family cruise vacation ideas

The most popular ways to cruise the world

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: cruise, popular, ways, world — libertees @ 1:06 pm December 21, 2011

If you have the money and time then what better way to see the world then by cruise ship. It is possible to join cruises in many countries around the world and this can be something you do for a few days or even a few months. This is something that people try one time and then want to do on a more regular basis. What follows is a selection of some of the most popular options for going for a cruise.

Alaska cruises are a great way to see this less travelled area of the world. There are many different schedules available and you that go for different lengths of time. An example is the Alaskan wonders trip that leaves from Seattle and the journey lasts for eight days. After three days travelling by sea you will arrive at Ketchikan Alaska before moving onto Juneau and Skagway.

If Alaska sounds a bit too cold for you then you might well find the idea of a Caribbean as being more your thing. The Royal Caribbean offers a nine day cruise around leaving from Cape Liberty and visiting the eastern Caribbean islands. During the trip you will pass Puerto Rico, St Thomas, and the Dominican Republic.

If you want to see the Mediterranean then you will have quite a few choices of cruise ship as this is one of the most popular areas in the world for this type of holiday. This part of Europe offers some truly spectacular sights and what better way to see it than by sea. Different journeys will allow you visit different destinations and there are trip to meet most budgets.

The Disney Cruise line is the best option if you have children aged 3 to twelve. These devote a whole deck to children’s activities and there are also lots of things for the whole family. Keeping children entertained on a normal cruise might sometimes be difficult, but there will always be something to keep them engaged during this trip. Supervised play means that if the adults feel the need for a break they can leave the kids in safe hands. Disney’s magic Oceaneer club is going to be a real favorite and a place the kids will want to return to again and again during the trip.

If you are on your honeymoon or just fancy a romantic cruise then you will find that there is plenty on offer to meet your requirements. Silversea Cruises offers ultra luxury on relatively small ships that travel to different places around the globe. Seadream is another company offering pampered trips and plenty of romantic things to do while on board.

This is a type of holiday that everyone should experience at least once in their life. It promises to be an unforgettable experience, and travelling to places by sea really gives you the feeling of having arrived. This is always going to be a relaxing trip and the best way to get away from the normal day to day problems that you have to deal with during the rest of the year.

Ryan Fyfe is the owner of http://www.all-cruise.info/ – an information resource for all things related to Cruise including articles, news, movies and more.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/cruising-articles/the-most-popular-ways-to-cruise-the-world-1529346.html

Cheap Cruise Deals – 4 Ways to Find the Best Deals on Cruises

Filed under: Blog — Tags: best, cheap, cruise, cruises, deals, find, ways — @ 1:30 pm December 1, 2011

Cheap Cruise Deals – 4 Ways to Find the Best Deals on Cruises

Article by Steve Schulman

Ever say to yourself, “I want to take this job and shove it. I want a vacation. I want to be pampered. I’m going to see if I can find some deals on cruises.”?

Everyone needs and deserves to get away, at least once in awhile.

If you know what to look for and where to look you can find some fantastic cruise offers that won’t break the bank. Now, I’m not talking about getting on some beat-up old cargo vessel. I’m talking about the type of cruise you’ve seen in the movies. Only with what you’ll find with these tips you won’t have to be a Hollywood star in order to afford to go.

You can find cheap cruise deals any time of the year and to many different ports. There are cheap weekend cruises, cheap Alaskan cruises, cheap Caribbean cruises, cheap Mexico cruises, cheap Disney cruises, and much, much more. And, if you are determined and have just a little bit of patience, finding a cheap cruise deal is not all that hard to do.

How to find the best cruise offers and save the most money:

The absolute best way to get a cheap cruise deal is by having some flexibility.

(1) Be willing to leave on a weekday, or even from a different port.

(2) Be able to travel at the spur of the moment and you will save even more.

Some of the most fantastic cheap cruise deals that you will ever come across are last minute cruise deals. You can save hundreds of dollars if you can take your cruise within a couple of weeks of deciding to go.

If you’re planning a special occasion, maybe your honeymoon, and you need to go on a specific day, this probably won’t work for you. But if you can be a bit more flexible it can make a world of difference.

Now, you can call a travel agent and see if they can find you some cheap cruises. Or you might want to do your own research for cruise deals online to find some fantastic cruise offers.

Here are a couple of vacation websites for you to check out cruise deals online:

(1) Vacationstogo.com. This company claims to have packages that are up to 75% off. They can be a great source of cheap cruise line deals.

