Hi Everyone!

We are planning our first trip to Costa Rica in July. We want to go to Arenal, Monteverde and Osa. Already booked the Lodge and Flight for Osa. The itenerary I have planed is

Day 1 - arrive in SJO 9:30am. Travel to Arenal.

Day 2 - Arenal

Day 3- Travel to Monteverde

Day 4- Monteverde

Day 5- Travel to San Jose

Day 6-10 Flight to Osa
Osa

Does this sound do-able? I figure that it will give us a taste of Arenal and Monteverde and we can always go back and spend more time in the future - the main thing for us is seeing the cloud forest and Volcano.

We were thinking of renting a car. Will the drive from Arenal to Monteverde be an issue during the wet season if we have a 4x4? Would you suggest a driver or transportation company?

We are not into luxury and do not need to go anywhere to be pampered -
we are going to see nature.

Any suggestions to the itenerary would be appreciated! We still need places to stay in Arenel and Monteverde - We like places with a view and our own bathroom - that is about our only requirement (just 2 of us) Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you!

We like the Lost Iguana in Arenal - very nice volcano views from the balcony and nice bathrooms that you're looking for; it's a little bit pricey though. Silencio del Campo gets good reviews too.

If it were me, I'd give up the Monteverde time to have more time in Arenal. I'd do the Cano Negro tour, and that takes a day in itself, but it's a great way to see wildlife. Also the Hanging Bridges, natural hot springs like Tabacon, ziplines, the waterfall, etc. That area has so much to offer. We skipped Monteverde our first trip to have more Arenal time, and it was a good decision for us. It takes so much time to travel from spot to spot. You might look into Jeep Boat Jeep to save yourself some time between the two if you decide to do both.

Thank you!

I just looked into the Jeep-boat-Jeep. Only $17 per person and it only takes 2 hours! Great tip!

I apologise to anyone who notices for posting this topic more that once. I posted it and I was not able to find it if I searched for "costa rica" I thought I did something wrong.

We liked the Volcano Lodge in Arenal. Make sure that you request your own private bungalow. ou can see the volcano erupting from your bed at night.
We drove a 4x4 all over. My husband is fearless and skilled mountain and desrert cliffy area driver. I was scared a good part of the time. Some roads are fine, others are a bit sketchy. If you are up for it then it will be part of the adventure.

You mentioned the jeep-boat-jeep trip. I made a tiny website to give people an idea of what its like.
We went from Monteverde to La Fortuna.

mitdoac.googlepages.com

mitdoac, thanks for posting that! It's good to get a picture of things. Which company did you use? Were there any restrictions on luggage size or weight for the boat? Looks like fun!

We used AnywhereCostaRica.com to book it. No restrictions on luggage that I could tell.
I was a little nervous before-hand about this part of our trip, but the whole thing went very smooth and easy.

Thanks for the great information!