Best spots for sightseeing and nature in Costa Rica and Panama? Any recommendations for parks and day hikes? I'll be going for two weeks in October, no interest in the nightlife or anything, just want to see historic cities, museums and rainforest. Would it be worth a couple days in Nicaragua to see Managua and Ometepe?
>>2909671>Any recommendations for parks and day hikes?La Fortuna then taking the boat and van transfer across the lake to Monteverde cloud forest is cool>two weeksBe aware that the Africa tier transportation infrastructure will eat a lot of your time in Costa Rica>historic citieswrong countries for that
>>2909671I booked a three week trip in Costa Rica with a 15 hr overnight stopover in Panama City for October as well. Plan is to wander around the country by bus staying in budget friendly lodging wherever it is available, hiking whatever trails are fee-free and nearby, eating tons of fruit plus local food.>le best spots, i.e. the most overpriced and overrun touristcattle destinationsWho cares what is best, just go wherever the bus is going and see whatever there is to see. I'm also undecided on whether to visit Nicaragua, but probably not. The border crossing can be a big hassle with bribes expected from foreigners.
>>2909671In Panama, Anton Valley or the Gamboa resort
>>2909684Its probably such a small country too, you can't minmax that shit man its basically like travel east to west.
>>2909766Yes you can. Go on bus daytrips into the countryside from a market town where you have found a cheap comfy room suitable for a few days' stay.
>>2909684If you're American I would honestly chill on Nica for a bit. I would have said go for it if you asked a year ago but you could be detained these days. The politics there are not so solid right now.
>>2909671Any good British restaurants in this area? I just simply cannot survive with Tiki masala for more than 3 days.
>>2909671There are so many parks that are nice hikes. Just pick a few and visit them. My only advice is don't drive to the beach on weekends. Traffic is like 3 hours extra to get to the beach on friday and the same thing sunday coming back. Also don't go during holy week. The entire country goes to the beach.
>>2914281I was talking only about Costa Rica btw. I should have made that clear.
>>2914264Nope, it's all muttslop here
>>2914282Alajuela is a historic city right outside SJO airport. Everything you need in walking distance except for nature preserves. Be aware that Costa Rica offers low value for cost. It's developed better than Thailand, but it's more expensive. Paypigging is basically mandatory here, unlike Thai where you can find great value. Even cheap crappy restaurant food or shared-bath rooms cost a lot. And this isn't even a tourist destination. On the Pacific coast I heard costs are very high.
>>2914658High cost is relative. You can get a nice hotel room most places in CR for like $60 a night. Yes that's more than a bed in some decrepit hostel in your average thirdie shithole but it's also less than the Motel 6 outside Kansas City. CR has a lot more in the way of modern infrastructure and amenities than somewhere like Bangladesh and still costs meaningfully less than vacationing in the US/Europe.
>>2914694Cope. It's an expensive shit hole
>>2914694I bet even that $60 room in C.R. while clean and bright still has fewer amenities than many $70 motels in the US, which have fridges, closets, hair dryers, washcloths, hand towels, free coffee, microwave, extra pillows, ice machine, on-site laundry, etc. >>2914703Costa Rica is super walkable and full of cute girls dressed in eye-catching ways, even at random bus stops. San Jose metro area has heavy Euro admixture, so they are not too dark. The slender ones show off their belly buttons, the buxom ones show off their curves. At the airport I sat next to two girls, one of them a tiny creature was wearing skin-tight booty shorts which showed her little ass bouncing with every step she took. Sexiness is so normalized in LatAm, unlike Asia where women are always dressing modestly and avoiding provocative behavior like staring at a guy they like. And the single girls here don't get bothered by you giving them the eyeing either; go dancing and they'll be in your arms laughing with their crotch gyrating a couple inches from your hip just like that. They don't think anything of it, it's all fun and games. No wonder jealous rages are so common here, men in fits of passion kill each other left and right over faithless hoes.
