Costa Rica
 

In the beginning planning stages of a trip to Costa Rica in February. We(two adults) have the tree house booked at MYCASA B and B near manual Antonio. they seem to have great reviews. any one been there? Looking for suggestions for a driver to /from the airport, something to do between the airport and manual Antonio so we don't 'waste" first day, and ideas what to do in the area other then go to manual Antonio itself for the day (guide suggestions for that too). We land midday (12;40)Sunday and leave Thursday (1:40). I KNOW this is a short trip-hopefully we will be back. but that is all the time I have now. Also I am thinking maybe we should go to San Jose early evening on Wednesday so that Thursday we could do something( maybe see a volcano if opened to public?) before going to the airport. any thoughts. I appreciate all your help!! I should add we love hiking, animals, the beach and nature and are in good shape so can do strenuous activities.

The most popular stop is the Rio Tarcoles bridge. You can pull into the parking lot and walk out over the bridge and see huge crocs down below, usually about ten or fifteen of them. There are also boat tours you can do on the river if you're interested. In MA, we did a guided tour of the park with Manuel Antonio Expeditions, and they were great. Also really liked the Villa Vanilla spice tour and sailing. We went snorkeling, but it was kind of a dud so I'd pass on that; there can be a lot of sediment in the water that affects visibility. The beach inside the national park is beautiful, and you can usually see monkeys there.

We usually book drivers through our hotels when we reserve them. Have also used Carlos Bogarin with Destinos Encantados, and he was very good. Remember that the national park is closed on Monday so you'll need to schedule your visit for another day.

You're welcome, happy to help. We used Jose's Crocodile Tour for the croc tour if you're interested in doing it.

We spent 8 nights in Costa Rica a couple of years back - 3 nights Arenal, 2 in Cost Verde and 2 in Heredia. Bought a GroupOn package which included a rental car in the package. It is very easy to drive yourself around in Costa Rica. You drive on the same side of the road as US and roads are good. Slower than US of course but you are not in a rush while on vacation. The hanging bridges park in Arenal is great. You can go zip lining in Arenal which is great. La Fortuna falls is nice - 500 steep steps down to the waterfall. Costa Verde has a beautiful beach.

do you know of any places that only do ziplining? (no rappelling) thanks

if we land in san jose at 1230 how far is it to the crocodile tours?
do you think we could wait until we land to book a tour ? (the last one is at 4. ) then if we are running late we can just go on the bridge thoughts

Thoughts on 1 day in/ near San Jose
 

We haven't done ziplining in the Manuel Antonio area; the most popular place to do it is in the Arenal area where you can get views of the volcano and the lake when you go over, so that's where we've gone. Your hotel could recommend a good place though.

From San Jose all the way to Manuel Antonio is only about three hours, so I would think you would be there by 4:00 since it's on the way. The tours may sell out though; they're pretty popular. Ours was full when we did it. Check with Jose's Crocodile Tour and see what they recommend. Also ask if there's a safe place to leave your luggage. It's not a good idea to leave things in your car unattended.

Volcanogirl- thanks for the info! Now here is another crazy thought. Would you consider a quick trip to La Fortuna. I booked a room at Tabacon and figured we could do the hot springs in the evening and then head to get a glimpse of arenal in the morning. I know this sounds crazy but I really don't have to be in MA until check in which is around 4pm the following day. There are other hot springs connected to a treehouse I found on AirBnb that I'm considering too... Similar area....

Assume the drive would we a cool way to see some of the country too??

Thanks for the advice!

h, If it were me, I would do a split between the Arenal and Manuel Antonio areas; that's what we did for our first trip. It's a really popular combination for first timers. Not sure if you're already committed to MA the entire time or if there's some flexibility there. If you wanted to go to the Arenal area just for a night to experience the natural hot springs, you could do it. It's about a three hour drive from the airport to La Fortuna. Tabacon has the prettiest hot springs in the area from the ones that I've seen. Another option would be to go to the Peace Lodge and the La Paz Waterfall Gardens - very nice; it's expensive though. That's about an hour from the airport or so. Very nice waterfall hike there.

I agree with Volcanogirl to split your time if you can. Arenal isn’t really a quick trip. LaPaz Waterfall Gardens would be an option for a day trip and/or overnight at the Peace Lodge.

One does not have to stay at the Peace Lodge to visit the La Paz Waterfall Gardens and Park. Can be done as a day trip from the San Jose area.

Whoa major price increase since we've been. I think that's more than double what we paid, but it's been a few years. You can definitely stay somewhere else and just visit the La Paz Waterfall Gardens like Michelle mentioned. There's a big aviary on site, a butterfly house, a hummingbird garden, a ranarium, and the hike with five beautiful waterfalls. At certain times of day you can hand feed the hummingbirds; they'll give you tubes of nectar and the birds will land right on your hand. They also have a monkey enclosure - too small in my opinion, and I wish they would change that, but otherwise really nice.

Piggy backing here - we will be driving from the San Jose airport to Fortuna - leaving the airport about 11 a.m.. We have four nights in La Fortuna - would it be reasonable for us to drive to La Paz Waterfall Gardens on the way? We could probably spend three or four hours in the park and then head to our hotel in La Fortuna. We'll have a 4wd rental SUV. How long would it take to get to La Fortuna from La Paz?