greenrooster

this is a follow-up to my itinerary question regarding tamarindo-arenal-monteverde-san jose.

we decided to skip monteverde in favor of arenal, but it ended up being moot because we had such a good time in tamarindo/playa langosta that we stayed an extra day.

we flew into liberia and rented from avis. christian picked us up and was patient and friendly as he had to call american express and then visa to clear up confusion regarding the mandatory collision/damage insurance.

we absolutely did not want to leave sueno del mar in playa langosta. nancy has the best breakfasts and will set you up with as many adventures as you want and/or encourage total laziness. and you can't beat seeing huge iguanas on the roof or monkeys in the trees just above.

nancy arranged horseback riding with donna and greiden (don't know their last name), who have healthy, happy horses. our guide, manuel, was easygoing, patient and friendly. nancy also set up a side trip to guaitil, where people make pottery and sell it from their front yards (sueno del mar has lots of pottery from here). and a kayaking trip with iguana surf in the san francisco estuary. martin (pronounced mar-TEEN) was sweet and funny and took up my poor-kayaking-form slack and let me rest ("no problema&quot.

we had great, cheap seafood at noguis and pedros. excellent, not so cheap (but still inexpensive) seafood at lazy wave. didn't make it to shark bite, unfortunately.

it took us nearly 5 hours to drive tamarindo-liberia-arenal. the roads were laughably bad once we got closer to arenal. a good stop in arenal/nuevo arenal is the lucky bug gallery, which has artwork and vegetarian/international cuisine. and the sweetest dog, bella, who talks to you if you speak her language. (i think i had "tourist proficiency" -- we had a few short conversations.)

we stayed at the arenal lodge, where the volcano put on a show our first night. the lodge has gorgeous grounds and the junior suites have wood floors, walls and high, beamed ceilings and a porch out back where you can listen to the hilariously loud frogs while you watch the volcano. it's great except for the fact that you can hear everything going on in your neighbors' room. i imagine the chalets would be quieter and have a marginally better view, but i don't think you'd hear the frogs at night and you definitely wouldn't see the hummingbirds and tanagers in the gardens in the mornings.

the lodge set up a "safari float trip" with jacamar naturalist tours down the penas blancas river. our guide, hugo, showed us a hummingbird's nest with two chicks, and poison dart frogs, a sloth and a toucan. and that was before we got on the raft. along the river he stirred up the monkeys for us and we saw snakes, lizards, a crocodile/cayman (saw it go underwater, anyway) and some beautiful scenery. all we had to do was sit back and enjoy. hugo's the best!

we didn't make it to tabacon springs our last night because of lightning.

it took about 3 hours to get from arenal to san jose via san ramon. this road was in good shape. (we made it with these directions: "take a left out of the lodge. pass the casino in fortuna, then take a right at the next stop sign." we had to stop in san ramon for directions. there's definitely not as much signage from arenal to san jose as there is between liberia and tamarindo.) in san jose we ate at manolos and watched the river of people drift by. it's in a central location at the intersection of two pedestrian walkways. the central market is a good place to get cheap t-shirts and other stuff.

i hope this is helpful. biding my time until i can get back!

Ally

Thanks for the report!
We stopped by Sueno Del Mar in August and fell in love with the beautiful peaceful surroundings. They were booked when we were there but we did get to see the 'honeymoon cabina' as it was being cleaned, so Nancy showed us the room.
The other rooms looked like they might be dark. How was your room? Did they provide any other meals while you where there or just breakfast? Thanks again!

greenrooster

we stayed in one of the casitas, and it was a little dark, but that was minor compared with its awesome kitchen, patio, bedroom, bathroom and loft. i've heard that dark rooms are common (in CR, not at sueno exclusively =) )
i also got to see the honeymoon suite -- pretty cool, eh?
all we had was breakfast. i think they also serve dinner in the busier season.

flycatcher06

hi there, you ,entioned a casino in La Fortuna is it in a hotel or freestanding? Thanks!

greenrooster

i don't recall where the casino is -- i just remember a big sign.