flygirl515

I have been reading these forums and my Fodors book for 3 weeks now. Wanted to ask a few question before we decide to go for it...
First of all we are a family of 5, three children 15, 12, 10, traveling space available with my travel passes. We only go if the flights are open, so far so good, getting back to the US is going to be a nightmare.
Arrive on a Monday: going to reserve room at Hilton Garden Inn
Tuesday: Hotel El Silencio de Campo, 4 nights?....need any information good or bad about this place. We need a place to sleep five. Haven't booked yet.

Ground transportation: Do I need this set up when I reserve?

My kids want to zip line: best place and do I need to book now or wait until we get there?
Hanging Bridge tour?
Volacano hike?
Baldi Springs?
La Fortuna waterfall?

If you could do three which would you recommend? We are on a budget, want to have fun, stay at a clean and comfortable place and enjoy Costa Rica.
Thanks, any advice would be great!

Also, I plan on booking hotel, ground tranportation and maybe tours through Marina Villatoro, travelexperta.com, whom I saw had great reviews on this Forum.

flygirl515

Not, the Hilton Garden Inn in San Jose, the Holiday Inn Express or any other suggestions.Want to keep the price down since it's just for one night on both ends of travel.

volcanogirl

Silencio del Campo always gets great reviews. People with young kids also really like Los Lagos for everything there is to do on the grounds. You can either drive yourselves or hire a private driver. We book ours through our hotels when we reserve them. There's also a shuttle called Interbus, but with that many people, I'd just go for the private driver because the cost would be about the same. Sky Trek is the most popular zipline and has some of the highest longest lines in the country. Baldi gets some pretty bad reviews. We like Eco Termales and Tabacon if you want to check into those. You don't need a tour to go to La Fortuna watefall; you can just hike down and swim at the base. I think it's a don't miss. The Hanging Bridges is a nice hike, but definitely hire a guide if you want to try to see wildlife. The volcano doesn't seem to be doing much right now, so I don't know if I would bother with the volcano hike. The thing we liked most about it was getting close enough to see the flow. The Cano Negro tour with Sunset Tours is a good tour to see wildlife. If you go, it pairs well with an evening at the hot springs.

flygirl515

Thank you Volcanogirl,

Can I book transpotation after I arrive in San Jose?
What would you recommend?

May have to wing this entire trip, is that possible if I know where I want to go?
Everything is hinging on if we make the flight and I don't want to let go of money on reservation if I can't get our family there.

volcanogirl

I would book your transportation ahead of time. Check with your hotels, or there are also a lot of recommendations on this board. As for hotels, we always book those ahead. You can wing it, but you may not always get your first choice. Sunset Tours and Desafio are both good tour agencies in the area. We usually book tours when we get there. Eco Termales does sell out though since they limit entry to 100 people. For most everything else, I think you'd be fine to book once you're there. Sometimes it's nice to see what the weather will be like.

petite43

I've done both Sky Trek & the zip line at Arenal Paraiso and thought they were both great but if you're looking to keep costs down I think the one at Arenal Paraiso is little less expensive. I would also recommend The Springs Resort for their hot springs...again, much less than Tabacon. Good luck getting on a flight!

volcanogirl

Good point, petite; we did think Tabacon was expensive.

mlgb

I went to Baldi, and it is fine, especially if you are having to pay for a family of four. There are a number of plusses, first, your pass is good for the entire day, and two, there is no need to reserve. I didn't care for the buffet dinner but it certainly was an inexpensive add, like
$5pp, which was a nice break from the usual high cost of eating out in Costa Rica.

You can get discounted passes for Baldi all over the town.