CarolM

I know everyone says Cano Negro is just amazing but:

1. I live in South Florida and have been to the Everglades about 400 times. Besides monkeys, I think this is very familiar terrain for me. Am I wrong?

2. When I was in Manuel Antonio (twice) I did the Damas Island mangrove tour. While I loved the tour, this did feel very similar to the Everglades (again, plus monkeys!)

Does anyone have a perspective on this? I'm lucky enough to have 3 full days in the Arenal area, but I know Cano Negro would take up a full day... I'm just not sure if it would be worth it for me personally -- would it be different enough?

volcanogirl

Hi, Carol - we live in Houston and have a lot of the same wildlife here that CR has; we have some of the same waterbirds, have gone canoeing with alligators, etc. at home, but we still loved Cano Negro. It was just fun for us to be out on the water with such a great guide. We didn't see any wildlife in Arenal, so maybe this is why it was such a thrill for us. Sunset Tours did a great job - everyone on the boat was interacting and spotting howlers, capuchins, cloths, caimans, etc. Then they pulled the boat over, and we had a great tico lunch on the side of the river. We loved it, but if you think it's too similar to what you've already done, and it really doesn't interest you, it would be okay to skip it.

I would definitely do it again if we went back just because we had such a great time and got such amazing pictures. The tour takes the better part of a day, but we still got back early enough to go to dinner and hit the Tabacon hot springs.

CarolM

Thanks VG,

I'm gonna be traveling with my sister, and it will be her first time to CR. Even though I feel like I'm duplicating some of my own experiences, you may be right that it can still be fun. When you said you hadn't really encountered all that much wildlife in Arenal, I realized if we don't do Cano Negro, she may really miss out (since this is a quick trip and we're only doing 2 nights at Villa Blanca in addition to Arenal). I think you gotta see monkeys before you leave CR. Thanks for your input.

We're gonna have a REALLY active 3 days (just the way we like it)! I hope we have time to do it all... I do NOT like to relax when traveling, so I should be happy! We want to do: hanging bridges, zip line, Pure Trek waterfall rappelling, the sunset hike around the volcano, hot springs at some point. Any tips on how to maximize our time?

What time does Sunset Tour's Cano Negro trip return? Do you know? Is this something I should book in advance (meaning from the US) or can I do it in La Fortuna when I get there. We'll be in Arenal December 18-20... I know, busy season.

Thanks!

volcanogirl

I think we got back around 4:00 or 5:00 in the afternoon; we just booked the trip the day before through our hotel, but we were there in July and things weren't that busy. Have a great time!

hipvirgochick

Agree with Vgirl that even if some of the Cano Negro might seem familiar to you, still worth the experience (especially if you have others traveling that this will be completely new for).
Be sure to post back how you like it though, as this questions comes up occasionally. Most likely you'll want to book the hot springs for that evening to max your time. If this is going to be your first day in Arenal you might want to just book right before you leave home.

You can definitely do the hanging bridges and ziplining in morning/afternoon and the sunset hike on the same day. I would check ahead for the times everything's offered though, so you can coordinate your waterfall rapel as well.

Sounds like a great trip!

volcanogirl

Carol, you travel just like we do - we are go, go, go and see as much as we can! Don't care to relax at all. If you find you have to give something up, I'd skip the Hanging Bridges - it was a nice hike, but for us it wasn't that big of a wow moment, and we didn't see any wildlife there. There's supposed to be an amazing volcano view from one of the briges, but it was socked in by fog during our hike.

Keith

CarolM, I try to mximize my time as well. That is why I am renting a vehicle.

Keith