Tips for our July 26th Costa Rica Jungles and Rainforest trip??

Mellner4

We are going on the July 26th Costa Rica Jungles and Rainforest trip. We have never been to Costa Rica and we will have our 15 yr old son and 11 yr old daughter with us and were wondering if anyone had any travel / packing tips for us?

mze

Just got back! Best trip ever! My kids are 13 & almost 11. We lucked out in the rain, but definitely shoes that will dry quickly & waterproof jackets. We had a "sneaker" from Columbia that water can wash through & dried in a couple hours. Never wore our regular running sneakers. Wore poncho for turtle watching, but very steaming with that on. My husband brought his golf rain gear & pants. Everything has a damp feeling by the end due to humidity. Very casual attire. Only time people got a little dressed was the first and last nights all together. Otherwise shorts/tshirts were fine for all meals. Take quick dry or very light cotton shirts. Not really hot, but humid some days. We put bug spray on some places, but none of us found it buggy at all! Not one bite! We all had quick dry convertible pants (zip off for shorts) which were handy for less to pack and if you find it cooler.

We also brought Colgate ready use toothbrushes for in Tortuguero so we wouldn't risk using the water there. Tauck had bottled water everywhere and all stops/restaurants had bottled water. I get motion sickness, so brought Dramamine. Only one day was bad with narrow, winding roads. Boat rides were calm. Though I took the medicine every day so that may have helped me too. Take binoculars for sightseeing- Toucans so neat with all their colors. & howling monkeys right in front of you! We also brought a little packaged snack food for if the kids got hungry on the bus ride to/from an activity before lunch/dinner. We got more at the super market there. Speaking of food, it was so good! Kid friendly items for picky eaters and plenty of other items for more adventurous ones. My kids now love ceviche!

You will have an awesome time! My kids only want to travel now through Tauck! I'm right there with them. Everything is planned out. Not much downtime, which I liked. It was great seeing all the kids ages 5-17 playing & eating together. By the last night they were all wound up so much and getting along I don't think any of them wanted to leave!
Enjoy!

British

Mze, I've been to Costa Rica with Tauck twice. I cannot remember the drinking water situation there but here is a tip for your future Tauck exotic trips and water use. First, as soon as you get to your room, attach something like a hair band/bobble, whatever you call it, or an elastic band to the cold tap. This is usually enough to remind you not to use the water for drinking, because you will see it every time you go to turn the tap on. Some people suggest putting a wash cloth over the tap, that's not permanent enough for me.
Second, brushing teeth. The first rule of brushing your teeth, wherever you are, is not to pre-wet your toothbrush before adding toothpaste. Most people do not realize that. Fill the container you will use to rinse your mouth with water, brush your teeth, rinse out your mouth with some of the water, then with the remainder you can swirl your toothbrush in the container to clean it, if that is not sufficient, pour that out, add fresh water and repeat. No need for disposable toothbrushes this way.

Mellner4

Thank you both for your posts. A lot of useful information.

mze

Oh, and bring some plastic bags or large ziplock bags to place wet items in so the rest of your luggage isn't soaking wet. Your packing and unpacking a lot at the different destinations and everything will have a damp feeling.