Hi all,

We are all young adults and we'll be going to Costa Rica in February.

We'll be flying to San Jose, staying overnight there (flight arrives late in the evening). Next morning we will be driving to Manuel Antonio staying there for 7 nights (we rented a Villa). We rented Casa Dolce Vita - has anyone heard anything about it?

In Manuel Antonio, during our week, we plan to do the following activities: Beach, scuba diving, surfing, boat cruise, zip lines, rain forest hike. Any suggestions as to with whom we should book these activities with? Has anyone done 1/2 day boat cruises?

We will have 2 additional nights in Costa Rica, and we have made no plans. Our flight will be leaving at 1:30 PM. We've read about Monteverde, Arenal, and La Fortuna and they all sound like nice places but we don't know if we will lose to much time on travelling.

If we do all the forest activities that we want in Manuel Antonio - do we need to go to Monteverde? What difference will we see? Can you do Monteverde activities on a day trip?

If we decide to go to Arenal on our last 2 nights..ie: leave Manuel Antonio in the morning drive to Arenal spend a full day in Arenal and leave early AM on our departure day. Will we be able to experience the Volcanoes?

Any additional suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

I don't really think you have time to enjoy Monteverde; it's not all that easy to get to and the roads aren't in great shape, so it eats up some travel time. With two days, I'd go to the Peace Lodge, tour the grounds, hike the waterfalls, and take a tour to Poas volcano and then do the coffee tour. If you want to go to Arenal, I'd shorten up your time in Manuel Antonio. In my book, Arenal is worth at least 3 nights. It has the Cano Negro tour, Hanging Bridges, natural hot springs, volcano, waterfall, etc. Lots to see and do.

I hope you have better luck SCUBA diving in MA than we had snorkeling; the visibility was really poor due to all the sediment in the water, but it may have been due to the rain. Definitely take a guided tour of the park in MA; it's wonderful, and the beach is beautiful.

I second the Peace Lodge suggestion, but don't know if I'd do all the tours that volcanogirl mentioned that are nearby. Of course, the waterfalls and so much more are included on site. Poas and the Doka Estate are both good things to do; it's just that Peace Lodge/La Paz Watefall Gardens has so much, it might be a great time to relax and chill your last full day. Honestly, if you can book Peace Lodge, I'd not hesitate. It's a fabulous place to stay. . pricey, but oh so cool! I wouldn't want to pay the price to stay there and spend much time off property. It would truly be the perfect ending to an active week.

Thanks for your reply. Peace Lodge looks beautiful but probably a bit too upscale/romantic for 6 twenty-somethings travelling with us. Any where else you can recommend? How different is Poas from Arenal - are we going to miss much if we don't go to Arenal - or will Poas be as much fun?

Thanks

Since a lot of your time would be traveling from MA to Arenal, I'm not sure I'd go for such a short time. I mean, it's so incredible but the travel time etc would make it seem rushed. Poas Volcano Lodge is also in the same area as Peace Lodge, though you'd probably need to rent a mini-van to really enjoy the area. You could also go back to Alajuela area, stay in a nice cheap place like Orquideas Inn and utilize their tour desk or do the Ecoscape all day tour, which is a great way to see a lot in a short time.

Poas and Arenal are pretty different. Arenal is a huge conical volcano that spews lava and rocks and sounds like a big rolling thunderstorm. Poas is a neat crater that you can peer down into, but not active. Both can get enveloped in misty fog.

The airport is northwest of San Jose and there is no reason to stay in San Jose when you arrive. Alajuela is the community at the airport and has several reasonable places to stay nearby. I was happy with Villa Bonita.

Take a taxi straight to your hotel when you arrive, and your car rental should be able to pick you up at the B&B in the morning.

Keith

bookmarking

We decided to stay at Adventure Inn on our first night. Our flight arrives at 9:30 PM and we are checking out next morning, after breakfast, to go to Manuel Antonio - so we are just looking for a clean basic place to crash on our first night after a long trip. So we think Adventure Inn will do the job.

With respect tour our last 2 nights we have not decided what to do yet. I saw that hotels in San Jose were advertising the following one day tours:

Arenal Volcano / Tabacon Hot Springs Tour

Highlight Tour Costa Rica. 4 in 1 tour

Pacuare Whitewater Rafting

Has anyone taken any one of these and if so, would you recommend them?

Thanks

I would recommend any of them. I have personally done the Highlights. It's low on the adventure scale, but extremely interesting and you get to see a large piece of the country in a big loop with an excellent guide. Check it out:

www.ecoscapetours.com

The Arenal/Hot Springs daytrip would be a long day, but I have 2 different sets of friends who did it and thought it was a real thrill.

You can't go wrong with the Pacuare rafting if you are into more adventure. One of the best white water runs in the world. Haven't done it, but it has been high on my list for years. For some reason, other things keep pushing it back!

I've always wanted to do the Pacuare, but we haven't gotten around to it yet either. The Highlight tour would be good too. Arenal would be too much time on the road for me and too rushed to see in a day, but that's up to you if you don't think you'd feel too rushed about. Have you checked out the Pacuare Lodge? I hear good things.

Thanks for all your input.

We are looking for a private transfer (car/van with a private driver) from San Jose to Manuel Antonio. Has anyone used CR TAXI http://www.costaricataxi.com/ ???

Looking for recommendations.

Thanks.

PS...We will be 8 adults with luggage.

Thanks,
David

I second the idea of staying somewhere nearer the airport your last 2 nights. We spent our first two nights at La Buena Vista in Alajuela in a jr. suite with lovely views off balcony of volcanos, orange and coffee groves on hillsides. A greeeeat restaurant across the road, Vina Romantica--hope it is still there cuz it was incredible food and service. The hotel set up a personal tour guide who picked us up and we set off on the excursion I wanted to take--Poas Volcano, peace waterfall gardens (beautiful cloud forest experience, just a little more touristy than Monteverde)and lunch at a local "soda." Low cost, I thought. This hotel gave us a feeling for the warm Costa Rica people, more so than Las Orquideas, which was lovely, but colder reception.Manuel Antonio is an awesome choice, and gives you a lowland rain forest and beach experience. The cloud forest is quite different, different creatures and plantlife so you should add that to your CR experience, if you can. Buena Vista gives free pick-up and drop-off at airport, unless you are dropping off your car first, which is close, and then they take you nearby to airport. This would be a stress-free end to your trip instead of drive, drive, slow, slow.