Hi everyone, me and my girlfriend are going to Costa Rica for the first time next week. Any activity/tour operator suggestions for Arenal and Monterverde? In addition to hiking, we were thinking about horseback riding, doing a canopy tour or doing hanging bridge type tour. Any recommendations would be great. Thanks!

There is a new tour called Hanging Bridges near Arenal - we are planning to do it on our trip (we're leaving next week too!). Check it out at www.hangingbridges.com

It is very inexpensive to rent horses in Monteverde and the guide even brought mine right to my hotel. The two of us went on a fabulous 2-hour ride through coffee plantations and countryside - it was awesome! He also pointed out a lot of wildlife along the way which I loved.

In Arenal, sign up for the hike that leaves late afternoon, to hike the old lava flows in Arenal National Park. Weather permitting, you will get to see the glowing lava rocks as it gets darker. Climbing over the old lava flows was incredibe and the view of Lake Arenal at sunset was spectacular. Also in the Arenal area, consider the safari float tour on the Penas Blancas river? very peaceful and we saw dozens of howler monkeys running around in the trees over our heads as we floated down the river.

In Monteverde, we did Original Canopy Tour which was great. Selvatura is a cool place with bridges, canopy tour, etc. Also consider doing a night hike (by flashlight) in Monteverde, which is really cool. The ones at Hidden Valley and the Finca Ecologica were both good (see tarantulas, bats, agouti, sloths, etc.)

Oh yeah, as far as tour operators go: in Arenal (in the small town of La Fortuna) there are 2 different tour operators' offices. Both are good. You will probably find that you can arrange all your tours through your hotel. If not, you can go to the offices in La Fortuna yourself.

Thanks for your suggestions! They are a great help!