karens

Hi all. Just booked airfare to CR with FF miles for early April 2009 for our family of 4 (2 teenage boys). WooHoo! Now I have to start looking into our itinerary and hotels.

After preliminary research, here are my thoughts:

Herida (Peace Lodge?) 1 night - visit waterfalls - incl. La Paz

Arenal (Los Lagos) - 3 nights - can we do day trips to Monteverde from here without changing hotels? We want to see volcano, Tacobon Hot Springs, Sky Trek

Manuel Antonio (SiComo) - 3 nights (or 2 nights and another nite in Peace Lodge?) see the monkeys and go to the beach.

Questions:

Ziplines - where are the faster/longest/most fun ones? We might do 2 different ones b/c I think my boys will really like these.

White water rafting - would love to do Pacaure (sp?) but I don't think my boys want to spend all day on the river. Any recommendations for a 1/2 day white water trip with class II and III water?

The driver/car rental/plane decision - we have driven 4wd drives in Colorado and Utah. Am nervous about driving in rough areas in foreign country with my kids. Should we hire a driver between places (we have NEVER done this - we are do it yourself kind of travelers). Should we fly b/w Arenal and Manuel Antonio? Will we miss having a car in these towns or can we easily do guided trips to where we want to go?

Any insights into our hotel and activities would be greatly appreciated!!

Do I need to book hotels now? We are going the week before Easter.

Looking forward to your replies.

shillmac

Congrats on booking--you are in for a thrill!

Do have your hotels booked by summer
end if your trip will include Easter weekend. All the Ticos are on vacation as well, and it will be super busy.

If you are do-it-yourselfers, you'll enjoy getting yourselves around most likely. The roads are decent to Arenal, Peace Lodge, and Manuel Antonio. Couple of oh-my-God bridges just before MA--but not a problem. The highways will be busier, but caution is the key word for travel in CR always, busy roads or not.

If you possibly can, book 2 nights at Peace Lodge, allowing plenty of time to see all there is to see on the property as well as hanging out in those opulent bungalows! If you can manage to get there early afternoon and don't have to leave until late a.m. you can get by with one night. So think about your times, etc.

It would be an excellent idea, my opinion, to stay at Peace Lodge for 2 nights before you leave the country. Depends on arrival, departure times. Will you need to spend first and/or last nights near airport?

Takes 2.5-3 hours to get to ARenal from SJO (can white whater from that area).

Peace Lodge is about an hour from the airport (always allow for making a wrong turn, so manybe allow an extra 30 min)

Peace Lodge to Arenal a couple of hours

Arenal to MA, 5.5 hours more or less.

MA back to SJO, about 3 hours.

Between MA and Peace Lodge, about 4 hours.

Maybe those times will help in your planning.

Leave Monteverde out for this trip--isn't a day trip by any means. Great ziplines at Arenal.

Tabacon is beautiful and the spa excellent there (two different entities). Eco Thermales gets great reviews as well. Baldi, not so much, I'd stay with one of the other two. T. is more expensive, but quite beautiful. Make reservations and expect crowds at this time of year. If you can go early in the day (a.m.) there will be fewer people.

You will need a vehicle at Arenal (all strung out), but not at MA. Still, we like to have one for convenience, even at MA.

Hope this helps a bit. Others will chime in as well with lots of useful info. Recommend Cano Negro day trip while at Arenal. Excellent for wildlife.

volcanogirl

We stayed at Peace Lodge for our first night, and since our flight was delayed, we really had to rush around to see and do everything. If you can do 2 nights, you can relax and really enjoy things. I'd recommend the nocturnal frog tour that they do - really fun!

Los Lagos is very popular with families. We stayed at the Lost Iguana and loved it. You might check out SkyTrek for zipines in Arenal.

Si Como No is a good choice for MA. If you have an adventurous spirit, you can certainly drive yourselves. We hired drivers just because we wanted to relax and take in the view, but the areas you're going to are well travelled and have decent roads. The bridges that shillmac mentioned are a little freaky - one way, and you just wait your turn and then go - if things like that don't bother you, go for it. You might consider renting a GPS since things aren't always well marked. I'd book everything as soon as possible since Easter is such a popular time.

