loriley

We are in Arenal for 5 nights and then headed to the Pacific Coast for another 9. My feeling is that Arenal is the place to get in all your adventures while enjoying the beauty around you (I've never been to Costa Rica so what do I know though). We are travelling peak season with 6 of us so I wanted to make sure we have reservations to aviod disappointment.
My question is now that I have an itinerary is it realistic. I've been working with Desafio and they have been great. I don't know how long each of these tours are or what time they have us starting or ending. I thought maybe those of you who have done some of these tours but be able to commment.
We are still debating on whether to rent a car or use Destinos Encantados Bohar Travel Agency.

Day 1
Liberia to Arenal

Day 2
La Fortuna Waterfall Guided Hike
Whitewater Rafting Class 2 & 3

Day 3
Caño Negro Wldlife Refuge

Day 4
Sky Adv. Combo
(Sky Tram,Trek & Walk) 4 people
(Sky Tram & Walk) 2 people

Day 5
Lost Canyon Adventures Canyoneering
Arenal Volcano Rainforest Natural History Walk With Ecotermales Hot Springs & Dinner

Day 6 Arenal to Samara (with a stop at Las Pumas+Llanos del Cortés+Volcanic Brewing Company)

Thank you!

RAC

Looks fine to me.

volcanogirl

I love all the activities. On day 2, are you doing the waterfall after the rafting? Most rafting leaves early in the morning. Day 5 looks like a lot with the canyoning, volcano hike, and the hot springs, but still doable if you're up for it. That's one of our favorite areas, and we've used Desafio for a lot of tours and thought they were excellent. We've used Carlos Bogarin from Destino Encantados as a driver a few times, and he's also great. He waited hours for us at the airport once when our flight was delayed, so he gets extra points from me for that. He's also a good toucan spotter!

loriley

volcanogirl - Desafio has put the waterfall before rafting. I don't know why. I have asked them to provide me with some estimated times for activities (start/finish). I will probably take PabloC's advice and look at websites just to get an idea of what durations the tours are. Day 5 is jammed pack but 3/6 of us want to do the canyoning so we are willing to have a long day to get it in.

The person who has been emailing me from Bogarin is Thais Bogarín. Relative of Carlos? I think we will forgo renting a vehicle and use Bogarin. Not sure about Samara Beach though. They said they would give us a daily rate for Samara tours/day trips also.

Still in the planning stages for Samara Beach. Any suggestions???

volcanogirl

lo, it might be his daughter. I believe she's part of the family business. On that one trip when he waited for us we didn't get into the airport until about 9:00 p.m. and then we had to do the drive to La Fortuna. I was just impressed that he stuck it out. He even had pillows in the car for us and chilled bottled water in a cooler. He's really interesting. We asked him tons of questions, and he's just really knowledgeable about the area. If you just want to relax and not chat, he'd be fine with that too. Nice man. I got his name from the Lost Iguana.

We did canyoning or canyoneering (I never know what to call it!) on our last trip. We loved it. Have not been to Samara yet.