answers to costa rica questions (pm not working)

wiseguy2 · Since 22 Feb 2009 89 Posts

Hi ALL,

Just got back from Costa Rica and it looks like my previous messages to you didn’t go through. So, I’m trying again. Below (at the very bottom) is a trip report that my friend wrote back in November. It answers a bunch of questions. I have answered your specific questions here:

Jay asks:
We're wavering between Kitehouse and Cometa Copal for lessons.
ANSWER; Damien from Kitehouse is great. Bob from Cometa Copal is also great. It’s a very tight knit community and they all cooperate well. I think you’ll be happy with either organization.

Jay asks:
Use of a boat seems to be one difference. Loved the boat in padre -- is it helpful in Bahia Salinas? ANSWER: I didn’t see any of the four or five instructors there using a boat. They all gave instructions from the beach.

Jay asks:
Plan to stay with Cometa Copal. Your recommendation? ANSWER: Cometa Copal seems better. Although I can’t say for sure as I didn’t go inside. The Kitehouse is more like a youth hostel. Blue Dream is nice but has small rooms and is far from the beach. (Too far to go back and forth walking.)

Jay asks:
Not sure whether to rent a car. We already have flights into San Jose (oops) and not sure whether to add a flight into Liberia or just get a car for the trip, or take a bus.

ANSWER: If you plan on doing lots of day trips to other places, a car would be nice. If not, you can easily get by without a car. We stayed within five minutes of the beach, so no car was necessary. In addition, the folks there can hook you up with drivers to different places. Carole (a fench Canadian) drove us from Liberia airport for $80 and Ulf from the kitehouse calls himself a facilitator. He is an Austrian guy who is smart, talks a lot, and will arrange whatever you need at fair and reasonable prices.

Interbus is a good option for getting from place to place. I’d say that unless you plan to do a lot of day trips, you’re better off hiring a driver or taking a tourist bus (like Interbus).

Jay asks:
Wondering about renting gear -- is there a real shop there or best to bring our own boards? ANSWER: We brought three kites each but no board. The board makes your bag big and therefore your airline might charge you a lot each direction. You can rent everything you need right on the beach for $65/day or $35/half day. We rented boards for $15/day.

Beevee asks:
How is the area for a non kiting wife and a 5yr old? Would they feel safe while I was out riding for a couple of hours at a time?

ANSWER: There is absolutely no safety issue for wife or kid on the beach. It’s safer than Hood River without question. The only people on the beach are Americans, Canadiams, and Europeans kiteboarding and a few teenagers who work for the kite schools. There can be, however, a problem with theft of valuables if you leave your stuff laying out in obvious places in your hotel room. The kitehouse got broken into and some tourists lonst money but no kitegear (tons of gear laying around but wasn’t touched).

Now, having said that the beach is completely safe, your wife could get bored there as there is basically nothing else to do. There is no town to speak of so haning around in the idyllic Latino Pueblo isn’t going to happen. If she likes to hang on the (very windy) beach, she’ll be fine. Same thing with the kid. Everybody is super friendly on the beach and very supportive. I got rescued three times in five days without even a single negative comments.

Beevee asks:
What kind of prices for flights and accomodations and food?
ANSWER; after Christmas, flights to Liberia Airport should be around $750, Food is about 15% cheper than here. Accomodations range from say, $30 a night per person in the kitehouse to $150 for something more upscale. We stayed in a rather rustic place provided by the folks at costarica kiteboarding for $68 per night.

Beevee asks:
Have you got any pics?
ANSWER: Sorry, no pics yet.

Kochease asks:
When is the season? ANSWER: Now until April (I think).

Consistant winds? ANSWER; The wind is super reliable. It blows all day (and night). We used mostly small kites. I was on my six a lot, overpowered on my nine, and pulled out the 12 just once. They say that the wind in Jan and Feb can be too strong to kite.

Costs? ANSWER: See above.

My friend’s tirp report….

Kiteboarding:
Bahia Salinas is a great place for beginners and experienced kiters alike. It offers long
sandy beaches in a protected bay with side onshore winds. It's pretty shallow close to shore
but gets deeper the further you go out. They claim it's the third windiest place in the world and
that you can pretty much kite all year round. But the best kiting is supposed to be mid/late Nov
to March with best winds probably in January/February. Winds of 50 knots are not that
unusual. Unfortunately for us, the rainy season ended later than usual and we got 3 windless
days at the end of November.

