I'm going to be in Costa Rica for a short trip 4 days. It's a group of 3 women in early thirties. MA appears to be more beautiful, better beaches. But is there a nightlife? Are there single people out and about, or all couples and families? We are spending our last 2 days at the Xandari spa near San Jose.
Because it's a short trip, we want to keep it all relatively short distances. Thanks for the advice. We actually aren't looking for activities. This is a relaxation trip. A couple days at the beach and then to a spa. We aren't staying in San Jose. It is a spa outside San Jose which is on a plantation. They are supposed to have excellent spa facilities and there are walking paths through the plantation or half day trips to rain forests.
Definitely Manuel Antonio over Jaco. The beack inside Manuel Antonio park is like something out of Eden, completely undeveloped but incredibly beautiful and only a minute easy hike from the park entrance. If you get antsy after sitting on the beach for a while there are several short but beauitful hiking trails inside the park. Right outside the park entrance is the public beach which is also great fun for walking at sunset. There are a number of places right at the edege of the beach under the tress whioch serve food and drinks.
Nothing fancy but lots of fun. Jaco may have better waves but unquestionably MA has the better beaches. If you were a bunch of surfer girls the answer might be different. I used to live in Costa Rica. Jaco is good if you surf and want a prostitute, they have huge prostitution and drug problems in Jaco. I recently spent a week in Jaco and had no problem with either. I saw both but was not bothered.
Jaco is more lively and younger but not as upscale as MA. I would say calling it a "huge problem" is oncorrect. Yes there are lots of old gringos with young chicas trying to earn a buck. But that shouldn't be a problem for these ladies unless they are easily offended by the site of activities they disapprove. Those gringos aren't going to bother a group of gringas in their early thirties or gringas any other age for that matter. And yes there is a drug problem, but I hate to tell you there's one in Quepos too.