(2) Cruisecheap.com. This company has made arrangements for savings with all the major cruise lines. You can have them take care of all your vacation plans and find you the best cruise offers. They can do everything for you so you won’t have any unpleasant surprises.

Check to see if your cheap cruise deal for real.

A word of caution. Even though you can find some great cruise offers, don’t book a cheap cruise deal only because it sounds like you’re going to save a lot of money.

Check out every detail to make sure it is what you want and that you’ll get what you are willing to pay for.

Visit travel forums. Snoop around. Ask questions. Sometimes things really are too good to be true. There could be hidden fees and costs that come up once you’re aboard. You want a cheap cruise deal but you don’t need any unpleasant surprises.

That being said, with some research, a bit of caution, and the necessary flexibility, you will be able to find some great cruise line deals, get away from it all, and take the vacation of a lifetime.

For Great Cruise Deals and Cruise Information Visit The Leading Online Cruise Site http://www.TheCruiseTalk.com










3 Ways to Create an Online Travel Income

Filed under: Cruise Deals — Tags: create, Income, online, travel, ways — libertees @ 2:15 pm August 26, 2010

3 Ways to Create an Online Travel Income

Imagine this: you wake up in the glamorous, exotic, or rustic location of your choice. A smile sneaks its way onto your face. You’re living your dream of traveling the world… and, here’s the best part – you’re getting paid for it.

It is extremely difficult to write about this subject without sounding ‘hypey’ and ‘salesy,’ so let me just lay out the facts, and I’ll let you come up with your own conclusions:

Hundreds of billions of dollars change hands online every year.

•    Thousands of one-man-business entrepreneurs are making a portion of this money.
•    Internet technology has made business possible from anywhere in the world. All you need is a laptop or Internet café…
•    With a little bit of training and know-how, creating a profitable business online that takes in a few thousand dollars per month takes about 30-90 days.
•    There’s a growing underground community whose strategies have them making more money than their friends with ‘Jobs’ and they get to travel to wherever they like.

There are the facts. If you put it all together, there is no reason you can’t take an extremely small piece of the pie. In fact, if you made .00001% of the money being made online you’d be ridiculously rich!

So what are the methods to make this happen? There’s no selling your friends or timeshares or anything shady like that. These are completely legitimate, entrepreneurial ventures that don’t take any startup costs or a ton of training. There are MANY ways to make money online, but here are 3:

1)    Sell digital information. If you’re an expert on a subject of any kind, you can quickly and easily create an digitally delivered product and then focus on selling the product online. This can be an ebook, mp3, video file, or even a simple password-protected website. The markup on these products is HUGE because they cost nothing to create or deliver, and they can be sold for to ,000+ dollars. Say you have a modest download. If you sold a measly 3 products per day, you’re making ,800 bucks a month. Sell a dollar product (which takes no more work) at the same rate and you’re making ,500 a month… for doing the work ONCE!

2)    Sell stuff on Ebay. “Wait!” I can hear you objecting… “I don’t want to carry around old junk to sell while I travel!” By all means… DON’T! You can easily set up an inexpensive account with a fulfillment house and have them ship your auction sales for you. You can hire a high school kid or your little sister to ship stuff. Better yet, just sell digital products on Ebay and don’t ship anything!

3)    Blogging. This is a great option for writers, photographers, and videographers who want to document their travel. You’re probably going to be at least journaling, taking pictures, or video… most likely a combination of all three. Well, did you ever consider making it into a blog that makes money? Setting up a blog to collect income from your advertisers (and visitors, if you choose) is easier than ever. Some bloggers are making 0,000+ per MONTH just for writing about their lives. Yes, you read that correctly. Per month. Not too shabby!

The real key to making money online is to take action and get started. Pick one of these methods, learn as much as you can from experts who have done it already, and then go travel the world!

**Attn Ezine editors/Site owners**

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site as long as you leave all links in place. You may not modify the content and must include our resource box as listed above. However, you may sign up as an affiliate at MoneyForTraveling.com and insert your affiliate links to earn income for your efforts.

The expert authors at www.MoneyForTraveling.com
have all made a substantial internet income while traveling or they have been hired and paid well to travel the world. They now teach others how to make money for traveling. Visit MoneyForTraveling.com to discover 12 methods for making money while traveling.

The expert authors at www.MoneyForTraveling.com

have all made a substantial internet income while traveling or they have been hired and paid well to travel the world. Visit MoneyForTraveling.com to discover 12 ways to make money while traveling.

