# Costa Rica Resort Question



## 3kids4me

There is a new resort in RCI called:

Breeze Private Residences Club (D930)

Carrillo,GUANACASTE


I realize it's new so no one here will have stayed in it - but does anyone have any thoughts on the area, or perhaps know if this is a renamed old resort?

Thanks!!


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## gnorth16

http://breezecostarica.com/


The place looks nice. If I didn't have Xmas 2015 booked for Cabo, I would book it since my parents aren't to far away in San Ramone.


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## Seaport104

I have been to that area of Costa Rica a few times so am familiar with the resort. This seems to be the new timeshare portion of Pacifico Resorts. Pacifico Resorts were built around 8 years ago so the development itself isn't new, just the timeshare portion. If it's like the condos, they are nicely equipped and furnished. 

The downside is not on the beach but it is a nice central location with lots of shops and restaurants in walking distance. I assume the timeshare guests will also have access to the beach club. It is in the town Playa del Coco if you want to research tripadvisor to get an idea of the town.

Here is the website to the development-

http://www.pacifico-costarica.com/photo-gallery/


The beach is ok, beach at Playa Hermosa the next town over is much better. In RCI, there is Condovac (not as nice and upscale) which is non all inclusive and Villas Sol which is now AI mandatory.


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## mtm65

Seaport104 said:


> I have been to that area of Costa Rica a few times so am familiar with the resort. This seems to be the new timeshare portion of Pacifico Resorts. Pacifico Resorts were built around 8 years ago so the development itself isn't new, just the timeshare portion. If it's like the condos, they are nicely equipped and furnished.
> 
> The downside is not on the beach but it is a nice central location with lots of shops and restaurants in walking distance. I assume the timeshare guests will also have access to the beach club. It is in the town Playa del Coco if you want to research tripadvisor to get an idea of the town.
> 
> Here is the website to the development-
> 
> http://www.pacifico-costarica.com/photo-gallery/
> 
> 
> The beach is ok, beach at Playa Hermosa the next town over is much better. In RCI, there is Condovac (not as nice and upscale) which is non all inclusive and Villas Sol which is now AI mandatory.




Agree with Seaport104's points.  We stayed at a private condo last April and had a great time in the area.  We did not like the beach and drove to Playa Hermosa and other beaches.  We rented a car and would recommend you do the same.  There are adventure parks in the Liberia area which offer horseback riding, ziplining, tubing, etc. which are a lot of fun.   If you go, check out Java 654 on the other side of town, we really enjoyed the iced coffee.  You can head to the next beach south and have a meal on the beach at Father Rooster's, you won't be disappointed.

We would go back in a heartbeat!


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## Seaport104

mtm65 said:


> We would go back in a heartbeat!



I second that! Actually, after checking out the TPU's in RCI for the resort (less than 20), I might actually stay at Breezes/Pacifico since it's such a bargain rather than our previous stays of renting a condo/villa! Costa Rica is for enjoying the tons of outdoor activities and the nature so not having a beachfront location isn't a necessity for a CR trip. 

Thanks to the OP for posting the question and the new resort in RCI :whoopie:


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## 3kids4me

Thanks very much for the input! I have a unit for next Christmas!

How was it to rent a car?  I sort of viewed renting a car in CR to be sort of like renting one in Mexico - where one might have to worry about "pricing issues" at the rental place or at gas stations.  I was sort of hoping a car wouldn't be needed but sounds like it's important.  Any tips for this would be appreciated!  (For example, did you get a GPS with the car and if so, I'm assuming that you need to remove it and carry it with you when you go somewhere?)

Thank you again!


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## ronandjoan

3kids4me said:


> Thanks very much for the input! I have a unit for next Christmas!
> 
> How was it to rent a car?  I sort of viewed renting a car in CR to be sort of like renting one in Mexico - where one might have to worry about "pricing issues" at the rental place or at gas stations.  I was sort of hoping a car wouldn't be needed but sounds like it's important.  Any tips for this would be appreciated!  (For example, did you get a GPS with the car and if so, I'm assuming that you need to remove it and carry it with you when you go somewhere?)
> 
> Thank you again!


