Costa Rica was great: what's next??? Costa-Rica cruise on Cruise West??? Vulcanos???

[HeinBloed]

Hello from Germany,

 

I know that I should use the search function but now I feel free to be a little "lazy" and to ask.

 

We just returned from a cruise on CELEBRITY EQUINOX and called Puerto Limón.

 

From the places we visited (Grand Cayman, Cartagena, Colón, Roatan and Cozumel) it was the most NATURAL experience we made.

 

My friend gave me already approval to book a new cruise calling a Costa Rica port as he loves vulcanos and heared from our tour guide that you can tour from vulcano to the next. But I am not the vulcano fan... and so I need to find a compromise for both of us...

 

I have now two ideas:

 

I saw on Cruise West a very interesting cruise:

 

http://www.cruisewest.com/panama-costarica-cruises-bts?panama-costarica-cruises

 

Do the places are close enough to any vulcanos that you can see them as shore excursion from the ports???

 

or

 

sould you go on any cruise calling Puntarenas and is this close enough to any vulcano???

 

I found so far one private shore excursion to Poas Volcano:

 

http://www.puertocaldera.net/poasvolcano.html

 

Is this vulcano worth to do the tour or would vulcano experts say: there are "nicer" vulcanos but not close enough to Punotarenas?

 

By the way: some impressions from our tour in Cahuita National Park and Canal of Tortuguero National Park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the links to our tour review and all pictures etc.

 

http://heinbloed-equinox.blogspot.com/2010/01/tag-72-in-puerto-limon-day-72-in-puerto.html

 

http://heinbloed-equinox.blogspot.com/2010/01/tag-73-in-puerto-limon-day-73-in-puerto.html

 

http://heinbloed-equinox.blogspot.com/2010/01/tag-74-in-puerto-limon-day-74-in-puerto.html

 

Can you understand now why we want to have more and need help to plan our next visit in Costa Rica???

 

Thanks for your help to decide.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[kestrel]

Hi HeinBloed,

 

Have you considered a land tour? We had a one-week land trip to Costa Rica several years ago and loved it tremendously. Our trip included:

 

Tortuguero: many boat rides (including an early morning bird-watching tour), hikes

 

Arenal: volcano, hot springs, natural hikes

 

Monteverde: cloud forest, canopy walk, zip-line (loved it!)

 

San Jose: museums

 

I would say the most famous volcanoes in Costa Rica are Arenal and Poas. Arenal: You cannot climb up to see the crater, but you can see smokes, and occasionally red-hot rocks or even lava flows. Poas: You can go close to the crater.

 

BTW, you can also see volcanoes in other Central America countries such as Guatemala or Nicaragua. Many cruises have stops in these two countries.

 

PS: Thanks for your many postings in the European boards. They are very helpful.

[budaman]

You might also check Star Clippers. This November they start weekly cruises that run up & down the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica and Nicaragua or Panama depending on the week. We have booked for Jan.9, 2011. We have taken two other cruises on Star Clippers to Tahiti & the Southern Caribbean and it is an awesome way to explore.

 

Link to Star Clipper: http://www.starclippers.com

 

Many pics in the link in our signature.

 

Mike

[HeinBloed]

I see that I need to see a bookstore and get more information about Costa Rica...

 

Thanks so far for your comments.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[diane.in.ny]

We are also looking at that Cruise West sailing.

 

I have been to CR but my husband hasn't. I was thinking about our doing a week precruise to visit Torteguero and Monteverde.

 

I did my CR trip with GAP Adventures and they have 2 and 3 night independent trips out of San Jose that I'm investigating. There are also trips to Arenal that can be arranged.

[chachi]

I would also recommend a land vacation to Costa Rica. It is a very beautiful and affordable place. They have all inclusive hotels that are cheaper than a cruise and includes alcohol.The tours offered are muych cheaper than other places I have visited.

[HeinBloed]

Thanks everybody.

 

As Cruise West is currently out of our budget we have decided to see the vulcanos of Hawai'i first.

 

So April 2011 on CARNIVAL SPIRIT it's next for vulcano visit.

 

But we will keep an eye on Costa Rica for future cruises and visits.

 

Regards

HeinBloed

[MJC]

Windstar does a great CR cruise along the Pacific coast. We went two days early to see Poas Volcano first, but it was completely cloud covered and we couldn't see the crater. If I did it over I would spend the time to go to Arenal.

 

If you like wilderness, my favorite day was in Corcovado National Park which is only accessible by boat. Truly a beautiful and precious part of the world.