I couldn't resist!!)

The Gulf may offer protection SOME OF THE TIME but not ALL OF THE TIME. Why did they move NOMBRE DE DIOS to PORTOBELLO? Because Nombre De Dios was a great port but OPEN to the sea in rough weather destroying many ships on Panama's Caribbean side when hurricanes to the north brewed up the seas. Portobello offered a better protection from the sea. Check out the GULF of PAPAGAYO link. It looks quite open to the sea to me. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gu...agayo_NASA.jpg

So, still waiting to see how the trip went? Please let us know. I might plan a trip to that area once I get my passport back, off to get renewed.Tony