http://www.costarica.com/destinations/cities-and-towns/san-carlos-%28cuidad-quesada%29/
another good one
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Info in case you want to visit
* They don't observe daylight savings time
* Airport code SJO
*costaricaairfare.com had the cheapest flights I saw by about 50 dollars - I think that most are through Delta
* Getting around in Costa Rica by air:
SANSA (website: www.flysansa.com) operates services between San José and provincial towns and tourist resorts, including Tortuguero, Tamarindo, Quepos and Golfito. A bus is provided from the airline offices in San José to the airport. SANSA’s main rival is Nature Air (website: www.natureair.net), which is considered to have more reliable service and has identical routes. Both use a variety of aircraft carrying up to 35 passengers. A number of companies also provide internal charter flights using small planes.
* They use Colones and the exchange rate to US dollars changes almost daily. Today it is 552 Colones to a dollar. You can use US dollars in many places, just be careful of the exchange rate.
*This looks like one of the neater hotels in the area. http://www.termalesdelbosque.com/presentation.htm. It is a little bit outside of town, but looks pretty nice - hot springs, horseback riding,rain forest, spa etc. About the price of a regular US hotel
* Cool things in the area: Arenal Volcano, this zoo / rehab center http://www.zoocostarica.com/welcome1.html, rain forests, hot springs etc.
* Airport code SJO
*costaricaairfare.com had the cheapest flights I saw by about 50 dollars - I think that most are through Delta
* Getting around in Costa Rica by air:
SANSA (website: www.flysansa.com) operates services between San José and provincial towns and tourist resorts, including Tortuguero, Tamarindo, Quepos and Golfito. A bus is provided from the airline offices in San José to the airport. SANSA’s main rival is Nature Air (website: www.natureair.net), which is considered to have more reliable service and has identical routes. Both use a variety of aircraft carrying up to 35 passengers. A number of companies also provide internal charter flights using small planes.
* They use Colones and the exchange rate to US dollars changes almost daily. Today it is 552 Colones to a dollar. You can use US dollars in many places, just be careful of the exchange rate.
*This looks like one of the neater hotels in the area. http://www.termalesdelbosque.com/presentation.htm. It is a little bit outside of town, but looks pretty nice - hot springs, horseback riding,rain forest, spa etc. About the price of a regular US hotel
* Cool things in the area: Arenal Volcano, this zoo / rehab center http://www.zoocostarica.com/welcome1.html, rain forests, hot springs etc.
Ciudad Quesada aka San Carlos
The city, officially known as Ciudad Quesada, is located in the northern lowlands of Costa Rica, in a valley right at the base of the Cordillera Central (Central Mountain Range). It is in the province of Alejuela and the Canton of San Carlos. The city is, by far, the largest and most developed in the northern part of the country. It is home to between thirty and forty thousand people and has developed into a commercial center for agricultural and ranching enterprises.
Probably as a result, it is best known for its talabarterias, or saddleries, and string cheese. While the Spanish word for cheese is queso, the city is named after a poet, not the dairy product. Most international tourists in the area are just passing through and their way to Arenal, one of Costa Rica's most famous volcanoes. The city and surrounding area is actually more popular with Costa Rican tourists, who come to visit the hot springs and resorts that have sprung up around them.
San Carlos is 95km (about an hours drive) from the nation's capital, San Juan. It is located at the fork between two major highways and has buses going to and coming from just about everywhere in Costa Rica. You can actually see Arenal in the distance and the city in general appears to be more developed than I expected and a little more westernize than I had hoped. I'll post some pictures later.
Probably as a result, it is best known for its talabarterias, or saddleries, and string cheese. While the Spanish word for cheese is queso, the city is named after a poet, not the dairy product. Most international tourists in the area are just passing through and their way to Arenal, one of Costa Rica's most famous volcanoes. The city and surrounding area is actually more popular with Costa Rican tourists, who come to visit the hot springs and resorts that have sprung up around them.
San Carlos is 95km (about an hours drive) from the nation's capital, San Juan. It is located at the fork between two major highways and has buses going to and coming from just about everywhere in Costa Rica. You can actually see Arenal in the distance and the city in general appears to be more developed than I expected and a little more westernize than I had hoped. I'll post some pictures later.
Travel Plans
Adam and I flying out of DC at 10:00 am on Monday, March 8th and arriving in San Juan around 4:00 pm. There will be an hour gained on the way there because they don't observe daylight savings time (right now, for example, it is 9:40 there instead of 10:40). We are supposed to be getting a ride from the airport to San Carlos with someone from the school. It should take about an hour, but maybe longer depending on the roads.
Adam will stay the first two weeks, flying out early on Sunday, March 21st.
I should be done student teaching on Friday April 23rd. Mom and dad will be coming down sometime before then and Adam will be flying back on Weds, April 28th. We fly out of Panama City, Panama, Thursday, May 6th. All of our layovers are in El Salvador.
Adam will stay the first two weeks, flying out early on Sunday, March 21st.
I should be done student teaching on Friday April 23rd. Mom and dad will be coming down sometime before then and Adam will be flying back on Weds, April 28th. We fly out of Panama City, Panama, Thursday, May 6th. All of our layovers are in El Salvador.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
