our family with 17 year old son planning to go to Costa Rica around X/mas-New Year for about 10 days, so fly to San Jose, stay in Arenal around 3 days, probably go to Monteverde for 1 night and then about 4-5 days in Manuel Antonio. We want to do some sight seeing and relax on the beach, we don't want to drive, so I was thinking to hire driver to bring us to Arenal, leave us there, not sure if we need to do another stop in Monteverde? or we can see same things from Aerenal. I've read about van/boat combination to get from Arenal to Monteverde and then to drive us from Arenal or Monteverde to Manuel Antonio, leave there for 4 days and then drive us to the airport. Another option is to be with driver us all the time, he quote about $180 per day. The question is if it realistic to be in those places without car (to save some $) and just get some tours or we are going to limit ourselves and it's unrealistic? Also should we stay one night in Monteverde or just stay in Arenal and explore from there.
Thanks,
Mariya

We're in Manuel Antonio right now after 5 nights in Arenal. Honestly, we loved having a car - can't picture being here without one. It gives you the freedom to be spontaneous, be on your own schedule, and to not have to do everything as a "tour". Also, we've enjoyed stopping in little towns here and there to eat, shop, just stroll around, etc.

Have fun planning, you'll have a great trip no matter what you decide!

You definitely don't want to go to Monteverde on a day tour or for just one night. It's a long bumpy road to get there. If you're interested, then stay at least two nights. We stayed three but could have done it in two. We used the Jeep Boat Jeep through Desafio to go between Arenal and Monteverde. We never get a car; we do a lot of tours, so for us a car would sit in the parking lot most of the time. We hire drivers through our hotels to go from city to city and then use taxis once we're in town. If you're comfortable driving, a car will give you a lot of freedom. If you do tours, they usually will pick you up and drop you back off at your hotel. Interbus is also popular for going between cities. Price it out to see how it compares to a driver. I wouldn't hire a driver to use every day.

servicecarrental.com rental usally easiest cheapest best for me from $200 wk all in... interbusonline.com nice shuttle
from $30 or so per leg.

Private drivers lots more usually negotiate there from $50/half day $100 full day...

odysseytourscr.com tucanlimoservices.com Dos Gringos

for nice more expensive drivers...

Spot on advice from Volcano Girl, 100% agree.

Thanks all
Mariya

Started looking into accomodations near Arenal) think to stay for 3 nights), read great reviews about Leaves and Leazard, also a lot of people liked AOL, again not having a car is my big concern for those remote locations. Also I just realized that it's two La Fortuna! Now my dilema is should I stay in La Fortuna (as a town) and which one? What is the difference between two towns? Is any one better then the other (closer to attractions)? Or should I stay in those remote (20 min drive on bumpy roads) farms. I guess my main concern that it will be easier to participate in tours from the town vs from the farm, another things I'll have 16 and 17 years old kids and maybe it's more to do for them in town vs on farm in the evening? On the other hand those farms look attractive to me for a change.
Thanks for any thoughts,
Mariya

Honestly, our favorite activity in the area was exploring the AOL grounds. Best wildlife and hiking in the area. There's a waterfall on the grounds, you can see dozens of species of birds while eating breakfast. It's also the only place in Costa Rica that we saw a wild cat (a jaguarundi) as well as a kinkajou.

I don't understand what farms you are talking about. Do you mean resorts? Since you are only planning on staying in Arenal 3 days, I don't think you need a car. There are a lot of drivers that will drive you to Arenal. we had a driver but I actually didn't think the drive to Arenal was difficult. They will stop on your way to Arenal if you request--we stopped in San Ramon--and the driver will stay with the car and make sure your belongings are safe. Things are spread out in Arenal but drivers and guides will pick you up at your hotel/resort.

There are a lot of really nice places to stay in Arenal. We stayed at Lost Iguana and were picked up by a guide for a night hike, spent one day with a guide on the Rio Celeste tour, were picked up by SkyTrek for the zipline. LI is right next to the Hanging Bridges (that we would have gone to if we hadn't enjoyed lounging and drinking by the pool).

We enjoyed the complimentary breakfast and enjoyed the grounds. We ate most of our meals there, enjoyed the open air dining and thought the food was very good. They also have a spa--we didn't use it. The rooms are beautiful and the decks all look out toward the volcano that unfortunately isn't putting on a show right now. There are trails on the grounds but we ran out of time.

I think your family would also be very happy at AOL--everyone raves about the grounds there--RAC is right about the wildlife and hiking.

Thank you!
Another question I have is that beacuse trip will be a little shorter then planned. Probably only 7 nights, maybe it's not worth it to go to Arenal area for 3 nights (just 2 full days) and then for 4 nights (only 3 full days) in MA and it's long drive between Arenal and MA (?5 hours?) maybe we should just stay in MA and do zipline, rain forest and be on beach without too much driving around and rushing? We are not planning to have a car. I'm interested to see volcano and hot spring and hanging bridges (which is in Arenal), so what should we do?
Also is it ok to get from MA right to the SJO airport without staying over in San Jose? Or the roads very unpredictable?
Mariya

I'd definitely do both. You have enough time. Personally spending 7 nights in MA would be too much for me unless you want to spend most of your time on the beach. CR is so diverse that it's fun to see different areas of the country.

I would (and did!) do both. We spent 2.5 days (2 nights) in Arenal, and 3 days (2 nights) in MA. That's plenty of time to see both areas, and you'll be glad you see the volcano. It's amazing!

We hired a private driver to take us from Monteverde to MA because of the long drive. I'd suggest going that route - it was worth it to us to splurge for someone to be able to tell us about Costa Rica and the areas while we were in the car for so long. He also knew a great place for lunch and stopped for all the pictures I wanted to take. Well worth it!