Arenal Lodging
 

We are a group of six people traveling together to Arenal in Feb. Does anyone know of any places that we could all stay together? Thanks

Check out Arenal Observatory Lodge--La Casona. There are a couple of bunkrooms. We found that accomodation (had a room with a double bed) very comfortable. The shared baths were very clean and absolutely not a problem. We seldom saw another soul. About $50 per night, breakfast included.

Shillmac,
Thanks for the information about La Casona.. I have already heard back from them and they have availability..We also want to enjoy the hotsprings one night.. would you stay at the lodge two nights or would you stay closer to town one night. Is it hard to get transport from the Lodge? Thanks S

Hi there. I love Arenal and stayed at the Casona, in the BIG room with 3 sets of bunkbeds last week. It is great and came to $104 a night.

The birds are awesome there and also there is a wonderful guide (Giovanni) through Sunset Tours if you really want to be amazed. We also went to Eco Termales (only $19 to enter plus $13 for dinner compared to Tabacon's $60 entry). It is directly across from Baldi and you will need a reservation b-cuz they limit the #s. One thing, a taxi is $20 from the lodge into town (Fortuna). We had a car. The Obs. Lodge is 9km back off a dirt road and most tours etc. charge you an extra fee to pick you up there. The grounds are gorgeous. You can do a few hikes there. Also, the SkyTram/Skytrek is just down the road. Tabacon is much closer to it than the Eco Termales, so maybe a ride would be cheaper. Good luck to you. Bring binoculars :).

If it were me, I'd stay both nights there, just because I'd hate moving so much, but then I'd have a car. Without a car, I'd probably choose another hotel. The grounds are lovely, and the birding excellent. It's a beautiful place. Maybe you can get the transportation problem worked out--I don't know much about it--except that we did offer rides twice to a few people who were hoofing it on that long road. Good luck! You'll have a great time!

We are meeting two other friends our first night in Arenal so we decided to stay at Errupciones Inn the first night. We will enjoy hotsprings our first night and the next morning we will head up to the O. Lodge. We have already booked the hike to Cerro Chato so that whole day we will just stay on the grounds.The next day we are going to Vista del Valle so that we are close to the airport for our flight home. Do you know of any canopy tours that begin in the afternoon? We hope to do something fun when are two friends arrive. Any ideas? Also, I have been to the Tabacon Hotsprings twice before. We will only have time to go to one hotspring.. I loved Tabacon.. Which one would you go to if you could only go to one. The other travelers in my group have never been to Costa Rica. Thanks in advance for your help.

if uve been to tabacon then u should visit eco thermales, you need to book here as they limit numbers, ur hotel will do this for u- USD19 entrance, about USD3 for a taxi from town:

http://costa-rica.typepad.com/photos...erfalljpg.html

sorry, wrong photo haha, here is the eco thermales photo:

http://costa.rica.typepad.com/photos...lafortuna.html