Costa Rica Itinerary Help! First Timers
 

11 days in CR:

We are 48 & 50 yrs old in great shape, but still ... looking for fairly do-able pace - this IS our vacation! I would love to be budget minded. I would even consider hostels like "Roca Verde" or "Sleepers Sleep Cheaper" in Monteverde if it's not too bad. No Car.

Day 1
Midnight flight arrive SJO 12:45PM. -Private driver $120 to Hotel de Cerro in La Fortuna (seems pricey- can anyone suggest cheaper?) (taxi to hotel & Interbus probably same price & not so convenient) Cheaper driver? Rest that evening- LONG DAY!

DAY 2 - La Fortuna - Tour Suggestions??
DAY 3 - La Fortuna - Tour Suggestions??
DAY 4 - La Fortuna - Tour Suggestions??
Suggestions for the order of tours would be great. Cano Negro, Volcano Tour, Horsebackriding, go into town- which hot springs is best Eco Term or Tabacon? Will we have time to more than one tour a day? Can we do any of these on our own or is it best to take tours? Any suggestions for lowest priced tour companies?

DAY 5 - Taxi Boat Taxi to Monteverde - if we leave early will we still have time to see the Park or take a tour that day?
DAY 6 - Monteverde Tour?
Whats the best way to get around in Monteverde? Is Monteverde worth all the trouble and cost if we go to Cano Negro?

DAY 7 - Interbus or private driver to Manuel Antonio - we have reservations at La Posada for 4 nights. I would like to take private driver but they said $180 (too much for me) Any cheaper private driver suggestions out there?

DAY 8 - Park
DAY 9 - Beach, Mangrove River?
DAY 10 - Tours ? Any suggestions?

DAY 11 - We have a flight leaving SJO at 1:45PM. Should we take Interbus, or we would consider Nature Air to make sure we have enough time to catch our flight back home.
????

Regarding Monteverde vs Cano Negro. They are two completely different habitats. Monteverde is a moderately high altitude region of "cloud forest" while the Cano Negro area is a lowland river / wetland area. The flora and fauna of these locations is very different.

$120 is a good price to get from SJO to La Fortuna; we paid $140 to do it. Doing Cano Negro during the day and then Eco Termales for dinner that night works out pretty well. The Cano Negro tour usually gets back late afternoon, and then you can relax a bit before heading off for dinner and the springs. We've done Eco T and Tabacon, and personally we liked Eco T better just because they limit the number of people and their food was very good. Tabacon is a little bigger and flashier, has a water slide, etc. We hiked the waterfall this last trip and thought it was so beautiful. I know they have horseback riding tours that go there if that interests you. You're going to want to do your volcano hike at night so you can see the lava. It's not very visible during the day.

I agree with gannet - Cano Negro and Monteverde have nothing to do with each other. Cano Negro is a boat tour in a pretty warm climate; you travel up and down the Rio Frio to spot Caimans, monkeys, sloths, and aquatic birds. Monteverde is a cloud forest, can qet quite cool, and is home to the quetzals and other wildlife. Two totally different environments. MV was quite cool when we were there and rainy - we had to wear sweatshirts in the evening, and our hotel even had the fireplace going. I'd do the tour of the cloud forest when you get up first thing the next morning; you'll have a better shot of spotting wildlife. We went about 7:00 a.m. You could do a night hike your first night there. We did one at Hidden Valley that was wonderful and saw a fox, porcupine, etc. We just used taxis in MV - very cheap about $5-8.

$180 is a fair price for MV to MA. Check out Interbus to see if they run the route you want to go. The best thing we did in MA was our guided tour of the park and the beach inside the park. We also went sailing which was fun; the snorkeling was pretty bad. You can also horseback ride here or do the Damas mangrove tour. We like to spend our last night near SJO just to avoid hassle, but if you get up early, you can drive out on your last morning.

We stayed at Hotel Fonda Vela in Monteverde and really liked it; they have some new junior suites that are nice and pretty affordable. They have a nice garden area, and we saw toucans on the property. Their restaurant had good food too.

Hey guys, thanks for all the info- you are SO HELPFUL. I think I will take the private drivers then. I just didn't want all the hassle of a car. By the way we are going mid-November.

Should I change my reservation for one night shorter in MA and stay in SJ instead of taking an earyly morning Interbus or plane? My flight home is at 1:45PM. Is this cutting the time too close?

In Arenal I think I'll go to Eco Therm instead of Tabacon - do you think I should pre-book this?, horseback ride to the waterfall, Cano Negro - would a kayak tour or boat tour be better?, hike the volcano, and probably visit La Fortuna to shop and eat somewhere.

Then I think we'll J-B-J to Monteverde maybe do a night hike then go to the park next morning. Maybe something else...any suggestions?

Then use a private driver to MA- maybe stop to see crocs and such along the way, do the Beach, Park, kayak Mangrove River, Rainmaker tour- either day or night..which one do you guys think would be better?, maybe Valmy Horseback and eat and drink! Fun!

We did ziplining at the Original Canopy Tour in Monteverde - they have pictures of Jimmy Carter ziplining up in their office. We were looking at the pics and saying doesn't that look like Jimmy Carter? And it was!

I would prebook Eco Termales because they limit their entry to 100 people and sell out.

Personally I would stay the last night in SJO just because I don't want the hassle of driving on my day out, but it's up to you. Xandari is a neat place to spend your last night.

For reasonable rates in MV, check out Arco Iris in Santa Elena - very nice cabins, good breakfast buffet (not included in rate).]

We also liked our cabin at Arenal Paraiso although it was a bit dark. Very reasonable rates, around $85 or so and several hot springs on the grounds along with a canopy tour.

The canopy tour at Arenal Paraiso gets very strong reviews. Lots of cables, 18 maybe? The hot pool and swim up bar are fun. Restaurant nothing much although breakfast is good; but I did enjoy ordering sandwiches, hamburgers and clubs, from the pool bar. We've stayed 3 times, great place to stay.

Next time we go to Monteverde, we are going to check out Arco Iris--so many good things said lately.

You should look at staying in Arenal instead of La Fortuna. I don't see what time of year you are going to CR but we just came back and stayed at Arenal Parasio for $77 bucks a night and it was fabulous!

I would go to desafiocostarica.com to see activities you can do in Arenal (which is next to La Fortuna) - you might like the hanging bridges!