ohana

We are set to head to Costa Rica this coming week. After following many of the discussions on this forum, I think I have planned a good route for our family (I hope!)
This will include 1 active grandmother, 2 parents, 4 children - 14, 12,12, and almost 8.

I would welcome any suggestions on our plans - tours, but especially need advice on a good driving route from north to south.
Here is the basic plan:
Mar 30 - arrive 5am to San Jose airport
rent car and drive to Arenal - will probably drive straight there, since all will be tired
March 30, March 31, April 1 - Arenal -
Hanging bridges, Proyecto Asis (1/2 day), zipline (either Skytrek or Eco glide), maybe horseback riding, Penas Blancas twilight float trip, walk to waterfall, explore trails at Observatory lodge

***April 2 - (a Monday, so Manual Antonio is closed...) Driving from Arenal to Hacienda Baru (30-60 min south of Quepos?) - hopefully leaving Arenal between 7-8am - will this take 6-8 hours? Hoping on the shorter end....
only 1 night at Hacienda Baru

April 3 - Drive to Palmar Sur - drop off rental car, taxi to Siepe, and boat to lodging on Drake Bay - to stay 4 nights and take plane back to San Jose on late afternoon of the 7th.

Please let me know any driving advice, or any good suggestions for activities with kids.
Thank you!
Need advice on driving route, any good, brief stops a long the way

qwovadis

mapcr.com good info basically fine have done it always rent RT San Jose to save lots of money on airfare usually servicecarrental.com or mapache.com from $200/wk
casabellarita.com great place to stay around the airport Steve Rita great folks will pick you up to save. It will be a long slog to haciendabaru.com(very basic) from Arenal in one day usually break my journey up at hotelvillacaletas.com or similar based on budget. cunadelangel.com or Crital Ballena 2 niceplaces I have stayed in the Dominical/Uvita area. Palmar Sur is a speed trap (28 MPH) go slow or they will ticket you $500. I actually got pulled over for doing 45MPH in Palmar Sur got ticketed but flashed my US DOT/Embassy credentials to the chief and they waived it so be careful there. Drakes is nice jinetesdeosa.com for me last for Cano Island diving with whale sharks t was BRILLIANT.

So have fun trip cover quotewright.com wise drive slow travel.state.gov for a heads up on scams I rent a lot and love
it save a tonne over flying and taxi drivers.

sylvia3

Stop at the Tarcoles bridge to see the many crocodiles below (also shops and restaurants there now).
From La Fortuna (Arenal) to Quepos looks like a 3 hour drive (due to the new highway), according to this site:
http://www.govisitcostarica.com/trav...travelTime.asp
But I would bet on 4 to 5.
A beach that the entire family would love is Playa Ventanas. At low tide, you can walk through a couple of caves. The swimming is very nice:
http://www.manucr.com/beaches/playa-ventanas.html

mlgb

Hacienda Baru is less than 40 km beyond the turnoff to Quepos. As said, don't speed. There are directions on their website.


If you want to save on zipline expenses, they have an easy one at HB. Save time to hike on their trails or walk up the observation tower.

incabod

Great little interactive map for driving here - http://www.yourtravelmap.com/costari...hp?&width=1280
Cheers

ohana

Thank you for the great help and warnings! I am a bit worried about the long drive, but the kids are pretty good car travelers, so hope all goes well. Will plan on TarcolesWill try to get an early start. Will watch for the speed traps.
Wish we had more time to spend in HB - looks like great place.

mlgb

IMHO HB does more for "ecology" than all the upscale "ecolodges" lumped together.

Even though I was staying in Manuel Antonio I drove from MA back to HB for a second visit.

The website makes for good reading, especially Jack's articles

http://haciendabaru.com/articles/index.htm