CarolM

Hi all,

I've started my 3-week countdown

I'm a little control-freaky, so I've actually made reservations for all our activities in Arenal: zip-line at Arenal Paraiso, Volcano Hike with EcoTermales after, waterfall rappelling with Desafio, and Cano Negro with Sunset Tours. What the heck!

Anyway, I also want to do the Hanging Bridges (the same day I do a 7am waterfall rappelling... should be plenty of afternoon time left).

We'll be staying at Montana de Fuego (not close to the bridges), and we won't have a car. My question is, should we just grab a taxi and walk the bridges ourselves? Or taxi and hire a guide once there? Or the whole shebang of a hotel pick-up and guide. I walked the bridges without a guide at Selvatura (in Monteverde), and I loved it, but we really didn't see any wildlife. Thoughts?

One other question re: Tabacon... I chose the Eco Termales option for after the volcano hike, but since this will be my 2nd trip to Arenal and I never saw Tabacon, I was interested in at least seeing the grounds (they'd make for beautiful pictures, and I'm into photography). Someone mentioned you could get a pass to just walk in and take pictures... is that true? Is it free?

Thanks!
Carol

volcanogirl

Hi, Carol - we did the Hanging Bridges in Arenal and did not see one spec of wildlife. I definitely wish we had hired a guide to do it - have heard others who hired guides say they saw howlers, vipers, etc. All we saw were ants. It was a pretty hike though.

CarolM

thanks VG -- I was thinking guide, too. Do you know if you can hire them right there, or is it something I'd have to do in advance? (In Manuel Antonio, you can get a guide right out front of the park.)

ShellD

Hi Carol - we hired the guide at Hanging Bridges right there at the front desk. They have an option for a guided tour or a self guided tour. Our guide was great. Not only did we see wildlife, but we learned quite a lot about the ecosystem. I highly recommend it.

We did get a pass to go into Tabacon first thing in the morning the day we left La Fortuna. We were guests at the hotel, so I don't know if it made a difference - but I would think not. They gave us a different color wristband, which I'm thinking meant we couldn't use the springs. Maybe give them a call and ask them about just going and taking pictures. I think I got the idea from a previous post here - so I'm sure it's not totally uncommon. It didn't cost us anything.

Have a great trip!!

volcanogirl

Carol, I've heard other people say you can hire a guide at the HB, but we didn't see any when we were there. We bought our tickets for half price at the Lost Iguana and weren't given the option of having a guide. Once at the bridges, we didn't see any. It wasn't like at MA where there were loads of them waiting outside the park - in fact, the entire place was pretty deserted when we were there, just the person taking tickets and then we really didn't see anyone else for hours.

ShellD

Carol - like vg said - there aren't guides hanging around. If you buy your tickets at the entrance - right next to the restaurant, they have two options for tickets. One is regular entrance and the second option is a guided tour. The guides work directly for the Hanging Bridges and you just pay extra when buying your ticket. I think it was around $5 per person more.

CarolM

Oh, good information on the Hanging Bridges. I'll definitely hire one when I buy my tickets.

ShellD, I'm confused... if you were a guest, why would you need a special wristband just to see the grounds? I heard the hotel is kind of jerky about stuff, so I was thinking that sounds too good to be true!

ShellD

Carol - ok, I'm being really confusing aren't I! Since it was our last day, before leaving Arenal, we were checking out of the hotel (Tabacon), but I still wanted to go take pictures of the hot springs. So, when we checked out, I asked if I could go back and take pictures. That's when they gave me the different wrist band. It's all coming back to me now!! So, we checked out, got the new wristband, drove over to the hot springs, took pictures and then left to head out of town.

Sorry for the confusion!