My wife and I, good health in 60s, are going to CR next week for 11 days. We are there 5 days, then our daughter, 25, will join us for the rest of the trip. (I speak some Spanish, my wife a bit, but my daughter is very fluent.)

We plan to rent a compact 4x4 from Payless and have the following itinerary, with some flexibility in it. Since it is green season, we have only reserved a few hotels, feeling we can get rooms as needed (although I have identified some hotels as possibles along the way).

Am I trying to do too much? (I know there is quite a bit of driving.)

Day
1. Arrive SJO at 8pm from SFO ... Hotel in Alajuela
2. Get car, drive to Hacienda Pozo Azul and spend the day actively ... probably ride horses, canopy tour or rafting. Stay near Poas, perhaps at La Quinta Sarapiqui
3. Early morning, go to Poas and visit a few towns in the afternoon ... Sarchi, Grecia, etc.
4. Take the circle around Orosi Valley, perhaps staying at Orosi Lodge two nights.
5. Orosi Valley continued.
6. Early morning to Irazu, drive to San Jose in afternoon-evening, staying at Hampton Inn at SJO.
7. Pick up daughter arriving SJO at 7:30am, attend church in Alajuela, drive to Arenal Paraiso.
8. Morning at Arenal, afternoon drive to La Carolina near Bijagua, activities if arrive early enough.
9. Activities at La Carolina, drive to Monteverde for canopy tour (#2?), stay in/near Santa Elena or on the way to Manuel Antonio.
10. Spend the day at Manuel Antonio and stay at Mono Azul.
11. More Manuel Antonio and drive back to SJO. Stay at Hampton Inn.
12. Depart 8:45am for SFO.

I welcome any of your comments or suggestions!!

I have truly been impressed by many of the posts and trip reports I have read here, and will certainly add my report/comments after the trip. Many of you have been to CR or live in CR, and I would value your insights.

Thanks!

Orion

Orion, regarding day 9
<Activities at La Carolina, drive to Monteverde for canopy tour (#2?), stay in/near Santa Elena or on the way to Manuel Antonio>
I suggest do not go to Monteverde just for canopy tour. You could have similar experience in many other places without driving to Monteverde. To appreciate Monteverde you will need to spend there at least two nights.
In my opinion, you are trying to cover too many areas. your itinerary would involve lots of driving . How about staying in two or at most three places? Just my opinion

I agree, that's a lot to cram in, especially around days 7 thru 11. You've got 4 locations in those 5 days, I would narrow it down to just Arenal & MA IMO for days 7 - 11. The 1st 6 days sound great! Get to Poas as early as possible, hopefully you'll beat the clouds.

orionw,
I strongly agree with the other posters regarding Monteverde. Everything takes longer than expected, and your last few days sound very hectic. You will be spending a tremendous amount of time driving!

As for Orosi, it is definitely worth the visit, and if you leave San Jose early in the a.m., you can do Irazu on the way. I do think that one night in this area would be sufficient. We spent one full day exploring the area including Irazu, Lankaster Gardens, the old church at Ujarras, Orosi, and Lake Cachi and the dam. It was a good day, and we easily saw all of that without having to rush around at all. So unless you just want to relax down there for a day or two, you really wouldn't need more than a day or a day and a night at the most. Have fun!

You should LOVE Hacienda Pozo Azul - just did the rafting (Class II & III) & canopy tour early this month. They were great! The canopy is supposedly one of the best & safest in the country. The rafting was great too & I'd highly recommend over the horses. My friends did the horseback riding (one had a hurt shoulder so no rafting) and they said it was only so-so. I had never been rafting before & they cover all the instructions & I felt very safe. We saw some good wildlife on the rafting trip too. And, saw some howler monkeys in the trees during the canopy tour. Have a great time!

incognito, tully, shillmac and sclubb,

Thanks for your comments! Based on them, I plan to spend just one day around Orosi Valley, including Irazu.

For the extra day I have now, is San Jose a city to spend several hours in on a Friday/Saturday, or not?

As for the second week, sadly I have cut out Monteverde and will take a canopy tour from MA, but I really wanted to keep La Colina based on the posts I have read. So Arenal, La Colina and MA in the second week. Still lots of driving, but I think we can cope.

Thanks so much for the quick responses!

Any other thoughts?

Orion

San Jose is worth a see if you've not been there before, but most people don't make a habit of returning. It is definitely not up to par (so I've heard) with other capital cities in Central American. It is worth a walking tour one morning that could include the Plaza de la Cultura, the Teatro Nacional, the Jade Museum, and the Museo de Oro (Gold Museum, very state of the art). At night, El Pueblo is an interesting place to visit. . .an area of bars, restaurants, and gift shops. Check out the possibility of Ecoscape's Highlight Tour. It is an excellent way to spend the day and gives an informative and active overview of many of the wonders of interesting points of Costa Rica.

Folks,

In my last post, when I said "..wanted to keep La Colina..", I meant to say "La Carolina" near Bijagua.

shillmac, thanks for the suggestion. I will consider the Ecoscape Highlights 1-day tour.

Orion

I knew what you meant. La Carolina has gotten some good reviews. It sounds like a great place, and we have put it on "our list". Be sure and let us know what you thought about it--and the rest of your trip! Have fun!

Make sure to post on your return! Have a great trip