This is a long post but I was hoping that you wouldn't mind helping we with some advice regarding the trip my boyfriend and I plan to take August 23-September 3 (11 days). Here is my itinerary thus far:

Day 1 - Fly from San Diego to SJO - arrive 8:42pm; pickup by hotel from airport (free hotel transfer) stay night at Hotel Santa Maria in Alajuela

Day 2 - Pickup by shuttle arranged by Arenal.net from hotel to Monteverde. Stay night at Pension Santa Elena

Day 3 - Full day in Monteverde - night at Pension Santa Elena

Day 4 - Morning in Monteverde Reserve, afternoon Taxi-boat-taxi to Arenal. Night at Arenal Observatory Lodge

Day 5 - Full Day in Arenal - Night at Arenal Observatory Lodge

Day 6 - Rafting trip down Sarapaqui river (organized through Arenal.net) ending with transfer to San Jose - NIght at Tranquilo Backpackers in San Jose.

Day 7 - Early morning flight on Natureair to Tortuguero. Night somewhere in Tortuguero Village (we may just pick someplace when we get there)

Day 8 - Full Day in Tortuguero

Day 9 - Full Day in Tortuguero

Day 10 - Full Day in Tortuguero

Day 11 - Full Day in Tortuguero

Day 12 - Early morning flight via NatureAir from Tortuguero to San Jose (arriving at 8:20am). International flight from SJO to San Diego leaving SJO at 2:55PM

My Questions:
1) Do you have any advice or comments with regards to our current itinerary?

2) Do you recommend flying to Tortuguero or should we take the land/sea route via bus and ferries? Is it difficult? How much does the land/sea route usually cost and how long does it take? We would really like to independently travel to Tortuguero without a package with a lodge just so we have more freedom and save some money - do you think this is advisable?

3) Do you recommend flying out of Tortuguero on the same day that our international flight leaves San Jose? Do you think we have enough time to make it to our international flight at 2:55PM if our flight from Tortuguero is scheduled to arrive at 8:20AM at the local airport (Boleros?) in San Jose? Are the NatureAir flights from Tortuguero usually on time?

4) Do you recommend spending an extra day in Arenal instead of so many days in Tortuguero?

5) Do you happen to know if Arenal.net is a reputable company? I want to make sure before I send them my credit card information.

Thank you so much for your help in advance. We can't wait to see the country!

I would recommend you spend more time in Arenal; we spent 4 days there. It has natural hot springs, ziplines, the trip to Cano Negro which is amazing, the Hanging Bridges, and of course the volcano - it really has a lot to offer and I think you'll wish you spent more time there.

What are your plans for the 4 days in Tortugero?

Unless you have a specific reason for being in Tortuguero (ie volunteer work) I would spend more time in Arenal.

I would see if you could move to Tortuguero right after rafting the Sarapiqui because you are already 1/2 way there from Arenal.

I would not fly back to San Jose the same day as my international flight during rainy season.

Unless your days are scheduled to coordinate with the moon for turtles I would consider reversing your plan. Go to Tortuguero first from SJ, then to Arenal, Monteverde and back to SJ in AM for your flight.

If there are only 2 of you I would, to save money consider Interbus for some transfers.

I agree with the others, I wouldn't spend so much time in Tortuguero, I would spend more time in Arenal.

Haven't used arenal.net so can't say. I know there were some issues months ago about them, not sure if that's been cleared up.

Also, if you were to hit Tortuguero first, you wouldn't have to worry about catching your flight home - you should be okay time-wise, the only catch is I believe there is only 1 flight a day, so if it's canceled for any reason, you'd have a problem. Also keep in mind Nature Air flies to Pavas, which is about 30 minutes away from SJO Int'l.

I think you are spending too long in Tortuguero. I spent two nights and saw all the sights. My family and I took a package through the Mawamba Lodge. Took a bus/cruise from San Jose to get there (saw lots of sights along the way). Mawamba Lodge had an option to return via a boat to Sarapaqui, which we did.

The village of Tortuguero is VERY small. We went there to see the turtles lay their eggs...we were not disappointed. It was the highlight of our trip. We enjoyed having a package tour that included the tours, lodging and meals. We usually do things on our own, but I doubt we would have seen so much for had such a good time if we had "winged it".

It is very warm and very humid in Tortuguero. It saps your energy. Everyone was at the pool in the afternoon to cool off. The pool area was great, it had red-eyed green tree frogs living in the trees/bushes. So much wildlife. You will love it, but two nights is plenty.

Thanks so much for your suggestions! A few more questions... is Arenal walkable? How far is it from the Arenal Observatory Lodge to the town of La Fortuna? What are some of the activities you would recommend for us to do in Arenal? We have already booked a white water rafting trip but other than hiking around the volcano we do not have any other set plans. Has anyone gone fishing in Lake Arenal? Would you recommend it? Kayaking? Thanks again for your help!

Hi, dohty - the thing I always recommend is the trip to Cano Negro. It's a comfortable boat ride where you can just sit back and see howlers, capuchins, sloths, birds, caimans, etc. all in their natural environment. We used Sunset Tours and would highly recommend them.

