mccarty33

My wife and I are planning our first 8-day trip to CR for late May/early June. We will fly into SJO and stay over night in a local hotel, and then take a shuttle to the La Fortuna/Arenal area the next day. We will not be renting a car while we are in CR. I have looked into a lot of the hotels outside of La Fortuna's city limits, but I am concerned that, without a car, we will basically be stuck at these hotels when we are not on excursions and eat at their restaurants each night. We want the freedom to be able to do excursions (horseback riding, hanging bridges, sky trek, etc.), and come back to our hotel and eat at different local restaurants each night. Without a car, is it best to stay in La Fortuna's city limits if this is our goal? We wouldn't mind eating a nice dinner one night, but we don't want to be stuck at the same restaurant each night, especially if that restaurant is pricy. We are not the type of people to just sit around a pool all day, either. Is there much to do in La Fortuna (shops, etc.)?

By the way, we will be in La Fortuna/Arenal for 3 to 4 days and then spend the remaining 3 days in Manuel Antonio to get in our beach fix.

Thanks!

volcanogirl

When you do tours, they'll usually pick you up and drop you back off at your hotel so transportation is usually included there. To go back and forth to town, you can easily get taxis to take you if you want to. The appeal of this area is the nature and adventure activities, not the town itself. The town is basically just one main road with restaurants and hotels sprinkled along it, one disco, the park, a church, etc. The appeal is the waterfall, Hanging Bridges, etc. which aren't in one main area. I'd pick a great hotel and then just use taxis and tours for transport.

Deb15July

Taxis will be the way to go as VG says. With only 3-4 days in Arenal...the cost won't set you back much.

mccarty33

Thanks for the advice. I'm thinking we may stay somewhere with great views. How much is a taxi per person one way from, for example, the Volcano Lodge & Gardens?

volcanogirl

http://www.arenal.net/arenal-costa-rica-map.htm shows a good map of the area. I'd just e-mail the lodge and ask them. I would guess about ten dollars, but that's just a guess.

qwovadis

hotelvistadelcerro.com for budget
hotelmagicmountain.com more upscale
Both in town on the road to Arenal.net
But walable from town and very nice for price.

Happy Trails!

volcanogirl

If you do tours, you can also ask them to drop you back off in town rather than at your hotel, thus saving yourself one way on a taxi fare.