Our very best vacation was in Costa Rica.  We stayed in a vrbo property's in Samara. 

We would never consider rentng a car.... We would have never found our way  from. Liberia and there were so many animals and people on the narrow roads , we would have not been able to enjoy the scenery, we would have been constantly concentrating on driving.


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## mtm65

3kids4me said:


> Thanks very much for the input! I have a unit for next Christmas!
> 
> How was it to rent a car?  I sort of viewed renting a car in CR to be sort of like renting one in Mexico - where one might have to worry about "pricing issues" at the rental place or at gas stations.  I was sort of hoping a car wouldn't be needed but sounds like it's important.  Any tips for this would be appreciated!  (For example, did you get a GPS with the car and if so, I'm assuming that you need to remove it and carry it with you when you go somewhere?)
> 
> Thank you again!



Our travel agent recommended renting a car.  I do not speak any Spanish other than what I have learned from cd's in the car while driving.  I was very apprehensive but took the TA's advice.

We rented a Toyota 4 wheel drive from Avis.  I only took the mandatory insurances.  I did not take the optional insurances.  We rented a GPS for two of the nine days we were there.

I had researched the areas we were traveling very thoroughly and the condo owner gave us some advice also.  There are some youtube videos of driving in CR, Playa del Coco and on the International highway.  After watching the videos and studying the area, I felt that I could drive without too much concern.

Most of the driving in the Playa del Coco area was on paved roads.  Some roads were on the narrow side.  Yes, you will encounter people and animals walking on the side of the road.  I adopted a very laid back attitude while driving and had no problems.  The route from the airport to PDC is simple.  I did not need a GPS to get around the Playa del Coco area.

Our TA booked our flights for us and was able to get a better flight deal if we bought a package that included one night at the Monteverde Cloud Forest.  We chose to travel out to Monteverde for two days/one night.  This was very adventuresome and I would not recommend a drive to the cloud forest for the faint of heart.  We were on stone and dirt roads for nearly two hours.  Many had washout ruts and the roads were very windy on the side of the mountains.  However, having our own car allowed us to visit some of the local towns for a meal and to stop along the way to really enjoy the scenery.  We are a blend of conservative and adventurous when traveling and I would rate the drive around an 8 on a scale of 10 (10 very adventurous).  I would do it again because the cloud forest was absolutely beautiful.

We did not leave anything in plain sight when we parked the car.  Put everything under the seats or in an enclosed storage area in the back.  We avoided any shady looking areas and did not have any theft issues.

Although we walked to most of the Playa del Coco shops and restaurants, we drove to the beaches we liked the most.

You will need a car to get the most out of the Playa del Coca area.

If you have more questions, please feel free to ask.  We will gladly help.  If you would like some adventure, there are a couple of somewhat secluded beaches that the locals frequent that are worth finding


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## 3kids4me

We are saving so much by staying in timeshare that I wouldn't mind hiring a driver for our trip. RonandJoan - is that what you did?

Thanks again for all of the input!


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## ronandjoan

3kids4me said:


> We are saving so much by staying in timeshare that I wouldn't mind hiring a driver for our trip. RonandJoan - is that what you did?
> 
> Thanks again for all of the input!



We had a shuttle van from the airport, almost 1 1/2 hour to our beach town -- and we could walk the many places we wanted to go.  When we went to other places, we took the bus, which stop was right at the end of our street.

To go and see the turtle nesting, etc, we took a tour, again in a van......about a 2 hour trip through DIRT roads - glad we weren't driving that trip.

All recommended by our condo owners, who were so helpful and the transportation tours were by local companies,

more info

http://ronandjoanjourney.blogspot.com/2012_10_01_archive.html


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## ronandjoan

mtm65 said:


> Our travel agent recommended renting a car.



Travel agents seem to like recommending renting a car.  When we went to Italy this spring, the agent kept saying OVER and OVER -- "I think you should rent a car."

Again, we are soooo  glad we did not,.  Once we learned the train system, it was great (granted there was a learning curve to learn it!)  But parking would have been a nightmare...and the trains generally stop at every village....


We did rent a car in Normandy, which worked out perfectly since we wanted to go to the beaches ourselves rather than relying on where a tour night want to .. and parking there was easy.


