Best Route from Sarapiquini to Monteverde?
 

Hi all again. We are planning to spend a couple nights at La Quinta de Sarapiquini, and then we want to go to Monteverde. It looks like we have 2 choices for our route - drive on the northern roads to Arenal and then to Monteverde, or drive back to San Jose and then up to Monteverde. Which way would be better? I assume the latter route would have better roads and be a little quicker, but how much quicker? It would be a convenient way to pass through Arenal, even if we've decided not to spend several nights there.

thanks! -Nia

Hola Nia:

The answer to your question depends on the time you have and on what you prefer...a chorter trip...or a trip that allows you to spot beautiful landscape and probably the Arenal Volcano (if you are not visiting it, then travelling through Arenal would give you the opportunity). From Sarapiqui to Arenal, transportation would take around 2 hours and from Arenal to Monteverde, around 5 hours, while if you travel from Sarapiqui to Alajuela and then to Monteverde, transportation will take around 5 hours total. If you decide to do it through Arenal, then I suggest to depart early in the morning, so that you can get to Monteverde before dark. It is important that you know, though, the the road bordering the Arenal Lake, from Arenal to Monteverde is in bad conditions, so you have to drive carefully...Another good option, if you don´t need the car in Monteverde is returning it in Arenal and taking the "lake crossing" transportation to Monteverde which takes around 2.1/2 hours and the price is only $25.00 per person per way.

Any decision you make, I wish you enjoy your visit to my country

Thank you so much for your reply. I think we will just take the shorter and easier road, since we plan to visit the Poas Volcano while we are in the Sarapiquini area. Now our challenge is to find hotels with vacancies! We called La Quinta de Sarapiquini and they said they had rooms, but when I e-mailed the information to them, they said they were all booked up. A similar thing happened with the hotel we wanted in Manuel Antonio. Any other recommendations for hotels in the Sarapiquini area?

thanks! -Nia

You might consider Selva Verde Lodge near La Selva. I believe it has a rate that includes meals. I've eaten there, but not stayed overnight. The food was okay--certainly not bad!

Sorry (for you anyway-I am sure they are very happy) to hear La Quinta de Sarapiqui is full, we have enjoyed staying there the last two years.

Selva Verde is owned by Holbrook travel and does fill up very quickly. If you should try there, you might want to ask for a room away from the road as it can be noisy. I would like to suggest another small place right on the river called Hotel Gavilan, it is small and very family oriented. Very close to La Selva if you are planning on going there. One other place might be the Center for Neotropical Studies. They have their own rainforest to hike in called Tirimbina. The old burial grounds are right next door also.

That is one of our favorite areas and I will miss not going there this year. Due to the flooding further south, we are having to rearrange our travels.

Hi, Nia. If you do decide to drive to Monteverde, I would highly recommend a good 4-wheel drive vehicle. We were there last January and saw a few regular cars that were having a great deal of trouble.

It was not easy for the 4-wheel drive vehicles either, but the extra clearance did give them a better chance of not tearing out the transmission on a boulder sticking out of the road bed or bottoming out in a huge pothole.

We came to one bridge that was closed for repairs and had to ford the stream that it crossed.

When I say a good 4-wheel drive vehicle, I actually mean don't get one of the little ones like the RAV-4. The RAV-4 is a great little vehicle, but something more robust and with even a little bit more ground clearance would be well worth the extra expense.

Hi again:

As per hotels in Sarapiqui, I highly suggest Sueño Azul hotel or Centro Neotropico, both are excellent options, as well as Selva Verde and La Quinta.
Good luck