Marco13

I can echo the other replies. We just stayed at Si Como No and really liked it -- see my trip report posted recently. You definitely cannot do a day trip to Monteverde from Arenal.
We did the Sky Trek zipline in Arenal and loved it -- very professional. It's not as much through the canopy as some others, but zipping along for a half mile over a 600-foot vertical drop is a different kind of thrill. Definitely make reservations there in advance.
Peace Lodge was very luxurious, and it would be more relaxing to spend two nights there. But I would agree that if you can get there by noon or so, then have some time the next morning, one night would probably suffice. Some people find it a bit too cloying/ over-Disneyized, especially if you're going to CR to experience some local color.

Our GPS was very useful -- until it was stolen.

CathyF

We were in Costa Rica in February with 3 other families, including 4 teenagers.

Peace Lodge was the best! As the others have said, stay 2 nights if you can. All the kids loved this hotel! Absolutely perfect for teens. The younger kids loved it too.

In Arenal we did the Arenal Aventura zip line because I think it has the longest line in Arenal. We also liked the idea of horse back riding over the tram that Sky Trek offers.

One of the best things we did with the kids was to visit El Hogarcito orpanage in downtown La Fortuna. Our kids gave their kids all kinds of school supplies etc... It was a great stop. We were there for under an hour.

We went to MA as well but rented houses. We loved the beach inside the park. Horseback riding with Finca Valmy was also a highlight.

karens

Many thanks to all of you.

Our flight arrives into SJO at 1:37pm. We leave PHL at the ungodly time of 6:45 am.

Coming home, our flight departs SJO 2:35pm.

Based on these times, would you recommend MA-Arenal-Peace Lodge or backwards? (I'm thining maybe backwards).

From your insights, I think we will do 2 days Peace Lodge, 3 Arenal and 2 MA.

What about this as a plan:

Rent a car, drive to Peace Lodge, drive to Arenal and use the car for that area. Can we do a one way rental from SJO airport to Arenal?

Then fly to MA, then hire a driver to the aiport the last day.

Would we miss having a car in MA? What we'd like to do in MA is see monkeys and go to the beach and maybe do a 2nd zipline tour if there's a good one nearby.

P.S. I have to admit, I didn't know anything about CR expect I heard it was a great place to go. Secured FF tix and then started reading threads here about the crime and the bad roads and thought, Oh no, I hope I didn't make a mistake booking this. But after some preliminary research and your insights, I'm pysched!

volcanogirl

You definitely do not need a car in MA; we were able to walk most everywhere. Our guide picked us up to take us on a tour of the park, but there are taxis and bus service. Our most expensive taxi fare was $5. Things are pretty close together in MA.

karinkz

We just completed a similar trip--7 nights with two kids. You might want to read my trip report (search on karinkz) for further info. A couple suggestions..We visited Tabacon hot springs in Arenal, but enjoyed the hot springs at Los Lagos just as much. Also--I think just 2 nights at Manuel Antonio might not be enough--especially if you drive there, because it takes most of a day. I don't know what the flight schedule is.

cmazza

How do you contact the orphanage?

retired_vagabond

The LaFortuna/Arenal area is great. Tabacon can be crowded, and more pricey than Baldi, so we like Baldi better. The Sky Trek on the north lava-side of Arenal was great zip line with tremendous height, good distance, and super views. WAVEexpeditions.com provided us both 1/2 day and full day trips. Great staff, and attention to detail to have a thrilling but safe trip on class 2/3 or 3/4 rapids. We always get a driver/car combo. You can't beat the price, and the insight is invaluable. Try eltwintours.com

brucebran

I just came back from a very similar trip last month with my 3 kids (3, 8, and 11 ) for 8 nights. You can read my trip report for details (under brucebran). I think it really depends on your family's personal interests whether to stay 1 more or 1 less night at each hotel - whether you like the beach, adventure, more touristy vs. less touristy, etc. But I think you cannot go wrong with your initial itinerary. If you can afford it, I would also suggest a a private driver the entire trip. The only place that I felt you needed a car was Arenal.

