Costa Rica - Driving
 

We are going to Costa Rica in July 2011 and planning on renting a car. But I am concerned about driving from Arenal to Monteverde. Is there a safe place to leave a car in Arenal for 2 days and take the water taxi? Is it better to take some other type of transportation to Monteverde first and then come back to San Jose to rent a car for Arenal and the rest of the trip (Manuel Antonio and either Tortuguero or Cahuita)?

Thanks!

How long is your trip? With all you want to do, your trip should be at least 10 days, 14 would be better. I can't give any info on Monteverde, but you should stick Tortuguero on the front or back of the trip. I think you should either do all the driving yourself or use a driver or interbus. If you mix the driving up(car, bus) you will probably do alot of backtracking, time wasting.

I hope some of the experts will chime in here.

You could consider mixing it up a bit. Renting your vehicle, driving it to Arenal, checking it in there. OR take Interbus to Arenal and rent while you are there. It is strung out, so a rental would be nice.

Jeep/boat/jeep to Monteverde. Interbus back to San Jose. Transfer to and from Tortuguero (my vote also). Check out the following link. These people are excellent tour guides.

www.tortuguerocanals.com/

I like the idea of dropping the car off and then maybe renting another car when we get back from Monteverde to get to Manuel Antonio. Any recommendations on car rental companies that are in the various locations?

The reason I thought you should keep the car for the whole time was better rental rates for keeping it by the week. You will have to compare renting, dropping off then renting again.

We did the Jeep Boat Jeep through Desafio, and it was great - only about twenty-five bucks each. Personally I wouldn't want to drive to Monteverde - lots of potholes, a rough road, and horses/people/dogs in the road along with some sharp dropoffs. Beautiful views though. I'd have your lodge arrange transportation to Tortuguero. You have to either fly in or boat in because the roads only go so far.

We drove from Arenal to Monteverde with NO problems. I would not drive it at night, as there are a few areas that the edge paved road is washed out, but there is plenty of room. It was an easy and very scenic drive. I would not want to drive it in a thunderstorm, as it is partially gravel and partially paved. We drove it with our 11, 13 and 15 year olds. We took a cooler and picnicked along the way in one of the (very) small towns with benches in the plaza.

Did you do the drive during rainy season or dry season and how long did it take?

Driving from Arenal to Monteverde isn't dangerous and is only bad for about 1/3 the way--the rest is quite lovely and relaxing. The drive from Monteverde to the Pan American Highway (and either San Jose or Manuel Antonio) was much worse, but we hear they've improved it. If that's the case, I'd just drive the whole way but allow enough time to go at a very prudent pace.

We liked the Jeep Boat Jeep because we could relax and enjoy the views. If you feel comfortable driving, I don't think the drive is dangerous. It is quite bumpy though, and my husband commented that he was glad we didn't drive it. Cabs were easy to get in Monteverde and pretty cheap. We paid $5-8 per trip. We did see a couple whose car had conked out on the side of the road. Wondering what people do in that situation?

We decided we were doing too much and have rearranged our itinerary. We are now going to go to Peace Lodge/La Paz waterfalls for one night, Arenal for 3 nights, Monteverde for 2 nights, and then back to Alajuela for the last night before flying out.

Has anyone booked through Anywhere Costa Rica? We usually do all our own planning, but not sure if it would be easier to use ACR.

Has anyone done the Rio Balsa rafting? I'd love to try it, but I am prone to bad shoulders/back and worry it could ruin the rest of the vacation.

Thoughts on any hotels in any of these areas would be appreciated!

We liked Arco Iris Ecolodge in Santa Elena/Monteverde and Arenal Paraiso. Both are mid-range pricing with cabins, beautiful landscaping, great breakfast buffets (although it costs extra at Arco Iris). White faced capuchins entertained us in the trees outside the Arco Iris dining room every morning.

When you visit MV Reserve, make sure to visit the hummingbird gallery up the hill next to the reserve. It is awesome, truly a highlight!

We also hiked at Santa Elena Reserve, fewer people than MV, higher altitude, saw more quetzals and an adult male three wattled bellbird along with Charlie, the "wild" peccary who had been orphaned and hangs out in the reserve.

We did a night hike at Children's Eternal Forest, enjoyed it, but didn't see a lot of activity - sloth, tarantula, agouti. Still, it was lovely being in the forest with thousands of stars above and listening to the night sounds.

We drove Liberia/MV/Liberia, were apprehensive after reading so many posts, had no problem with the road, just slow going those last two hours, averaged 16 miles an hour. My husband grew up in WV and the MV road was nothing compared to some WV roads! But my Heredia friends said they have improved the MV/San Jose leg and cut off 45 minutes. We haven't driven it yet.

Arenal Paraiso has its own zipline with 11 platforms, has horseback riding and its own thermal pools. It's a good place to stay when you are renting a car since it's out of town.

Have fun!

Peace Lodge is awesome - very indulgy spot in CR. We like Fonda Vela in Monteverde - close to the reserve, and the new junior suites are big with a small frig and bathtub, nice views, and we saw toucans on the property. Hidden Valley offers a nice night hike. We like the Lost Iguana in Arenal; if you want to be closer to town, check out Silencio del Campo. We rafted the Sarapiqui with Rios Tropicales and enjoyed it. If you're prone to a bad back, I might skip it though; we got tossed out of the boat twice. The Cano Negro tour is nice for checking out wildlife. We like the waterfall hike too and Eco Termales hot springs.

We were there in April and it did rain while we were there, but not so much that it had any effect on our travel.

Lisa, we've always booked everything ourselves. If you're used to doing all your own planning, I think you'll find CR pretty easy.

Just for general information -- a great website for Tortuguero is www.tortuguerovillage.com At this website, you can find all the lodging available in Tortuguero Village as well as a bunch of guides and lots of information on how to get there. This is especially valuable for those of you not looking for a package deal, which is all that is offered at the other hotels.

Sounds like you have made your choices and I know you will have a great vacation.

As for booking - agree with volcanogirl. It is really easy to book all your own stuff and then if there is any kind of question or problem, you will be dealing directly and not through a middleman. Anywhere Costa Rica is fine if you decide to go that route.

Also agree that a good plan would be to take Interbus to Arenal and rent a car for getting around that area since things are spread out. Then turn in your car, take jeep-boat-jeep to Monteverde and Interbus back to Alajuela.

hello-

We will be in CR in January. We are considering renting a car in Quepos and securing a hotel, then exploring from there. Is driving a problem in this region? Does anyone have any feedback on Hotel Vela Bar?

I quit my job and moved here three years ago. I always recommend people to rent a car (4 wheel drive) and do the driving themselves. Costa Rica is a lovely place to explore and you won't lose any time waiting for a bus or other forms of transportation. There are your bad pot holes and windy roads, but drive slow and enjoy the scenery.

There is a great hotel named Mariposa in Manuel Antonia. Don't know what the recent cost of a room is but they have one of the best views by far. I swam in the pool and watched a monkey hassal the bartender. Don't know about hotel vela bar, but i know a lot of people enjoy Si Como No.
www.happierthanabillionaire.com

have you considered just taking taxis to get around? I've taken a taxi to arenal from san jose and it cost about $150.

Taxi's are cheaper and give you more freedom without having to be concerned with a car.

That's what always works for me.

Why would you take a taxi for $150 when you could just take Interbus for $40? I don't get it. Of course, you have to follow the Interbus schedule rather than your own but for the price difference...?? Also... if you are going to pay that kind of money, why not just hire a private driver who speaks English and can give you lots of information about what you are seeing and lots of information about Costa Rica in general.