noshdome

This is my first question posed to this forum. I've been reading for a couple weeks now and am so glad I found this site.

We (myself, hubby, and two 15 year old daughters) will be traveling to Costa Rica with two dear friends (in their 50s like us) for eight days in early April. None of us are particularly high maintenance, although we like a clean, quiet room with a comfy bed, hot showers, and hot tea/coffee in the mornng. We know to expect mold and "little creatures" since we'll be in the rainforest. There are a few serious animal lovers in our group, so seeing wildlife is at the top of our list. My girls are good travelers and pretty adventourous. One is a picky eater, but she'll have to deal with it!

We arrive into SJO on two different flights mid-afternoon. We are renting a 4WD SUV and will spend the first two nights in the Poas Volcano area. We're staying at www.mangovalley.com. We tried to get into the Poas Volcano Lodge and finally got a response to our numerous emails that they did indeed have vacancies, only to have further communication drop off the face of the earth. We're actually happy with our reservation at Mango Valley, so perhaps it is all for the best. Our priority here is to see the Poas Volcano, weather cooperating. We are also considering La Paz Waterfall if you guys think the admission price is worth it. ($140 for our family of four). Am I correct that we do not need to reserve a tour guide for either the volcano or La Paz in advance? We will be there over the Easter holidays, so I'm a bit nervous.

We head to Montverde for three nights on Day 3. We will be staying at the Tree Top House. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...untarenas.html Girls are very excited by this and are dreaming of feeding the monkeys. I am not so sure that is a good idea! Reviews are generally good, but we are prepared for noise from wind and hit-or-miss hot showers. We have rented the entire house so should have lots of privacy. I think this was a restaurant and art museum in previous lives. It looks pretty unique. Our main priorities in Monteverde are a tour of the Cloud Forest and some of our group want to do a zip line tour. Should I arrange these in advance? We may do one of the "hanging bridge" walks too as it seems that the zip lines are more for thrills than seing animals. Another possibility here is a coffee plantation tour. We want to leave some free time to relax or do some spur of the moment activities.

Our last three nights will be spent at Manuel Antonio. We had a hard time finding a place to stay here, but have a reservation at Hotel Costa Verde www.costaverde.com in one of their bungalows. We will, of course, tour the park. The girls would like a surfing lesson since this is somethng they've never done. Both are good swimmers, but I want to find a place with gentle surf. We've spent lots of time in the Carribean, so I am not expecting a great deal from the beaches at Manuel Antonio. Perhaps I will be pleasantly surprised! We love St. John, Rum Point on Grand Cayman, Antigua... We all like to snorkel, but from what I am reading, snorkeling is not that great at MA. I have read that the beaches at Dominical are beautiful. How long would that drive be from MA? We really only have part of the first day and two full days at MA. We are getting up early on our last day and driving back to SJO for flights that leave at 2:15 PM and 3:30 PM or so. Do we need to be at SJO three hours prior to departure or will two hours suffice?

So, that's the plan. It seems pretty tame compared to some places we could visit in Costa Rica, but this is our first trip and we're happy with our choices - a volcano, cloud forest reserve, and Manuel Antonio. I welcome any comments or suggestions. Thanks so much.

Pam

paddicakes

For your stay at Manuel Antonio I would recommend the Verde Mar
It is within walking distance to the park and is the only hotel that is truly connected to the beach
All the others you have to walk down a cliff. the hotel is simple and clean and the pool is right outside the rooms, so you can see the children at all times. they have kitchenettes so you can relax in the AM or have snacks available in the evening.
Make sure you hire a guide to take you through the park, if you don't you will miss so much, it comes with free entry for the day.
Personally we are partial to Tamarindo, but thats because we have a condo there. Its a great place for the girls to get surf lessons.
You may want to consider staying in sjo the night before your flight. You could do some shopping the morning before leave in downtown if you stay at the Don Carlos.
Another plan would be to stay in sjo at the end and take the tour to the Poas. You have to be at the Poas early in the morning to be sure to see the crater. It clouds up pretty fast.
Also is this trip taking place over easter weekend ? Thats a big holiday in CR especially for CR families thats when they take holidays. Its the first break after the school year starts ( they start the year in February)

noshdome

Thank you for your suggestions. We do plan to hire a guide to see MA park. We decided to see Poas at the begining of our trip because we didnt want to have to drive very far from SJO since our flights get in mid-afternoon. After picking up the rental car, we may not have that much daylight left and don't want to be driving in the dark. We are planning leave MA b/w 8 and 8:30 AM our last day to drive back to SJO.

We will be in Costa Rica for the Easter holidays. I know that's not ideal, but we are limited by school vacations. I know this is a busy time, so thats why I was wondering if I needed to book tours of La Paz, Monteverde Biological Reserve, MA National Park, and the zipline tours in advance.

tully

I would leave by 8am at the latest to be safe. If there is traffic it could cut your time too close. I would give SJO a 3 hour check-in to be safe.

Costa Verde is a good hotel, good choice. Dominical is about an hour or so drive to the South. The 2nd beach inside the MA park is a nice one, just keep an eye on your belongings.

Also must note, your comments on feeding the monkeys? If you care for monkeys, please don't feed them or any wild animals.

paddicakes

I agree with don't feed the wildlife. Also if a monkey bites you , you will spend most of the day getting shots at the clinic, anything they have they can pass to you and anything (sickness) you have you can pass to them. I think booking the tours in advance is a good idea, especially for that time of the year.

volcanogirl

We loved the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, but we stayed at the Peace Lodge so we didn't have to pay the admittance fee. I'd take a look at pics and see if you think it's worth it to you. They have several beautiful waterfalls on the property, nice hiking, aviary, butterfly house, etc. and at certain times of day you can hand feed hummingbirds which was really cool. Your best bet to see wildlife in Monteverde is to do a guided tour of the Reserve. We did our ziplining with the Original Canopy Tour and enjoyed it. Sky Trek is popular too, and we've used them in Arenal; Selvatura is another popular pick. We also liked doing the night hike at Hidden Valley. The beach inside the park at Manuel Antonio is beautiful. Snorkeling wasn't great for us because there was a lot of sediment in the water. Definitely do not feed the monkeys. There are signs everywhere telling you it's against the rules. Definitely don't want wildlife to associate people with food.