puntarenas, costa rica shore excursions

we are sailing on legend of the seas at the end of february and are looking
for a good shore excursion at puntarenas costa rica. most of the ship
excursions seem to be very long, and we are not interested in that unless it
would be an absolutely must see. any suggestions would be appreciated. TIA
Dave & Lori

If there's a tour that includes a canopy tour, which is sliding on a cable
through the rainforest, then it is definitely worth it. Not the one where
you ride in a cable car through, but the kind where you are hooked to a
cable and allowed to fly through.

It is a major rush!

Sandi

There is very little in Puntarenas, but Costa Rica is pretty
impressive. There are some local vendors in the pier area, but
nothing else for miles. Unless you just want to enjoy the ship that
day we recommend a shore excursion. It is quite warm in the coastal
areas and most tours are necessarily long to get you up in the plateau
around San Jose where about 70,000 Americans live or someplace else
from the only usable port on the west coast of Costa Rica. We took
the San Jose tour our first time there and were duly impressed. Our
second visit was to an active volcano. The trip was long, the volcano
was OK, but probably not worth the long trip.

Hi David,

I recall taking a rafting trip along a river about an hour's drive
northwest of Puntarenas but it was a placid stream and it turned out to
be less than thrilling. In fact, although there were trees and some
howler monkeys and birds, the stream was fed by releasing water from a
reservoir and when one could see above the banks it turned out it was
through farmland. Something less than the rainforest image one
associates with Costa Rica. Monteverde might be a bit too far to really
spend much time there and even San Jose is a rather long ride away.
Maybe you can arrange a small boat or ferry ride across the mouth of the
gulf to the park reserves.

See the following for more suggestions:

http://www.maxpages.com/centralamerica/Puntarenas

Aloha

Dave & Lori,

Well we leave at the end of the month on our Panama Canal cruise (yeah!) on
the Carnival Spirit. One of the stops we are looking forward to is in
Puntarenas Costa Rica. We have always been curious about Costa Rica and now
we get to spend a day there. I see you were going the end of February. How
was it? Any suggestion including restaurants, bars as well as events would
be appreciated.

Also if you had any Mexican stops which did you prefer? ...best place for
shopping?

Thanks john

"David" wrote in message
...
we are sailing on legend of the seas at the end of february and are
looking
for a good shore excursion at puntarenas costa rica. most of the ship
excursions seem to be very long, and we are not interested in that unless
it
would be an absolutely must see. any suggestions would be appreciated. TIA
Dave & Lori

We were on the Dawn Princess last March. We chose the trip to Sarchi.
One had a good view of the countryside and coffee plantations. We
purchased a number of items in Sarchi as well - coffee, wood products
etc.. This was an enjoyable half day tour and we preferred not to spend
the whole day for health reasons (ie. the tour to San Hose).

Punatarenas itself is not a pretty site. Even the Costa Rican tour guide
called it an "ugly town".

Doug

In article , "John in
Georgia" wrote:

Dave & Lori,

Well we leave at the end of the month on our Panama Canal cruise (yeah!) on
the Carnival Spirit. One of the stops we are looking forward to is in
Puntarenas Costa Rica. We have always been curious about Costa Rica and now
we get to spend a day there. I see you were going the end of February. How
was it? Any suggestion including restaurants, bars as well as events would
be appreciated.

Also if you had any Mexican stops which did you prefer? ...best place for
shopping?

Thanks john

"David" wrote in message
...
we are sailing on legend of the seas at the end of february and are
looking
for a good shore excursion at puntarenas costa rica. most of the ship
excursions seem to be very long, and we are not interested in that unless
it
would be an absolutely must see. any suggestions would be appreciated. TIA
Dave & Lori

There is nothing in Puntarenas or near. A few local vendors in the
pier area. Unless you are just going to soak up the sun on the ship a
tour is a requirement. We took the all day tour to San Jose stopping
at Sarchi on the return leg and were very happy. The second time
there we took an all day trip to a volcano that was OK, but most of
the time was spent on the road with maybe an hour at the volcano site.
(Doug) wrote in message ...
We were on the Dawn Princess last March. We chose the trip to Sarchi.
One had a good view of the countryside and coffee plantations. We
purchased a number of items in Sarchi as well - coffee, wood products
etc.. This was an enjoyable half day tour and we preferred not to spend
the whole day for health reasons (ie. the tour to San Hose).

Punatarenas itself is not a pretty site. Even the Costa Rican tour guide
called it an "ugly town".

Doug

In article , "John in
Georgia" wrote:

Dave & Lori,

Well we leave at the end of the month on our Panama Canal cruise (yeah!) on
the Carnival Spirit. One of the stops we are looking forward to is in
Puntarenas Costa Rica. We have always been curious about Costa Rica and now
we get to spend a day there. I see you were going the end of February. How
was it? Any suggestion including restaurants, bars as well as events would
be appreciated.

Also if you had any Mexican stops which did you prefer? ...best place for
shopping?

Thanks john

"David" wrote in message
...
we are sailing on legend of the seas at the end of february and are
looking
for a good shore excursion at puntarenas costa rica. most of the ship
excursions seem to be very long, and we are not interested in that unless
it
would be an absolutely must see. any suggestions would be appreciated. TIA
Dave & Lori