CarolM

maureen, if things are still the way they were several years ago, you have to "sign up" for the night hike tours in advance, and a tour guide will usually lead a small group. i didn't do the one right in the monteverde national park, but did two others, and our hotel arranged it (they can pick you up at the hotel).

annie928

Thank you to all who have responded to my post. Thanks to your advice, I am going to add a night at Los Lagos in Arenal, spend 2 in MA (at Si Como No, or maybe Hotel California) and 4 in Osa at Playa Plantanares at the Yellow Coco Lodge. I would love any recommendations. Thanks again!

ashta

Maureen : on the ziplines (Selvatura versus Skytrek) : ONLY Selvatura has a Tarzan Swing (there is none at Skytrek - although I did see a Tarzan Swing at another zipline in Arenal on the road from Los Lagos to La Fortuna, but I did not try this one). So if the Tarzan Swing is a "must" for you, do Selvatura.

Overall, if I exclude the Tarzan Swing, I think I liked Skytrek better (nicer views, some really awesone long zips; also, my wife liked the breaking system at Skytrek more). But if I include the Tarzan Swing, Selvatura wins out. They are both fun though - you will have a good time either way.

One additional note : at Selvatura, they seem to rush you thru the first few swings. If you are with a group, you will not see each other once you start zipping (they will rush you thru the first several zips, and you have to keep going and cannot wait for the next person until you are at the Tarzan Swing). At Skytrek, the whole group zipped line A before they moved on to line B. I liked this more (I could zip, then wait and watch my family come, then we would all do the next zip together). This MAY have been weather related of course - when I went on Selvatura there was a huge group of 30+, when I went to Skytrek it was just 9 people on the zip (probably because of the rainy weather).


As for the night tour in Monteverde : I did the one in Hidden Valley (not the one in the cloud forest, since we did the day walk in the cloud forest). In Hidden Valley, you automatically get a guide. And the guides are very knowledgeable - ours knew exactly where to look for the animals, and was great ! I do not believe you need to reserve in advance for this tour - you should be able to just book it on the day you chose to go). Enjoy...


Sunil

double_H

Astha,

Thanks for a great report . We are going to fly to SJ on Jan 14 and then on to La Fortuna. Do you recommend flying? What was your flying experience? We don't want to rent a car.

ashta

double_H : I flew from San Jose to Bay. Flying was an oveall good experience (and I preferred Nature Air over Sansa - better terminal, seemed better organized). For Osa, flying is by far the best option I think - the roads are terrible, and riving could take 9-10 hours.

San Jose to La Fortuna will be a short flight and you will have no problems - but the roads are also excellent, and it only takes 3 hours to get there. In La Fortuna, I found I really liked having a car (things aroudn Arenal are quite spread out, and having your own car gives you a lot of flexibility). Of course if you have no intention of driving then book the flights - they will be fine (and you can find plenty of cans in La Fortuna, so you will be fine). But I would recommend the driving option for La Fortuna / Arenal myself...

Sunil

sensfan

Loved your trip report - it has helped me immensely with planning our first trip to CR in March with two young boys 5 & 8. I was curious about your daughter getting ill – as it is a worry for me. Did you ever find out if it was something she picked up on the trip or more of a flu-type thing? Many thanks.

ashta

Sensfan : My daughter's sickness turned out to be just a typical cough, nothing worse thank god ! And of course she passed it around the entire family, so last week we all fell sick one by one - just recovering this week-end (touch wood !).

I wouldn't worry too much about catching some serious bug in CR. It is always possible of course - but that could happen in US travel as well. Everywhere we went in CR, we found things clean and hygenic. We drank tap water to places like Los Lagos, and did not feel the need to buy bottled water anywhere.


Sunil

sensfan

Thanks Sunil - glad to hear it was nothing more - it is always a worry getting sick away from home! We are also thinking of staying at Pirate Cove and possibly Los Lagos or Lost Iguana. Had you also investigated Bosque del Cabo as everyone on the board raves about it? Any tips you have on your travels with the kids would be appreciated - our boys are 5 & 8. Thanks again.