I'll be in Costa Rica at the end of May. Planning on making a side trip (3-4 days) to the beach. I need some advise on the best place to go. I've heard of Quepos and Jaco, not sure about the rest. Will probably be there Sunday-Wednesday, any recommendations, night life, mongering around?

Thanks,
C4

I've stayed at the Marriott Los Suenos near Jaco. It's a beautiful place and an all inclusive resort. Can't speak about the availability of Ticas I brought my own from San Jose.

A lot depends on what you want to do and how much you want to spend. No matter where you go in Costa Rica outside of the San Jose area, it can be difficult to find working girls unless you're a big spender. Although prostitution is legal nationwide, the action is centered around San Jose and that's where the girls want to go to ply their trade. There are nightclubs in Jaco and Quepos, but they are expensive and the girls aren't usually all that special. There are also lower-end brothels throughout the country that cater to the local Tico trade, but you'll have a hard time finding them, the girls will probably be ugly, and you'll feel very uncomfortable unless you are fluent in Spanish. There are also independents working in most of the resort areas and some of them are great but it's hard to find them if you don't have local contacts. If you want to try you can ask around (cab drivers, bellhops, bartenders, etc.), but it's a big risk doing so. You can easily get into dangerous situations or get ripped off. I don't recommend this course of action at all.

Almost everyone agrees that the best beaches in Costa Rica are those of Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula. Any guide book should give you plenty of info. Personally, I don't like Jaco very much. Quepos is okay but it's a little touristy and pricey for my taste. My own favorite is Montezuma, but everyone has his own opinion and you can have a great time almost anywher you decide to go. If you want female companionship, the best strategy is B.Y.O.B. - bring your own babe.

Los Suenos is great but is also very expensive. Like luxury resorts everywhere in the world, it caters to guests who want to have every possible comfort and convenience without the bother of experiencing a foreign culture. You'll be treated well and will enjoy your stay but won't experience Costa Rica at all. If that's want you want, I recommend it. If you want to see what Costa Rica is like, go elsewhere.

Enjoy your visit!
TG

Here's a quick write up on a recent stay at Punta Leona, which I hope will help encourage everyone to get out of San Jose for at least a little while when travelling to Costa Rica. (I'm posting a trip report separately). It doesn't really have to do with this thread (Jaco vs. Quepos). I've been to both places, and think they're both fine.

The Hotel Punta Leona (http://www.hotelpuntaleona.com) is a beautiful resort, about 12km north of Jaco. It's about a two and a half hour drive from San Jose, over well paved roads (you do have to drive through the mountains, though). Punta Leona/Jaco are much easier to get to than just about any other beaches. Once you get past Jaco, the roads aren't as good.

I always take a chica or two from San Jose with me when travelling. I imagine you can pick up a chica at the discos in Jaco, but I wouldn't really count on it, especially if your Spanish isn't great. This trip, I took my two favoritas from the Park Hotel to the Hotel Punta Leona for five nights.

First of all, to reach the hotel complex, you take a road off the main highway for about five miles through a primary forest. A primary forest is one that's never been cut. That road isn't part of the hotel grounds, so it's full of potholes, but drivable. It's quite a trip--kind of like having to go on a short adventure before you arrive at the luxury hotel.

As for the hotel complex itself, to summarize: it's huge, has two very good beaches (better than Jaco beach), multiple restaurants, pools, a supermarket, a disco, multiple types of accomodations. The grounds are gorgeous. The food could have been better. The service ranges from excellent to poor.

We actually had to drive from our room, at one end of the complex, to the supermarket, beach, or the huge pool (the other pool was very close, a very nice small one with a waterfall). Our accomodations were a nice bungalow, with cable TV (when taking a chica out of San Jose, I highly recommend making sure the place has cable TV. If you're going out there to unwind for a few days, you're probably reading when you want to relax, and chances are your chica will prefer TV).

Some of the other accomodations didn't look all that great (some were converted railroad cars, I understand). Some looked even better (apartments set very high on a hill with a terrific view of the ocean). My accomondations were the Selvamar apartments.

The place is a little expensive by Costa Rican Standards. I paid a bit under $100/night for a triple. I had called ahead to Angie at the tour desk (Destination Costa Rica) at the Presidente. She found a rental car, and got me a little something off the price of the hotel. It's definitely worth going through a travel agent, if only to save time and effort. Angie's a good agent. See http://www.destinationcr.com.

The grounds were amazingly beautiful. Lots of greenery, crested jays, orioles and other beautiful birds all over the place. I saw a coatimundi ambling across a lawn (he climbed a tree when he saw me). The facilities were all good. There are three restaurants (unfortunately, the best of the three was closed during my stay). There's an outdoor disco. Both of the beaches are well maintained.

The food at the one restaurant that was open for dinner (the other was the breakfast restaurant) was a little greasy, and my favoritas didn't like it. So we drove to Jaco for dinner a couple of nights. There's a restaurant on Main St. there called La Hacienda. I highly recommend it. The drive on the road through the forest at night is a hoot. I was half expecting a jaguar to jump out into the middle of the road.

The service was spotty, ranging from very good to bad. In that respect, I guess I'm spoiled by the uniformly excellent service I always receive when staying at the Hotel Presidente in San Jose. The restaurant personnel were good, but I found some others, such as the pool/towel guys a bit rude.

Overall, I highly recommend the place, allowing that you shouldn't expect service to be at an American standard.

Jaco all the way - Pura Vida!!!!