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## mtm65

ronandjoan said:


> Travel agents seem to like recommending renting a car.  When we went to Italy this spring, the agent kept saying OVER and OVER -- "I think you should rent a car."
> 
> Again, we are soooo  glad we did not,.  Once we learned the train system, it was great (granted there was a learning curve to learn it!)  But parking would have been a nightmare...and the trains generally stop at every village....
> 
> 
> We did rent a car in Normandy, which worked out perfectly since we wanted to go to the beaches ourselves rather than relying on where a tour night want to .. and parking there was easy.



I don't think it is right to generalize travel agents that way.  A knowledgeable TA is a great asset.  I have developed a good relationship with our travel agent and do appreciate his recommendations.  He has advised against a rental car for some of our trips so when he made the recommendation to have one, I took his suggestion seriously.  And I agree he was right for us, maybe not everyone is interested in driving in CR.

I do think you are comparing your trip to Samara to Playa del Coco which are obviously different areas.  PDC is less than 45 minutes from the Liberia airport.  The roads are all paved from the airport to the resort being discussed.  Parking at the resort will not be an issue.  The resort is not very close to the beach club.  I would not want to walk between the two during the hot part of the day.  I would prefer not to rely on a shuttle (assuming a shuttle is available).  A trip to Playa Hermosa would be on paved roads and an easy drive also.

My travel agent was absolutely correct (in my opinion) in recommending a rental car.  We would have missed out on several of the local experiences we had.  A tour bus would not have stopped at the market for some of the best pineapple and cantaloupe I have every had.  We ate at several local sodas with excellent CR food and an authentic atmosphere.  The rental car gave us the flexibility for an experience we enjoyed.

The decision to drive in another country needs to be made by the OP.  As BB posters, we should try to give as much factual information so a wise decision can be made.  I hope I have done so.  RonandJoan have more life experience than we do and move travel experience than we do.  However, we have been to PDC and plan to return someday.  We will rent a car again without a second thought about it.


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## Seaport104

3kids4me said:


> We are saving so much by staying in timeshare that I wouldn't mind hiring a driver for our trip. RonandJoan - is that what you did?
> 
> Thanks again for all of the input!



We did both our all our Costa Rica trips. To fully experience or see certain locations in Costa Rica, you really need a driver or a tour guide. For example, driving to Arenal or Monteverde (for best ziplines, volcano, hot springs, hiking/rapelling in the rainforest), seeing the giant leatherback turtles nest onshore in the more southern part of CR and even some of the sights closer to Playa del Coco (PDC)/Guanacaste region,  you need to know where you are going since there are very little signs and/or dirt roads. 

To go to the neighboring towns from PDC, it is quite easy with a rental car and as long as you are not going during rainy season (Aug-Oct), you can get by with a car. Literally, there is one road that goes along that coast and you just get off the road to the little towns. Also minimizes the hassle of getting a taxi for each run to the grocery store, allowed us to go into Liberia to get groceries at the main supermarket and jut drive around to enjoy the scenery.

What we did was we booked private tours which was not a lot more or at times the same cost as booking a group tour. The private tour included a private driver and tour guide for the day. Having the private tours allowed us to experience things on our schedule and we were able to stop at local places along the way. 

I highly recommend Avispa's Adventures. Used them for all 3 of trips to Costa Rica. They are highly rated in tripadvisor.


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## Seaport104

mtm65 said:


> I do think you are comparing your trip to Samara to Playa del Coco which are obviously different areas.  PDC is less than 45 minutes from the Liberia airport.  The roads are all paved from the airport to the resort being discussed.  Parking at the resort will not be an issue.  The resort is not very close to the beach club.  I would not want to walk between the two during the hot part of the day.  I would prefer not to rely on a shuttle (assuming a shuttle is available).  A trip to Playa Hermosa would be on paved roads and an easy drive also...



Agree- Playa Samara is very different from Playa del Coco. Samara is about 3-4 hour drive from Liberia airport (might be more since I've not gone down the coast of CR that far) while Playa del Coco is 45 minutes tops and all on paved roads. 