You can also go to the hot springs at Tabacon or Ecotermales - also hear Baldi mentioned occasionally. You can do the Skytrek/Skytram ziplines, go hiking at the Hanging Bridges (next door to Lost Iguana), and of course, volcano watch. There's really a lot of options in the area. I think you'd really enjoy it.

If the lake interests you, you might want to check out the Lost Iguana - it's right near the damn and the lake.

In reply to your question about walking...from AOL to Fortuna is about a 30 minute drive, much of that over a very, very bumpy road. Definitely would not advise walking it.

There are many, many things to do in the area. I enjoyed SkyTrek, Hanging Bridges & a volcano hike when I was there. Many people here rave about the Cano Negro tour.

Hi dohty15,

The other guys have given you some great suggestions for Arenal. Cano Negro was terrific, although you may have a somewhat similar experience in Tortuguero (I would probably still do Cano Negro as well, because I really enjoy those types of boat tours). Sky Trek/Sky Tram was great. The Hanging Bridges were very enjoyable, as was Tabacon Hotsprings. There are lots of other activities in the area as well; the waterfall hike, volcano hike, waterfall repelling, cave exploration, etc...

Most of the Arenal hotels you'll see recommended here are out of town a bit. Most of the activities are fairly spread out in the area, so you'll need to factor in transportation. It's an easy area to drive around if you feel like renting a car. Most of the tour companies also offer transportation to and from your hotel.

Your trip will be here before you know it!

hi. my boyfriend and i are also planning an 11 day trip to cr (end of august, so we'll be able to report back to you!), so we should connect. not sure if we have the same interests, etc., so this info may or may not be helpful.
so far, i am just focusing on figuring out hotels, and then we will map out the activities. we, too, were thinking of tortuguero, but i'm thinking that it will be very remote and very hot and rainy.

so, here is just the hotel list, so far.
night 1: san jose area (www.puravida.com)
night 2: arenal observatory lodge
arenalobservatorylodge.com
night 3: arenal observatory lodge
day
day 1:

ooops. let me try again.

hi. my boyfriend and i are also planning an 11 day trip in august, so we should connect and share ideas and resources.

not sure if we have the same interests, etc., so this info may or may not be helpful.

so far, i am just focusing on figuring out hotels, and then we will map out the activities. we, too, were thinking of tortuguero, but i'm thinking that it will be very remote and very hot and rainy.

so, here is just the hotel list, so far.

night 1: san jose area (www.puravida.com)

night 2: arenal observatory lodge
arenalobservatorylodge.com

night 3: arenal observatory lodge

night 4: monteverde (www.arcoirislodge.com)

night 5: arcoirislodge.com

night 6: not sure--might spend a night in san jose

night 7: manuel antonio (not yet sure of the hotel. will keep you posted)

night 8: manuel antonio

night 9: manuel antonio

night 10: san jose area

so i share this info both to help dohty15 out and also to welcome and encourage any feedback on what we have planned.

not yet sure if we will rent a car or bus or what!

in terms of the lodging choices--these are still tentative. i haven't yet reserved anything w/a credit card.

i found these places by reading guide books (fodor's, frommer's, and open road's best of costa rica) and then cross referenced them on tripadvisor.com to see the ratings.

thank you all, in advance, for your feedback!

Some of the people said to spend more time in Arenal. I think you should do something else in Arenal instead of white water rafting then go to San Jose the next day stopping at La Paz waterfall gardens and Paos volcano. Then you can take the Pacuare white water rafting trip (they'll pick you up in San Jose). This trip is world class compared to Sarapaqui.

deborahanddavid,
I see no real reason to spend a night in San Jose in the middle of your trip. If you want to spend an extra night there at the end so you can get up to La Paz waterfall gardens or rafting for instance that would work out great. Maybe even do a little shopping in Sarchi before you leave.

Sounds like a great trip otherwise!

dohty15, we spent 3 full days in Tortuguero and it was at least 1 day too long. I agree with the others that maybe an extra day in Arenal or even San Jose to do a day trip from there would be good.

Are you flying Continental through Houston/?If so leave plenty of time for customs as the Houston Intercontinental airport is huge,and lines may be long.

I would spend more time in Arenal, it is so beautiful. We flew into San Jose and had a private driver the entire length of the trip at our disposal (24/7). I mapped out a route and the driver would suggest the better of whatever tour we decided.
We spent 3 nights in Manual Antonio and went to the Manual National Park, which has a beautiful PRIVATE beach where we saw sloths and howler monkeys, not to mention the iguana's everywhere.
The last 3 nights were spent in La Fortuna, we stayed at Lost Iguana. What a beautiful Romantic resort. You can actual see the lava flow lying down in bed! What a view.
While in Arenal, La Fortuna we went white water rafting, waterfall repelling(canyoning) and canopy tour (zip lining), a dip or two at Tabacon Hotsprings (Tico Side,much cheaper than Tabacon Resort charges).

The food is absolutly delious and inexpensive! They have white pineapples there and the pina colada's at Lost Iguana was delious!
Hope that helps! And I hope you enjoy yourself as much as we did.Looking forward to going back!