WatchMojo.com presents… A helpful travel guide for anyone planning on visiting the beautiful city of Lisbon, Portugal.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

4 Ways to Make Money as a Travel Writer

Filed under: Cruise Deals — Tags: money, travel, ways, Writer — libertees @ 2:21 pm August 25, 2010

4 Ways to Make Money as a Travel Writer

Have you ever wanted to travel the world and make money for writing about what you see? It’s not as hard as you may imagine. Using a few underground techniques, you can be making a healthy income in no-time flat for writing about traveling the world!


Here are the ways you can make money as a travel writer:

1) Traditional Method: Selling Your Stories To Travel Magazines and Newspapers.


This is the most common and most well-known method. Ironically, it also pays the least of all the methods.


You can take two paths when selling your article to a magazine. First you can query a magazine on their interest about a particular subject. If interested, they will agree to buy your article if it meets their standards. The second method is to write the article, then try and sell it.


To find magazines and periodicals that purchase travel stories, go to the library and check out the most recent Writers Market and you’ll have over a dozen periodicals that pay anywhere from a few hundred bucks to a few thousand dollars for an article.


The risky side to this is that there are no guarantees of payment, and you must either have a great story or be a great writer to make this work. Not impossible, just tough.

2) Writing For Other People’s Blogs.


If you can write a 400-1500 word post on any given subject, you can sell the post to a blog at a set price. Heres why: Blogs constantly need new content. It’s how they stay fresh with their readers and how they stay well-ranked in the search engines.


However, writing a new post every few days is a difficult task! If you take over that task for a blog owner, you’re going to be saving them a TON of time and effort, providing their readers with great value, and making an income for a project that is relatively easy for you to complete.


You can get paid anywhere from 20 bucks to a few hundred dollars for this kind of writing… and it’s a LOT easier to do that writing for a magazine.


Think of it: You spend a day writing 5 articles and sell the articles for dollars each. Now you’ve made 0 dollars for a couple of hours of work and everyone is happy.

3) Writing for Your Own Blog.


Another option is to write your own blog and use your travel stories to drive traffic to it. You’d be surprised at the number of bored, lifeless people who want to live vicariously through someone traveling the world. You can then monetize your blog by selling adspace or selling products related to your blog. This sounds basic, but it has made many-a-traveler tens and even 100’s of thousands of dollars per year.

4) Completing Writing Projects on ‘Project’ Sites.


There are literally hundreds of writing projects posted every single day on Elance, Guru, DoMyStuff, and other ‘project’ posting websites.


All you have to do is set up a free account as a content provider, then answer people’s requests for writing projects. Once you’re done, the funds will be electronically deposited into your bank account, and you can withdraw the money from any ATM in the world. You can then pick up another project… or complete several projects all at once!


Many projects go for 00+ dollars, so it doesn’t take a lot of these to be able to travel well and travel often. You can even do the work on the airplane ride to your next destination!


If you have any writing skill at all, you will be able to pick one of these methods and become a well-paid traveler.

**Attention Readers**


To get your copy of our free step-by-step guide showing you how to make money as you travel without ever holding a ‘job,’ visit <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link']);” href=”http://www.moneyfortraveling.com”>http://www.moneyfortraveling.com.</a> The expert authors at <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link']);” href=”http://www.moneyfortraveling.com”>www.MoneyForTraveling.com</a>

have all made a substantial internet income while traveling or they have been hired and paid well to travel the world and will show you how to do the same. <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link']);” href=”http://www.moneyfortraveling.com”>


**Attn Ezine editors/Site owners**


Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site as long as you leave all links in place. You may not modify the content and must include our resource box as listed above. However, you may sign up as an affiliate at MoneyForTraveling.com and insert your affiliate links to earn income for your efforts.

To get your copy of our free step-by-step guide showing you how to make money as you travel without ever holding a ‘job,’ visit http://www.moneyfortraveling.com. The expert authors at www.MoneyForTraveling.com

have all made a substantial internet income while traveling or they have been hired and paid well to travel the world and will show you how to do the same.

Easy and Simple Ways to Find the Best Cruise Deals

Filed under: cruise — Tags: best, cruise, deals, easy, find, simple, ways — libertees @ 5:02 pm August 20, 2010

There are so many people who want to experience going on a cruise ship, but most are still afraid to go on a cruise because they are mostly thinking about the expenses. Thankfully, there are still some ways in order for you to get the best cruise deals. It would just require some research and a lot of patience, but eventually you will be able to find the best deals in the end. To be able to get the best deals, find a cruise line that offers the destination you want a year earlier.