If you were going to Samara, I would agree to Joan in that you're better off with a private transfer and rent a car from there. But Playa del Coco is a very easy drive. 

Everyone's comfort level of driving in a foreign country is different. I am always hesistant to and felt very comfortable in CR. 



mtm65 said:


> My travel agent was absolutely correct (in my opinion) in recommending a rental car.  We would have missed out on several of the local experiences we had.  A tour bus would not have stopped at the market for some of the best pineapple and cantaloupe I have every had.  We ate at several local sodas with excellent CR food and an authentic atmosphere.  The rental car gave us the flexibility for an experience we enjoyed..



This is exactly why we opted for the private tours. It allowed us to have local experiences and the driver also gave us tips on where to go with our rental car  Both really maximized our experiences and still remains as one of best vacations.


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## 3kids4me

Can anyone tell me about the weather in December?  One of my kids has some health issues and is very heat sensitive and I see that it can be in the 90s there.  I understand humidity is not that high but I don't have a good handle on what that really means from a "feel the heat" standpoint.  It looks like it's a touch cooler in the summer, but the whole idea is to go somewhere warm during the winter.

Thanks for any input on this!


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## Seaport104

3kids4me said:


> Can anyone tell me about the weather in December?  One of my kids has some health issues and is very heat sensitive and I see that it can be in the 90s there.  I understand humidity is not that high but I don't have a good handle on what that really means from a "feel the heat" standpoint.  It looks like it's a touch cooler in the summer, but the whole idea is to go somewhere warm during the winter.
> 
> Thanks for any input on this!



December is the start of dry season so although in the 90's it is low humidity and not a constant 90's and will not be as hot as Feb-April. December is perfect in that there is no rain but the scenery is still very green from the rainy season.


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## 3kids4me

Thanks Seaport - appreciated!  90s usually scares me a little.


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## gnorth16

*I called for More Info...*

So it is contained within the Pacifico development of condos, townhouses and homes with some small businesses.  The TS is located about 1/2 a mile from the beach but there is a scheduled shuttle that will pick up/drop off every two hours.  Use of the beach club is included for all TS guests, just as if you owned within the complex.  

http://www.pacifico-costarica.com/ 

The entire complex looks very nice and the condos and townhouses look reasonably priced!   I have a week on hold for my parents in February and if they decide to use it, I will get pictures and a detailed review of the TS.


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## 3kids4me

Thanks gnorth! Hope it works out for your parents.  I'm excited about the exchange but it will be nice to get some TUG tips before we go.

My confirmation says "L" on it which I'm assuming means the "Lifestyle Condos" but not sure of course!


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## gnorth16

My parents didn't take me up on the offer of a free 2BR/2BA for a week!!!  They have been to the area several times and wanted to explore a different part of the coast.  

If the week was earlier I would fly down to get out of this deep freeze, but it overlaps with an existing trip with the family to Florida.


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## 3kids4me

I got some information from the resort for anyone interested:

-------------------------------------
We are a very new Project in Pacifico, Playas del Coco. We have full equipped rooms, located just ½ mile from the beach, and walking distance to supermarkets, restaurants and all kind of services, and with full access to our Exclusive Beach Club.  

There is place for parking your car, and all the swimming pools are really close to the units.

We are located 20 minutes away from the Daniel Oduber Airport in Liberia (LIB), and we provide free shuttle service from the airport to the property.

We have a snack bar in the main pool of the property, that also offers room Service, at the Beach Club also there is restaurant.

As a Residence Club, we have a Sales presentation, but it is not mandatory, just if the guests want to join us.   (NOTE - I asked about this - it was not mentioned "out of the blue.)

------------------------------

Hope this is helpful.


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## MaryH

I was in Costa Rica over new years 2015 with some university friends and their family and we were over 30 people.  I was one of the ones who voted originally for Costa Rica vs cruise after some other friends raved about their trip(s) there.  Our trip was organized by a travel agent due to the size of size. 

They left 5 days before on Dec 26th but I had some family stuff on so could not join them for the 1st part of the trip and flew Dec 31 to San Jose and took a shuttle to Tamarindo in Guanacaste.  In Tamarindo, we were split between a rental villa and a small hotel run by a french woman.  I think timeshare could give you more comfort and some eat in meals. 

