Costa Rica for the Physically Challenged

[tarheelmjfan]

We will be stopping in Limon in Oct. I'm having a hard time finding something to do. I have back & knee problems, so tours requiring a lot of physical activity are out. I'm also acrophobic, which excludes the aerial tram & ziplines. We're not really into animals, so going to the Jaguar Rescue Center or any other attraction focusing on animals doesn't interest us. We also don't want to see a banana plantation. I know it sounds like we're impossible to please. Really we're not. I've never had such a hard time finding something I can physically do that we're interested in at any port. We'd love to see a volcano, but it appears they're all too far from Limon. We enjoy history & culture. Any suggestions for seeing Limon, Costa Rica with our limitations? Thanks in advance. :)

[Loonbeam]

Unfortunately, Costa Rica is primarily known for Rainforests, Fruit and Animals so the vast majority of activities focus on those.

 

You might consider a Tortugera Canal cruise. Yes, its animal spotting but the boat ride can be nice as well. JJ does a nice and reasonably priced package that includes the canal, yes, a banana plantation, a coffee bean farm and some shopping, and if you get a group he can work with you to customize.

 

 

 

We will be stopping in Limon in Oct. I'm having a hard time finding something to do. I have back & knee problems, so tours requiring a lot of physical activity are out. I'm also acrophobic, which excludes the aerial tram & ziplines. We're not really into animals, so going to the Jaguar Rescue Center or any other attraction focusing on animals doesn't interest us. We also don't want to see a banana plantation. I know it sounds like we're impossible to please. Really we're not. I've never had such a hard time finding something I can physically do that we're interested in at any port. We'd love to see a volcano, but it appears they're all too far from Limon. We enjoy history & culture. Any suggestions for seeing Limon, Costa Rica with our limitations? Thanks in advance. :)

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks for the info. That's what I have found. It seems Limon, Costa Rica isn't a good fit for our particular needs & preferences. I'd like to see the island & take a cruise on the canal, without having to tour the other areas & shop. When I'm not feeling well, the last thing I want to do is shop & visit areas I'm not that interested in to begin with. If I'm having a great, health day, it isn't a big deal. Unfortunately, that's not predictable in advance, so I like to plan for the worst case scenario. Thanks again for your help. :)

[Loonbeam]

I'd contact JJ. Perhaps he could arrange something where you would meet up with another group at the canal via Taxi if one is available. He seemed pretty flexible.

 

Thanks for the info. That's what I have found. It seems Limon, Costa Rica isn't a good fit for our particular needs & preferences. I'd like to see the island & take a cruise on the canal, without having to tour the other areas & shop. When I'm not feeling well, the last thing I want to do is shop & visit areas I'm not that interested in to begin with. If I'm having a great, health day, it isn't a big deal. Unfortunately, that's not predictable in advance, so I like to plan for the worst case scenario. Thanks again for your help. :)

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks again for the help.:) Do you have JJ's contact info? I can contact him/her to see what they offer.

 

Since we've already booked the Canal & Locks transit & have several places we want to visit in Cartagena, we've decided Limon may be the port where we go with the minimum. It doesn't look like it's a good place to get off the ship & walk around either though. My DH is all for staying on the ship, but I want to at least get off to say I've been to Costa Rica. Of course, we know who'll win. ;) I'm glad I have a few months to figure this out. :D As I said before, I've never had such a hard time deciding what to do at a port stop as I have with Limon.

[Loonbeam]

There's nothing near the port other than some local shopping 9some nice stuff though, especially carved wood)

 

Here's JJ's site, his email is on it. http://jjcostarica.bravehost.com/tour.html

 

Note that he only responds to email in between tours so don't expect an immediate response...

 

Thanks again for the help.:) Do you have JJ's contact info? I can contact him/her to see what they offer.

 

Since we've already booked the Canal & Locks transit & have several places we want to visit in Cartagena, we've decided Limon may be the port where we go with the minimum. It doesn't look like it's a good place to get off the ship & walk around either though. My DH is all for staying on the ship, but I want to at least get off to say I've been to Costa Rica. Of course, we know who'll win. ;) I'm glad I have a few months to figure this out. :D As I said before, I've never had such a hard time deciding what to do at a port stop as I have with Limon.

[swedish weave]

Thanks again for the help.:) Do you have JJ's contact info? I can contact him/her to see what they offer.

 

Since we've already booked the Canal & Locks transit & have several places we want to visit in Cartagena, we've decided Limon may be the port where we go with the minimum. It doesn't look like it's a good place to get off the ship & walk around either though. My DH is all for staying on the ship, but I want to at least get off to say I've been to Costa Rica. Of course, we know who'll win. ;) I'm glad I have a few months to figure this out. :D As I said before, I've never had such a hard time deciding what to do at a port stop as I have with Limon.

 

I will offer a suggestion that has worked very well for us in the past.

 

Go through the ships tours and write down the things from the various tours that you feel you can do (and want to do). When you get to Limon, find an English speaking taxi driver and present him with the list and ask---How much of this can we do? How long will it take? How much will it cost?

 

You may have to adjust the list to fit the time and price, but you will get to do the things that you want and can handle.

[tarheelmjfan]

There's nothing near the port other than some local shopping 9some nice stuff though, especially carved wood)

 

Here's JJ's site, his email is on it. http://jjcostarica.bravehost.com/tour.html

 

Note that he only responds to email in between tours so don't expect an immediate response...

 

Thanks for the link. :)

 

I will offer a suggestion that has worked very well for us in the past.

 

Go through the ships tours and write down the things from the various tours that you feel you can do (and want to do). When you get to Limon, find an English speaking taxi driver and present him with the list and ask---How much of this can we do? How long will it take? How much will it cost?

 

You may have to adjust the list to fit the time and price, but you will get to do the things that you want and can handle.

 

We've never tried that. Should it be easy to find an English speaking taxi driver? I would have thought they'd be rare, & never would have thought to even try this. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Loonbeam]

I didn't see as many taxis at Limon as I did elsewhere (lots of 'tour vendors' hawking options). That said, most of the people we interacted with spoke some level of English if not better than some Americans so it might be worth a shot.

 

That said, for a Canal trip, I don't know if you can just go somewhere and hop on a boat..

 

Thanks for the link. :)

 

 

 

We've never tried that. Should it be easy to find an English speaking taxi driver? I would have thought they'd be rare, & never would have thought to even try this. Thanks for the suggestion.

[tarheelmjfan]

I didn't see as many taxis at Limon as I did elsewhere (lots of 'tour vendors' hawking options). That said, most of the people we interacted with spoke some level of English if not better than some Americans so it might be worth a shot.

 

That said, for a Canal trip, I don't know if you can just go somewhere and hop on a boat..

 

Thanks again for all your help. :) Do you happen to know what is within walking distance of the pier? We may just get off & walk around for as long as I feel up to it.

[Loonbeam]

Other than some vendor stalls nothing really once you get about 2 blocks away from the pier, at that point its industrial buildings and a run down residential area.

 

Thanks again for all your help. :) Do you happen to know what is within walking distance of the pier? We may just get off & walk around for as long as I feel up to it.