Almost all cruise ship companies offer an initial discount at the beginning of the cruise promotion, so if you can find them and book earlier, you can save a lot and at the same time, you will be able to prepare for the budget for your trip. That is more savings and preparations for you. You can also find cruise discounts through searching online. Most online cruise ships offer different types of discounts to their customers. You can easily compare prices so that you can easily decide the best offer when it comes to cruise discounts.

But of course, it is necessary to examine the different packages of each site. Since a certain site may probably be more expensive than the other cruise ships, but they offer more perks than a cheaper cruise ship that has hidden charges. Your cruise package should also cater to your needs. To be able to get the best cruise deals, determine if your cruise ship is the one you really want. Do you just want to travel for 10 days, 3 days, or even a day? And within those travel dates, what do you intend to do? You may find that the price for a 10 day travel is far different if you will just go on a cruise for a day. The longer you stay in a cruise ship, the many chances of going to different destinations.

That means also that the trip is likely to be more expensive. However, a day cruise can be relatively cheap. If you are just aiming to play casino for example, a good alternative is to just find the best cruise deals in a day cruise. There are cruise ships that specifically cater to this type of need since there are also a lot of travelers who are aiming to get this type of cruise. Other ways to get the best cruise deals is to find last minute cruise deals. Since most cruise ships prefer to travel in full, there is a great chance that you can get affordable prices this way. You will just need to be patient in finding them since it will take some time to be able to get last minute cruise deals and if you are not fast enough to book them, chances are other passengers who are looking for the same type of cruise deal will book them. So if you are totally decided about the destination, then book it right away.

To find the best cruise dealsvisit Opus Casino Cruise Lines. We are a cruise ship that offers casino, dining, entertainment, and some special events to our valued customers and patrons. Visit Opusccl.com for more details.

Simple and Safe Ways to Choose Your Hotel or Resort

Filed under: hotels — Tags: choose, hotel, resort, safe, simple, ways — libertees @ 5:15 pm July 18, 2010

Planning a vacation overseas for you and your family? As you browse the various websites and internet marketing for resorts for images and descriptions, you’ll quickly notice how all of the descriptions and pictures of the resorts show the perfect vacation travel spot. How can you be sure they are being completely honest in their resort marketing ads?

There must be a way to determine which resorts are better short of trying to find someone who was there and the hotel resort marketing used. You never even have been to the destination country and know no one there either. There must be an easier way to book a room, right? The answer is yes there is and it only requires a little bit of homework with resort internet marketing on your part.

Independent Hotel Ratings

Your first step is to browse through various resort internet marketing ads and stop on some of the hotel review sites for guest ratings. Many of these review sites are also found on the results pages of hotel internet marketing campaigns. Reading through some of these comments can give you a fair idea on what to expect from the particular hotels located in your intended destination. I recommend looking through some of this hotel internet marketing and reading about four or five of these comments in order to get a fair overview.

Hotel Chains

Is the resort you are looking at part of an international hotel chain, such as Hilton? The majority of these international chains not only have detailed hotel and resort marketing but also implement strict standards which must be adhered to along with a standard theme for every hotel across all of their chains such as similar facilities ranging from health clubs to business centers. They do so to maintain their hotel’s high standards and reputation. As you are browsing over some internet marketing for resorts ads, pay attention to other perks and added services such as concierge, shuttle services to the city, airport transfers or laundry services.

Location

One of the most important things to go over when browsing resort marketing and trying to find a resort is the location. Places near or close to historical or shopping areas, train stations or the center of the city tend to charge higher rates compared to those located elsewhere. The resort internet marketing will often times give you an idea of all of this. Look over a map of the area before booking to determine where the closest shopping areas and tourist attractions are.

Rates and Discounts

Rates and hotel and resort marketing play a big part when choosing a hotel. Understand that paying more does not always mean a better level of service and standards. Pay attention to either the internet marketing for resorts or hotel resort marketing see if they are part of an alliance with flights or car rental companies. Some of these offer discounts to customers of their business partners.

Search engine optimization is a specialty of George Walker. He has been providing SEO services and conducting internet marketing for the last ten years. In this article, George Walker discusses hotel resort marketing.

Where to Buy Airline Tickets to Find the Best Travel Deals

Are you searching for the best travel deals? Do you need to buy airline tickets? Sometimes you will need to purchase some airline tickets whether for personal reasons or for business situations. There are two ways in which can individual can buy airline tickets. First, the individual can call around to all the airports can ask for prices. Or they can call to a travel agency to get help. The individual can also log on to the internet and search for the best travel deals. You can find better deals over the internet in a much shorter period of time.