I missed the portions that covered Arenal including 
 * ARENAL SKYTRAM & SKY TREK + LA FORTUNA WATERFALL + DANAUS BIOLOGICAL RESERVE
 * ARENAL VOLCANO LAVA FLOW & NATURE HIKE + ARENAL VIDA CAMPESINA ORGANIC FARM + ECOTERMALES HOT SPRINGS 
 * HELICONIAS HANGING BRIDGES

Many of my friends raved about the first part of the trip and so I think a car would be very useful if not necessary if you want to do more than lie on the beach.  

Local ground transport to Tamarindo was $50 from SJO but there was 2-3 pick up, transfer or drop off points on mine which added 1-2 hrs. I think private transfer was $200-300 from SJO for Tamarindo.   But economically a rental car would give you more flexibility and likely be less expansive. 

You should fly to Liberia LIR from what you wrote last.  I could not get the LIR schedule to work for me on Dec. 31 since the local flight SJO-LIR showed no space being available.  I think Jetblue and United fly directly there from NYC (I think JFK and EWR respectively).  Be prepared for expansive flights over the holidays.  With the free shuttle from LIB maybe you only need a rental car for a few days rather than the whole week.  Or maybe you can tag on a few days in addition to the TS..

It was pretty hot but humidity was reasonably vs New Orleans's high humidity on my 1st trip on a Labour day weekend.

If you have more questions, PM me for my personal email..


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## JackieD

3kids4me said:


> Thanks very much for the input! I have a unit for next Christmas!
> 
> How was it to rent a car?  I sort of viewed renting a car in CR to be sort of like renting one in Mexico - where one might have to worry about "pricing issues" at the rental place or at gas stations.  I was sort of hoping a car wouldn't be needed but sounds like it's important.  Any tips for this would be appreciated!  (For example, did you get a GPS with the car and if so, I'm assuming that you need to remove it and carry it with you when you go somewhere?)
> 
> Thank you again!



Rehashing an old post--How did your stay go at the Breeze Private Residence? I will be staying there in June.  Did you end up renting a car or hire drivers? Did you fly in and out of Liberia?

Thanks!


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## Conan

I have a pretty ambitious itinerary planned for next year that ends with a week at Breezes.

We fly Newark to San Jose on a Monday morning, and stay three nights at Monte Verde Lodge in the cloud forest.
http://www.monteverdelodge.com/

Then we transfer to a three-night stay at Hotel Silencio del Campo in Arenal.
http://www.hotelsilenciodelcampo.com/eng/index.html

And then to Breezes Private Residences on Sunday for a six-night stay, and we fly home Liberia to Newark.

The flights each way are non-stop on United, and it looks like fares have fallen since we bought our tickets some months ago. Maybe Zika is keeping people away?

If anybody has any tips or advice, I'm all ears!


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## Lazz

I read on _Tripadvisor _forums that you have to pay a pretty good sum of money for things like the Beach Club and Maid service  if you do not attend the timeshare presentation. It was also stated that the presentation can go on for over 2.5 hours. Can anyone provide anymore information on this?  Also, we if we prefer to do our own cooking, is their a grocery store nearby?


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## brownhaired_girl

Additional Information

The resort is not on the beach but has access to a Beach Club. Mandatory Fee for access to the Beach Club US$70 per person, per week. Fee must be paid at Resort front desk. **Beach Club closes every year during the month of October for renovations** Contact Customer Service at info@breezecostarica.com
Restrictions: This resort can only be confirmed once every four years. No consecutive and/or multiple reservations allowed. These rules are strictly enforced.
Housekeeping is only on Wednesdays (towels, change of sheets, dishes are not washed) but there is an additional cost if you require daily housekeeping.
The GYM has an additional fee of US$8.00 per person, per day, or US$30.00 per person, per week.
- See more at: http://www.rci.com/resort-directory...sortDtls&resortCode=D930#sthash.ObzsTiMk.dpuf

I have read that you will want to print and take your RCI information to get this price.
Looking on Google maps there are at least 2 supermarkets within walking distance, one being right outside the gates.  
I have also read that if you go to the timeshare tour you get wifi but the code may be printed on the outside of the in room safe. 
We will be there from Jan 22-29 and still looking for any information I can get.


