Costa Rica in April for 12 days

Old Nov 28th, 2017, 03:51 PM
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Costa Rica in April for 12 days

My husband, my 14 year old daughter and I are meeting up with our 18 year old daughter in early April for 12 days. We will pick her up after 4 weeks at the Monkey Farm and 6 weeks at the Butterfly Conservatory in El Castillo. We will get to El Castillo a day before she is done with her volunteer stint. We then have 10 more days to travel. We are flying in and out of Liberia.

We all love adventures, animals, swimming and being outside. My husband and I have been to Arenal and Manual Antonio but that was 15 years ago. On that trip we spent time in Tortaguerro and on the East Coast. I loved the less touristy part of the East Coast.

Any suggestions for us? Does anyone know of farm stays that aren't fancy. We are very happy with low key family style places.

Thanks,
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Old Nov 28th, 2017, 06:21 PM
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We did a tour of a place called Finca Luna Nueva you might like.

If I were you, I'd check out the Osa Peninsula - not touristy, and it has the best wildlife we've ever seen. We saw all 4 species of monkeys there, sloths, toucans, scarlet macaws, agoutis, coatis, even an anteater.
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Old Jan 9th, 2018, 10:34 AM
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Thanks. I am starting to get closer in my plans. We will start in the El Castillo/Arenal area then head to Monte Verde and then considering the Jaguar Jungle on Drake Bay. Have you been there? Could we do just Arenal and Drake Bay so we wouldn't move as much? Is Monte Verde completely different?
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Old Jan 9th, 2018, 10:53 AM
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In the Arenal area, check out the Arenal Observatory Lodge; it has wonderful hiking trails and is a huge property off a long bumpy road. We saw monkeys, toucans, currasows, etc. there. The Smithsonian rooms are nice. Monteverde is more of a cloud forest and has a cooler climate than Arenal - okay to skip though; it's very popular with birders - you can see quetzals there. It was chilly for us in the evening, and our hotel even had the fireplace going. We stayed at Bosque del Cabo on the Osa, close to Puerto Jimenez - amazing place. Have not been to Drake Bay, but I suspect it would be similar.
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Old Feb 20th, 2018, 07:40 AM
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I was thinking about staying at Hidden Falls, Monteverde and doing zip lining, hiking, night tour, coffee, etc tours out of there. The place looks awesome. After 3 days, do I move to Arenal from there? How far is it?
Then beach for a few days, which isn't a priority, but if we went to Osa would we fly?
Our priorities are hiking, ziplining, jungle, something different since we have done beaches to death. However, watching surfing would be pretty cool.
Thanks!
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Old Feb 20th, 2018, 08:00 AM
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Yes, you can head to Arenal from Monteverde. The road is long and bumpy, so if you don't want to drive it, you can do one of the Jeep Boat Jeep services that cuts across the lake. Desafio is a good company to go with. I think we paid about $30 each. The Arenal area is great, worth about four nights. It's about four hours between the two, maybe a little less. Sky Trek is good for ziplining, so is the Original Canopy Tour.

Yes, you have to fly to the Osa. Check Nature Air and Sansa; those are the in country airlines, and both have websites.
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