 

There are many websites that you can use to buy airline tickets. The one we are going to discuss today is Optifly. Optifly is a very easy to use user friendly website which will allow you to find the best travel deals within a short period of time. The website is extremely easy to use. When trying to find a flight you will want to start out by inserting your starting city in the column provided. After you begin typing the city into the box you will notice that it will automatically fill in the rest of the location for you. You will want to do the same with the destination.

 

After inputting your origin or starting point and your destination then you need to press the Search for Flights button. After you push this button you will be shown a large map and a chart. The map will show you all of the available flight from your starting location to your destination. Each flight’s path will be color coded making it easier to tell apart from one another. After looking at the map you will notice a chart at the bottom which displays a variety of information.

 

As you will notice the chat will have a number of columns. You can use the chat to determine a bunch of different things. For instance, the box on the far left will have a color. This color represents the color in the map at the top. Each path will have a different color showing the path from start to finish. The flight segment box will provide more detailed information about the path. It will tell you the exact path from start to finish from airport to airport. The Expedia logo is where you will want to click when you want to buy airline tickets. Expedia will provide you with the best travel deals.

 

The other boxes will provide you with different information including the name of the airlines, segment distance, and total distance. The middle box is the one you need to use to buy airline tickets. By clicking on the Expedia logo which is a yellow airplane you will be shown the best travel deals. Expedia is one of the cheapest and easiest places to buy airline tickets. When you need to find the best travel deal, be sure to log on to Optifly and use their tools to help guide you in your search.

Are you searching for the best travel deals ? Optify is the best place to go to if you are looking to buy airline tickets at a good price.

Cruise Deals: Little Known Ways to Save Big on Your Vacation

You might not think you could actually save money by cruising on your next vacation, but with some careful planning, you can do just that! Special packages can take you on a three-night cruise to some sunny locales for under $200 a person. (Of course airfare is separate and prices are based on adult double occupancy.)

Check out some of these specials:

A three-night cruise out of Miami, Fla., with stops at Cococay and Nassau, both in the Bahamas, for just $169 a person.
A four-night cruise out of Miami, stopping first in Key West, Fla., and then on to Cozumel, Mexico, for $179 per person.
Go a different direction with a seven-night cruise to the Southern Caribbean for $675 a person. It leaves from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and stops in Bridgetown, Castries, St. John’s, Philipsburg and St. Croix.
For still another direction, how about a seven-night cruise to the Mexican Riviera, starting at $499 a person? It leaves out of San Diego, Calif., and stops in the Mexican ports of Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas.

These are just a few of the discounted cruise deals that can help you save money on your next vacation. Almost all of the major cruise lines offer some kind of discount package. And once you’re onboard, relax and enjoy all the amenities – from activities for the children to world-renowned dining to nightly entertainment. And don’t forget, once you drop anchor, get off the ship and explore the ports of call.

One word of advice – space on these discounted trips is often limited. You need to plan in advance and see what is available. And once you’re booked, try not to change the date as most cruise lines will charge a change fee.

Special packages are not the only way to cruise for less. There are other tricks for traveling in style and for less.

Book it now. If you’re on a cruise and you’ve had a great time, you can realize significant savings by booking your next cruise right there on the spot – or right there onboard. You won’t necessarily need to commit to the location, but the cruise line will be looking for a deposit to hold your place on your next cruise. If you’re not sure where on board to conduct this business, ask if there’s a cruise consultant or booking agent who can help you plan your next trip.
Repeat business. Some cruise lines reward their repeat customers with incentives or room upgrades. If not those perks, they may reduce the amount of your deposit or offer you onboard credits.
Transfer the booking. Even after you’ve booked a cruise, don’t think you’re locked into it. Often, you can transfer your booking to an online discount agent. These sites are able to help you monitor your booking, make changes and sometimes even find additional offers or savings. It’s nice to have someone on your side.
Cabin guarantee. When booking a cruise, you can sometimes get a cheaper price or a discount if you go with a cabin guarantee. This means you will be guaranteed to get a cabin in a certain category – inside, outside, with a verandah – for a cheaper price. In exchange, the company gets to select which particular cabin you’ll get – whether it’s midship, low deck, high deck, etc.
Get a consultant. If you’re new to cruising or you’re not sure what kind of cruise you want to take, where you want to go or what’s the best price available, contact a travel consultant. These are experienced travelers with an expertise in cruises. Let one of them help you arrange a floating family reunion, a quiet getaway for you and your spouse, or maybe a special group trip. Consultants can also help you make plans to fly into the port city and find you a hotel to stay in after you dock, if that’s what you want.

