Arenal Transportation Options
 

My wife and I have booked a trip to the Arenal area of Costa Rica in April. Staying at the Nayara Resort for 5 days. We are trying to decide what to do about transportation. Although we haven't actually booked any activities yet, we hope to do zipline, thermal pools, hiking, and just relaxing. Would appreciate any thoughts on transportation options, or any other tips for our trip.

The best way to know CR is by renting a car. April is low season and you can get a good non expensive car.
My recommendation: Diego from Dollar Rent a Car in CR,also, get a GPS...

You can rent a car if you want to or you can have Nayara arrange transportation for you from the airport to the hotel and then use taxis when you're in town. If you do tours and ziplines, they'll usually pick you up at the hotel and drop you back off. We don't rent a car when we go, but a lot of people do.

Renting a car was great. And you'll love the Nayara. It was one of the nicest places we have ever stayed.

We liked Nayara too. For tours, you can check out Desafio and Sunset Tours. Sky Trek is great for ziplining, and Eco Termales and Tabacon are nice for natural hot springs. There are some good hikes in the area including the waterfall, the volcano, and the Hanging Bridges.

Thanks for the feedback. I saw on their website that we can book activities in the area (zip line, hanging bridge, etc) directly through Nayara. Is there an advantage or disadvantage in booking through the tour company vs. the hotel?

A lot of times hotels will only work with certain companies. We like to book on our own so we can choose the company we want. Some hotels will also charge a slightly higher price than when you book directly as well. Others don't - it really just depends on the individual hotel.