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## Egret1986

Heading to Guanacaste area of CR in a little over a month.  I booked Villas Sol Hotel and Beach Resort (Playa Hermosa area) about a year ago.  It has the #1 spot on TUG Reviews right now.  Someone posted incredible availability for RCI Extra Vacations at Breezes Residences (Playa del Coco area) and I put a unit on hold for my dates tonight.  It's so new and so highly rated, I thought I might opt for the 2BR for $278/week.

However, comparing the pros and cons of the two areas and resorts, I'm not sure but think that I might keep the Villas Sol.  I've even considered keeping both and stay at each for half the week to enjoy both areas.  However, the fact that we'll only be in the area for one week makes that seem like overkill.  Plus, Breezes is 1-in-4 and I don't want to waste a stay there for a partial week.

The pros for Villas Sol is that it's more of a resort with activities, there are views of the Gulf of Papagayo from the units, the beach area is better, and the all inclusive is optional.

The pros of Breezes is that it has new units and is near lots of shopping and restaurants.  However, the units are garden view and there are no planned activities.  The Beach Club and maid service would be extra.  We have no intentions of participating in a timeshare tour.

We tend to do a lot of "spinning around" when we go somewhere new, and decided not to rent a car.  We decided to just book several tours (either private or group) for our exploring.  We want to get the most out of this one week by seeing and doing lots of stuff.  After reading this thread, I'm still not sure that opting out of a car rental is the way to go.  However, wasting time getting lost and not seeing and doing is also a concern.

We're flying into and out of Liberia.  There were two fairly recent reviews on TUG for Villas Sol that were excellent.  Has anyone stayed there recently that hasn't submitted a review?  3Kids4Me, did you go to Breezes?  How was the trip?   Seaport104, you posted lots of great info; thanks!  Breezes only has two TUG reviews, but RCI had 38 and they were all good.

I'm open to anyone's additional experiences or opinions to help me with making some decisions.  It's right around the corner.


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## brownhaired_girl

We are at Breeze now. Our confirmation was a year ago and said $50/room/week for the beach club. I contacted them beforehand and the asked me to print off the confirmation and they honored that. The wifi in the room was very disappointing but it was good and free by the pool. 


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## Lazz

Thanks for the information.  Can you comment on the timeshare presentation?  Was it required to eliminate any fees?  How long did it last?


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## Egret1986

brownhaired_girl said:


> We are at Breeze now. Our confirmation was a year ago and said $50/room/week for the beach club. I contacted them beforehand and the asked me to print off the confirmation and they honored that. The wifi in the room was very disappointing but it was good and free by the pool.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
> 
> Last edited: 2 minutes ago
> Today at 10:55 AMEditDeleteReport
> + QuoteReply



Heading to another resort in Playa Hermosa in a few days.  We are first time visitors to Costa Rica.  Have you found widespread use of the USD and credit cards outside the resort?  

We are not renting a car, but will be taking several tours during our week's stay.

Tell me about the weather.  I know it's the dry season and it's near the equator.

Have a great one!


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## brownhaired_girl

Hot!!!  US dollars very well accepted. We tried to keep $20 increments.  We were told to use the red taxis with yellow triangle.  We used our credit card at the grocery store.  We used Mainor from Tours Your Way for some transportation and the Monteverde cloud tour.  We couldn't have been happier.   It was more expensive but my mother is 79 and being a private tour we were able to travel at her pace.  We had also made arrangements for Mainor to pick us up at the airport.   It was only about $10 more than the taxi back.  The shops and taxis may have difficulty making change with large bills. 