In MA I stayed at Buena Vista Villas and I highly recommend it because it has a beach on a very beautiful piece if property - I understand its the only hotel that has its own beach in MA. If I stayed at another hotel w/o a beach then we would not have had such a great time there. BVV is a little pricey but I think its worth it.

karens

Ack. Peace lodge is $400/night.

bruceban - approx. how much are the villas - do you recall?

brucebran

A 1 BR Villa at BVV is $375 and 2BR is $475. A regular room is $225 but might be too small for 4 people. Here is the website:

www.buenavistavillas.net

puravida07

We stayed at Los Lagos in December and they have an excellent zipline tour right on the property. Our two kids loved them. The hot springs are so good there you don't need to go to Tabacon. We rented a vehicle and drove from San Jose to Dominical to Arenal to Puerto Viejo back to San Jose and it was fine. You need to have the GPS. There aren't many road signs. Also Los Lagos is right at the base of the Volcano.

charli47

HI. I leave in a week and I will do a trip report on the following:

Osa Peninsula - Bosque del Cabo
Arenal - Lomas del Volcan
Peace Lodge
Oriqudieas Inn

From all that I have read a trip to CR is not complete without a trip to the Osa peninsula. We are flying there from SJO and will then fly from Puerto Jiminez to Arenal. We wanted to avoid the long drives and thought seeing the country by air would be extra special.

We are definitely doing two nights at Peace lodge because so many people have recommended that. It will be a great place to unwind after the adventure of Osa and Arenal.

Have fun planning. This site is ADDICTIVE but the advice is so invaluable.

janenicole

charli47 - yes, it is addicting. We are going to do the flight from Puerto Jimenez to Arenal next March. Are you taking the Nature Air flight? Are you renting a car in Arenal? I will be interested to hear about your trip. I would love to find out if the airstrip there has anything nearby (car rental offices, how close to town), or if it is in the middle of no where. If you are able to check that out I would appreciate it any info! Have a great trip!

dfr4848

karens - FWIW we (including 2 teenage girls) spent a week at Si Como No last August and loved it. Gorgeous property, 2 pools (1 for adults only, but both with pool bar), 2 good restaurants, very extensive breakfast buffet (included with the room) and a great spa. Hotel has free frequent shuttle to the park and beaches. They arranged all of our tours (ziplining, sailing, catamaran and swamp) and all were first rate. The butterfly sanctuary is just across the road from the hotel (tickets included with room)

We had a rental car (drove from SJO) but you certainly don't need one in MA. We wanted the convenience. Lots of great restaurant choices in the area.

It's a beautiful country - enjoy it.

karens

Thanks again, all. I think we will do one night Peace Logde and 3 in Arenal and 3 in MA.

Getting from Arenal to MA: would you recommend flying v. a private driver? It might take just as long to fly by the time we get to the airport, etc.

I really appreciate all your insights.

volcanogirl

We had a private driver for that leg of our trip - it wasn't a bad drive, and it was fun to stop at the Rio Tarcoles to see the crocs. I think we paid about $180 for the driver.

hipvirgochick

Los Lagos will definitely be a big hit for the teens, and it's pretty nice for adults too. The warm pool is great.

If Si Como No is a big cost savings over BVV for the size of your family I'd go for Si Como No. It's got great reviews and unless you're going to spend all of your time at the private beach at BVV you might feel money better spent elsewhere. We 3 nights there and with the other tours/activities we did, we didn't have as much time as we thought at the beach at BVV and the beaches in the park are beautiful and wonderful as well. We could have stayed all day hanging out there just as well. The Finca Valmy horseback ride is very nice, but not real fast paced if your teens can handle that. They might like a kayak trip through Damas mangroves or a catamaran tour.

In Arenal, I thought the ziplines ran by Mundo Aventuras were great. 11 lines, 1 is 780 meters or something, and they are very high up above the canyons.