Cano negro vs Tortuguero canal
 

I ve been reading alot of good reports on Cano Negro and wondering since we did a trip on the Tortuguero canal when on a cruise whether they are similar? If not, what is different?

Also, we will be flying into San Jose arriving 2 PM and wondering if we should stay at a place in San Jose or maybe drive to San Ramon since we would like to spend some time there. Or do we have enough daylight to get thru customs, get our 4x4, and drive directly to Monteverde?

anyone have any info or advice on this question?

No, you won't have time to get to Monteverde before dark. That wouldn't be a good drive after dark. It will be 4:00 before you are actually "on the road" (as per our latest experience!).

I mentioned in another post that we like Hotel Villa Bonita for first and last nights near the airport, but for your first night why don't you try Orquideas Inn? They have good food, a fun bar, and a great breakfast. A little hard to find, but they'll send you good directions.

As for Cano Negro, we enjoyed it AND Tortuguero all in the same vacation last year. Didn't get bored in the least although many aspects are similar, sure. Some of the same birds, some of the same wildlife, etc, in a boat all day. . . .

With your time at Arenal, you might want to do some different things (Cano Negro takes up pretty much the entire day). Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Falls, ziplines, hot springs for sure. . .

I take that back. You COULD do Cano Negro. When you arrive on Day 4, do the Hanging Bridges or ziplines. You could do the early a.m. Cano Negro trip on Day 5 (you'll get back about 3:00 p.m.), then visit the hot springs that evening.

Agree with Shillmac on both subjects. We did Cano Negro and Tortuguero this year, no regrets, wish we'd done a third boat trip (although Tortuguero was actually three boat trips). It depends on how interested you are if there is a lot of overlap.

The Cano Negro is a moderate size river. Our Tortuguero guide took us into very small canals. In Monteverde we went to the bat museum and saw a model of some bats that form a snake shape on trees. At Cano Negro our guide was able to take us right up to the real thing. Also at Cano Negro we saw men catching big long fish. Our tour (Canoa) gave us good snacks/meals before and after the boat trip. You take a bus (maybe an hour?) to the put-in, also a good way to see the countrysideup toward Nicaragua.