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## Egret1986

brownhaired_girl said:


> Hot!!!  US dollars very well accepted. We tried to keep $20 increments.  We were told to use the red taxis with yellow triangle.  We used our credit card at the grocery store.  We used Mainor from Tours Your Way for some transportation and the Monteverde cloud tour.  We couldn't have been happier.   It was more expensive but my mother is 79 and being a private tour we were able to travel at her pace.  We had also made arrangements for Mainor to pick us up at the airport.   It was only about $10 more than the taxi back.  The shops and taxis may have difficulty making chance with large bills.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro



Thanks for the info!  We're prepared for HOT!  So the Monteverde Cloud Tour wasn't too long of a day for your mother.  Tours were about 14 hours from Guanacaste.  We pretty much have decided to save that and Arenal for another trip to Costa Rica.  I'd love to hear about your Cloud tour and how the long day worked for everyone.  "We couldn't have been happier" is a pretty glowing trip report.


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## brownhaired_girl

The Monteverde trip was wonderful!!!!   We were picked up at our resort gates at 6:00 am.  It ended up being a 3 hr drive with a couple stops.  The driver saw some howler monkeys in the trees and they pulled over and we took pictures until mom and I decided we were done.  We also stopped to look at some coffee growing areas and coffee beans.  Our guide Ray (Mainor's cousin)  let us take as much time as we wanted at whatever we wanted to do.  Then the second half of the drive was on dirt roads and very hilly, but beautiful.  Ray did a lot of history and teaching during the drive.  He answered questions and seemed to really like teaching about their country.  I had been prepared for it to be hot but I had not realized that with the elevation the temperature would drop.  It was about 60-64 degrees in the cloud forest.  It was very clear so no clouds but an amazing walk through the suspension bridges.  Ray was amazing, there was no time when we ever felt rushed.  He allowed us to travel at a pace that worked for my mother and when she needed to slow down he would look for things to show us in the forest.  I was sooo happy we didn't feel a need to keep up with a group.  After the forest walk we went to the butterfly garden and hummingbird garden.  He showed mom how to hold her hands near the feeder so the hummingbirds would perch on her hands to feed.  After that we were treated to lunch and brought back to our resort.  I think we were back sometime between 4-5 pm so it didn't end up being a full 14 hours (I'm pretty sure Playa Hermosa is just a few miles north of where we were at Playa Del Coco).


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## brownhaired_girl

Lazz said:


> Thanks for the information.  Can you comment on the timeshare presentation?  Was it required to eliminate any fees?  How long did it last?



We didn't go to the presentation.  I had brought my RCI confirmation and paid the $50 for the beach club for us for the week.  That covered the entire room per the confirmation letter.  The beach club was nice but mom and I honestly preferred the pools at the resort.  I declined the housekeeping and was going to pass on the wifi but when I stopped in the office I was told I could get it for $60 for the week.  My niece's teenage daughter really wanted wifi.  The only place the wifi worked in our room was the kitchen and living room area and I lost service many times and had difficulty logging on.  It was good and free down by the pool.


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## Egret1986

brownhaired_girl said:


> The Monteverde trip was wonderful!!!!   We were picked up at our resort gates at 6:00 am.  It ended up being a 3 hr drive with a couple stops.  The driver saw some howler monkeys in the trees and they pulled over and we took pictures until mom and I decided we were done.  We also stopped to look at some coffee growing areas and coffee beans.  Our guide Ray (Mainor's cousin)  let us take as much time as we wanted at whatever we wanted to do.  Then the second half of the drive was on dirt roads and very hilly, but beautiful.  Ray did a lot of history and teaching during the drive.  He answered questions and seemed to really like teaching about their country.  I had been prepared for it to be hot but I had not realized that with the elevation the temperature would drop.  It was about 60-64 degrees in the cloud forest.  It was very clear so no clouds but an amazing walk through the suspension bridges.  Ray was amazing, there was no time when we ever felt rushed.  He allowed us to travel at a pace that worked for my mother and when she needed to slow down he would look for things to show us in the forest.  I was sooo happy we didn't feel a need to keep up with a group.  After the forest walk we went to the butterfly garden and hummingbird garden.  He showed mom how to hold her hands near the feeder so the hummingbirds would perch on her hands to feed.  After that we were treated to lunch and brought back to our resort.  I think we were back sometime between 4-5 pm so it didn't end up being a full 14 hours (I'm pretty sure Playa Hermosa is just a few miles north of where we were at Playa Del Coco).



Thanks for the info!  Sounds great!


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