- Gear rental: unlike other countries, you CAN rent kites in Costa Rica. In fact, you can
usually rent newer model kites and kite/boards/harness packages for about $65/day. There
are several places that rent them. We rented gear from the Blue Dream which included some
new 2011 model Slingshot Rally kites and some older kites from North (Rebel), Best (Nemesis)
Windwing, etc. Board availability was not that great but included a handful of twin tips
in the 130cm range, 142cm, 147cm and 157cm

- Accommodations:
LP recommended these places:
- Blue Dream Hotel (www.bluedreamhotel.com)
- Cometa Copal (www.islandsurf-sail.com)
- Bolanos Bay Resort (www.hotelbolanosbayresort.com)
- Ecoplaya Beach Resort (www.ecoplaya.com)
In addition, I found this place which is used by The Kitehouse (kiting tours):
- Kiteboarding Costa Rica (www.kiteboardingcostarica.com)

We stayed at the Blue Dream Hotel and would recommend it to anyone that's traveling alone
or just wants to hang out with other kiters. The hotel rooms were very clean but pretty small.
The bungalows are a little nicer and bigger and well worth the additional $3/night if available.
In general, this was a very good place to stay. The Italian owner Nicola is very friendly and
helpful and the restaurant serves pretty good food. It has a very international crowd and you
have a sense of community with the other kiters staying there. People generally have
breakfast around 7AM and then gather to go down to the beach en mass on the hotel
van/trailer. You can kite all day and then get a ride back for dinner.

We also had a chance to talk to people about other accommodation and see the
Kiteboarding Costa Rica Villas. The Kiteboarding Costa Rica Villa looked pretty nice and
spacious and the manager (Kent) seemed very friendly and helpful. One couple told us to
avoid Bolanos Bay as the rooms appeared to have sewage backup problems (also reported
on tripadvisor.com). We heard Ecoplaya had very nice rooms. We drove by Cometa Copal

JayDelViento · Since 20 Jun 2010 36 Posts White Salmon

Thanks for the great information. It will make planning easier. We're all set up to stay with Cometa Copal in Feb/Mar. I changed flights into Liberia: San Jose is definitely the wrong arrival city. Will try it with no car as it was easy to arrange an airport pickup through Bob.

Bettyboarder · Mon Jan 03, 11 10:09 am

U will be happy u changed ur flight its alot faster. We stay there for a week without a car it was totally fine. Alf is awesome get to know him. He would grab groceries for us when he went to town so we could just kite all day.

Still one of my fav trips I hope to go there again soon. Have fun and post some pictures

kochease · Since 03 Jul 2008 760 Posts In Ft. Stevens, OR Opinionated

Thanks for taking the time to answer questions!! Love all the info you provided. Sounds likea great place to go and is on my list for next year.

Saturn_Racer · Since 17 Nov 2009 2 Posts New Member

Hi All,

Spent a week in the end of November at Recreo which is a few minute drive from Bahia Salinas and it was great! I would echo everything that has already been said including the comment about Alf. Him and I kited out to the island in the middle of the bay once. Totally have to go back.

lewmt · Since 04 Aug 2010 182 Posts MT Stoked

Great info - many thanks. Can't wait to hit Cometa Copal in March....Bob seems likes a really good guy running a good show. Should be a great change of pace from epic snowkite conditions.

TheKiteLife · Since 18 May 2010 9 Posts Kook

The most established operation in Bahia Salinas is Nicola at The Blue Dream Hotel. He is also the first operation there. I was an instructor with him 2 year ago and I really liked Nicola, good guy. Bob and Kent were also there at the time but much smaller operations. Maybe now they have grown as more and more people go there.

After traveling all over to kite the last 3 years as an instructor, that place is still one of my favorite spots. Ok, maybe its a little gusty, but I will take that to have wind all day long and every day! For going on a kite vacation, I dont think anywhere else can offer such a promise of wind.

-Gabe

JayDelViento · Since 20 Jun 2010 36 Posts White Salmon

Just got back from 3 weeks in Bahia Salinas and it was the best vacation ever! We stayed in Cometa Copal's Villa Simone. I'd highly recommend working with Bob at Cometa Copal for all your lodging and kite school needs. He runs a great operation. You can get more information at www.puro-viento.com. (Bob, chime in if you have a newer website).

If you want to do anything besides kiteboarding, be sure to ask Bob to introduce you to Ulf, who can set up trips around the area. Ulf is fun, knowledgeable and reliable. He's a bit pricey but worth it. You can get more information at www.adventour.info or http://www.facebook.com/AdvenTourCostaRica.

Bob's wife Kirsten can provide expert kite repair if you do like I did and rip the canopy in half... she did it overnight and it's a perfect repair.

We got there Feb 11 late at night. It was windy EVERY DAY until we left March 5. I'm a big guy (about 100 kilos) and the 9M kite was plenty, frequently rode a 7. A few people brought 12M as well & they were usually overpowered. We brought our boards and that worked out OK but what a hassle lugging them along. I'd rent next time. We rode 19 days total, just needed a 2-day trip to Nicaragua with Ulf for a little recovery time in the middle.

playacopal · Since 15 Sep 2008 30 Posts

jay
thanks so much!!!! it was great having you guys here and sharing our spot with you!!!!
FYI we are going on 115days in a row with kitable wind....
bob

landfilllonnie · Since 01 Mar 2008 43 Posts Lincoln City, Or

Thanks for all the great info.
I'm looking for waves and surf to kite. I've been asking people that I have heard have been to CR and looking on the net, but haven't seen a lot of information. Do you know of any areas to go for wind and waves?

Two websites I've found that have been a little help are
http://kitecostarica.net/kite-spots/pacific-coast-costarica-kitesurf/
http://www.tamarindokite.com

Any information would be great.