My husband and I are going to Costa Rica in late Feb. We are thinking of renting a car with a gps. We are considering staying at The Mountain Paridise Hotel in Arenal for 3 nights, Monteverde Lodge for 3 nights and either the Hotel La Mariposa or The Hotel Parador in Manuel Antonio. Any suggestions or imput is greatly appreciated. Should we book any of the tours we want or wait until we get there? Is driving as bad as some reviews or should we hire a driver (for the week or a different one for each place)?

I think the biggest issue will be driving to Monteverde.

The drive to Monteverde isn't THAT bad, so long as you don't miss the turnoff where the road becomes really rough. The drive FROM Monteverde to the Pan-American highway, on the other hand, is a nightmare.

We almost wound up staying at MV Lodge, but then stayed in the Honeymoon cabin at Arco Iris instead for the same price, and it was a GREAT decision.

Here's a link to my Tripadvisor review:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...untarenas.html

I don't think you need a car for Monteverde--cabs are CHEAP there.

Oops! Here's the link to our review:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...untarenas.html

I like your plan. Are you planning a night coming or going in San Jose? Don't forget that you have travel time to any of these destinations. If you arrive late, or depart early, you will have to budget some time there.

I really like Mountain Paradise. The owner there is a long time friend and true professional. They have paid attention to the details. My recent customers have been thrilled with this property.

Monteverde Lodge is not my favorite property. It is not located near any of the reserves, and the new mall is right across the street. There are other choices in the area that I think are better. Up near the main reserve, the Trapp Family Lodge is very comfortable. They have some new mountain suites that are just beautiful.

If you don't drive, you might think of El Sapo Dorado. This is close enough to the town of Santa Elena to be convenient. Plus they have their own private reserve, that borders on the Santa Elena reserve. This is where we always stayed before we had our house there.

I think that there are better choices in Manuel Antonio as well. If you don't have wheels, these two hotels are very inconveniently located. Both are set way off the main road. If you stay near the main road, you can take advantage of the always cruising taxis. When customers rent a car, we usually advise them to just drop the car of when they arrive in this area. The taxis are cheap and easy. Tulemar and Si Como No are in the same price range, and are more taxi friendly. Where you stay depends on the makeup of your group.

Hope this helps! Let me know if I can offer more advice.

Warm Regards,

Pat Hewitt
Travel Professional

La Mariposa is about 1/2 block from the main road. The location isn't bad at all.

We went to Monteverde this summer, and personally we wouldn't have wanted to drive it - long trip and rough unpaved road with potholes and rocks. We did the Jeep Boat Jeep from Arenal through Desafio, and that was a good choice for us, saves you an hour on the road. Fonda Vela in Monteverde has very nice new junior suites with frig, tub, t.v., and good grounds for spotting birds. We enjoyed our time there.

For us, the driving isn't that bad. There are worse roads in CR than the one to Monteverde. It's bumpy, other than that, entirely do-able. But then, I've always lived in rural areas and bumpy roads are no new thing to me. It all depends on the individual traveler, but if you are confident drivers and don't mind something way short of freeways, you should be fine!

I, too, would recommend a different hotel in MA. We LOVED the lower apartment of Villa Mot Mot at Tulemar Bungalows and considered it an excellent value at $128 including breakfat. Nice location as well. Also, we like Si Como No, but it is a bit overpriced these days. . .my opinion.

We also like El Sapo Dorado in Monteverde, as Pat mentioned.

We drove it without incident. Many roads are gravel and there are some pot holes, but we did NOT find them to be a big deal.

We do recommend a good SUV with high clearance. See my other posts.

Overall, we would do the drive again without question.

Have fun!

I think whether you drive to Monteverde or not really just depends on how adventurous you are. We saw people conked out on the side of the road that looked miserable, there are some high points without guard rails, the road is rough but not unbearable, dogs and kids will be in the road - it's entirely doable if things like that don't stress you out. I never got the feeling it was dangerous, just be sure to have something with 4-wheel drive and some clearance. We saw folks in a small Toyota, and they looked like they were struggling! My husband was glad we didn't drive it, but if you have an adventurous soul, I think you'd be fine. The road to Arenal and in Arenal is in great shape, recently repaved. The drive to MA wasn't bad except for some one lane bridges. Have a wonderful time.

I will say that the road from Monteverde to the Pan-American highway was the only time I've ever felt like my life was in danger while driving. Those sheer dropoffs with no guard rail or shoulder--eeeks!