If you’ve not taken a cruise before, be good to yourself and make this the year you step out and step onboard!

Hal McDougal is a freelance writer who writes about several topics including cruise deals.

How To Do Useful Travel Research

A lot of people simply avoid thinking about other aspects than passports and plane tickets when going on an international vacation and such an approach is not correct. Any international vacation will require a lot of research in order to have a healthy and safe trip and you do not want to forget anything so that your trip will be perfect.


First off we would like to emphasize on the fact that you need to be informed when thinking about health. You could start with looking at the Center for Disease Control web site to see if there are any disease or outbreak problems you should be worried about. Any doctor in your area could help you in getting the right prescriptions and immunizations you might require. Always know what you need before actually talking to the doctor. The same thing goes for any possible social or civil problems in the country you are visiting. We do not want there to be any conflicts that could put you at risk so tourist guides and the Department of State are also places you need to put on your prior to the trip research list. Combine this with a good knowledge of the location’s customs when talking about dress codes and legal problems.


The next step would be talking to people about your trip. There is a big chance that you will find someone that was already there. You can obtain email addresses or telephone numbers and you can ask various questions about what you might want to know. Word of mouth travel advice is invaluable when talking about any trip and learning stuff from people that were already there once. This is because these people have already been there and they can tell you what is relaxing and what is not, what is thrilling and what is not and so on!


Think about what you need to know when linked with your personality and plan your trip according to what you like doing. If you are a thrill seeker look for attractions you would love and would get your adrenaline levels to skyrocket. If you are fond of shopping look for the best shopping hot spots and so on. It all depends on the individual or the group of people that is going on the vacation. Make sure that there is a bit of everything for everyone so that the trip will provide a good setting for every single person and this is how you should do useful travel research.

Article first written for the Travel Facts blog. Get the Travel Advice you need for a perfect vacation!

Rental Car Vs. Traveling by Bus in Costa Rica

One of the most often asked questions from travelers about Costa Rica besides “How much does it rain in the rainy season?” is: “Do we really need a rental car?”. The answer depends very much on you, but by describing a bit more the conditions I can make the decision easier for you!

Driving in Costa Rica is not as difficult as it seems in some frightening reports. Nevertheless it is true that the Costa Ricans that are known for a laid-back and calm attitude seem to get into a hurry as soon as they sit behind the wheel of a vehicle. They are not alone on the planet with this particularity, the only difference is that in many other places the people seem to be always in a hurry.

The roads in Costa Rica are famous for their potholes and some destinations can only be reached on a gravel road. If you plan only to visit San Jose and Jaco you may be fine with a sedan, but it is highly recommendable to rent a 4×4. In the rainy season you will even have to cross some rivers. Even some of the main attractions for tourists in Costa Rica are only accessible with an all-terrain vehicle. The road to Monteverde is not paved and there are no plans for doing so. The local community wants to protect this unique place and does not want that to make their place accessible for huge tourist buses.

The big advantage of renting a car in Costa Rica is, that you are independent and can make a stop whenever you want. Fruits and crafts are sold along the roads, this is always a good opportunity to have some small talk with the locals.

You better get up early in Costa Rica, because the sun goes down around 6 pm. Driving at night in Costa Rica can be dangerous and is not recommendable. Most of the roads don’t have lights and road marking mostly exists on the main roads.

The alternative to renting a car is to travel with the extensive bus system. This is a good way to see the country and meet the Ticos. There are buses going almost everywhere in Costa Rica, connections between outlying areas are limited. The capital San Jose is the major transportation hub of Costa Rica, sometimes it is necessary to return and switch the bus here. Before you buy a ticket for the bus ask precisely if this bus really goes to the destination where you plan to go. There are several towns in Costa Rica which share the same name! You can assure going to the right Playa Hermosa by mentioning the Province where you plan to travel. There is a Playa Hermosa in Guanacaste and a Playa Hermosa in Puntarenas. There are several other examples like Naranjo and San Isidro.

Traveling by bus is certainly cheaper than renting a car, but is most often slower. There are several hundred bus companies operating in Costa Rica and unfortunately they don’t always work together. This can result in an unplanned overnight stay at a place where you missed your connecting bus.

So the decision is still up to you, but it should be easier for you take it now

Serchenginenews

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