Millie64

HI all,
I'm leaving this Friday for CR. At last! will give everyone a report when I get back. Our first day we will be driving from San Jose to Arenal. From the forum I gather the easiest route will be to to take the highway to San Ramon and then take 142 up to Fortuna. My question is should we take a detour to Grecia and Sarchi? How long will it take? I'm a little concerned about getting lost on the way to the towns since everyone says there are no road signs.

Also what is special about them. Later on in the trip we will be visiting Zarcero.

We also drive through Quesada (or san Carlos). Is that an interesting town?

shillmac

Millie64, I do indeed think you would enjoy both towns--they are very close together. You'll want to go when you can allow yourself a couple of hours or so at Sarchi because it is a fun place to look at all the beautiful hand painted furniture and souvenir shops. Both towns are very neat (Grecia is said to be the cleanest little town in Central America) and both have unique churches. The market in Grecia would be a good place to pick up coffee before you come home. Sounds like you will have plenty of opportunity to visit as you will be all around there. Perhaps when you go to Zarcero--we've done all three in a day. You CAN do them on the way to Arenal, but if you are visiting San Carlos and Zarcero later, it would make sense to include Grecia and Sarchi at that time. These little towns (and Zarcero) are some of my favorite places in the country.

We've not stopped in San Carlos (Ciudad Quesada), just driven through. Don't know that there is anything of particular interest there. Do have a great trip!

Jessie_

You could probably even fit a quick trip to the Doka Plantation or Poas before heading to Grecia. There is a great little restaurant right on the corner of the green called the Oasis that has very good typical Costa Rican food. As usual do heed the warnings to park where you can see your car or don't leave your belongings in it. Your car should be okay while in Sarchi as you will be able to park right in front of the stores.

LA_FadeAway

I would only go to those towns if you actually have time to explore them and enjoy shopping and such. My husband and I ended up going through both of them while we were lost on our way to Arenal, so we didn't get to enjoy them at all. They didn't seem all that special when driving through lost, tired, and irratable!

shillmac

Lost, tired, and irritated makes any place seem un-special! What a bummer!

Barbarian

We have a new restaurant in Grecia that is quite special yet inexpensive - open for lunch and dinner: La Casa de Miguel is 200 meters east of the church (which is made of metal, by the way - it was shipped in pieces from Belgium in the 1890s - definitely worth a peep in.)

Wherever you stop in Grecia, you need not worry about your car. This town is very safe. It is located 7 kilometers off the autopista (the main highway from San Jose to the Pacific Coast) in a very pretty, mountainous area. Sarchi is 7 kilometers from Grecia. You can then continue on to Naranjo and then back to the highway - a nice, scenic loop.

You'll like our town!