Costa Rica Trip advice needed! Is this possible?
 

My husband and I are trying to plan a trip to Costa Rica this coming winter, possibly in Jan-Feb. We want to go for about 10 days, and I think we'll fly into San Jose, rent a car and drive to different spots. We really want to see some amazing wildlife, like frogs and birds etc. I think at the moment I've narrowed our trip down to 3 spots, but I'm not sure if it's doable or not, perhaps someone could help!

I think I'd like to try for 3 destinations, but I'm not sure how much time to divide between them, or in what order to see them, or if seeing all 3 would be possible:

Arenal - because I would LOVE to see an active volcano (esp at night)

Monteverde - The cloud forest sounds interesting, plus seeing the Sloth sanctuary is on my "must see" list.

La Selva Biological Station - I've heard that this is one of the best places to see frogs (we keep dart frogs so seeing them in the wild would be a thrill), plus the fact that they have paved paths would be great for me since I have arthritis and I'm not terribly fit. My main concern with La Selva is that it seems out of the way in comparison to the other spots, and I can't seem to find any info on where to stay there (outside of the station itself). Has anyone ever been?

Any advice would be helpful!! Thank you!!

To be honest, the place of your three destinations that's out of the way is Monteverde. It's physically close to Arenal, but it takes a lot longer to get between the two than you'd think. La Selva is an easy drive from Arenal on good roads. (You can't always count on that in Costa Rica. Here's a case where you can.)

I think La Selva's nature offerings are top notch. They do a very good job, and I don't think you'll be disappointed. If you don't stay at the biological station itself, there are several lodgings in the area, all near the town of Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui (not to be confused with Puerto Viejo de Talamanca on the Caribbean coast).

Of course anything can happen between now and the, but Arenal has been quiet (ie, no lava or rocks falling) since November 2010. So I wouldn't plan a trip there if that's the only reason you want to go. If you still want to include Arenal, then I would strongly suggest staying at Arenal Observatory Lodge which will offer you the most wildlife.

Agree with Jeff and BAJJ - MV is harder to get to and will eat up your time. It's a beautiful area, but to make a nice loop there is a closer cloud forest lodge that you could visit on your way to Arenal - Bosque de Paz. I was there in Feb. and loved it. We turned off at Zarcero, only about 1 1/2 hours from SJO.
www.bosquedepaz.com It's cold at night, so be warned!

In the La Selva area we always stay at Selva Verde - lots of frogs on their grounds along with howlers, iguanas, toucans, sloths. It's about 15 minutes from La Selva where we arrange guided hikes for birding. www.selvaverde.com

Arenal hasn't had any lava views for a while and AOL is the #1 spot for wildlife there. We also enjoyed hiking the Hanging Bridges, boat trip to Cano Negro and Eco-Termales.

Enjoy your visit - it's easy to get hooked!

Is there a new sloth sanctuary at Monteverde? You mentioned it in your posting, but there wasn't one when we visited a few years back. There is a good one on the southern Caribbean coast near Puerto Viejo (de Talamanca).

Caribbean lowlands, volcano, cloud forest- sounds like a great plan especially if you are arriving early and leaving late so you don't have to waste any time in San Jose. You can be in the Sarapiqui area in 2 hours from San Jose. Lots of hotel choices-no real high end places but plenty of comfortable hotels with lots of poison dart frogs! Selva Verde, La Selva, Ara Ambigui, and La Quinta(not the chain) are all viable options.At La Quinta there were bajillions of the strawberry(blue jeans) dart frogs and if you looked closely some of the green & black.You can arrange tours to La Selva, boat tours on the Sarapiqui river(recommended at $25 pp), take a tour of Tirimbina reserve, go rafting - lots of choices to keep you busy.We really enjoyed La Casona restaurant at Ara Ambigui hotel, really good Tican influenced dining with killer pizza to boot. It is pretty hot in Sarapiqui so you may want a place with AC. Arenal is awesome , erupting or not!There's something special about the almost perfect cone jutting up from the ground- especially if it's clear. Have only stayed at the Lost Iguana, which was great but if I go back I'm staying at AOL to see the Margay! Monteverde is awesome if you don't mind a slow drive with some less than perfect roads that in my opinion should not discourage you from visiting.Wear your seatbelt and enjoy the drive.Fonda Vela was good for us- big rooms with a small frig, nice new heated pool, on site trails and a good restaurant kept us happy.Lots of good restaurant choices in Monteverde- Chimera, El Marquez(seafood), Pizza de Johnny were all great- the local ice cream-OHHHH!

do this a lot...

servicecarrental.com mapache.com my top 2 locals

arenal.net

tabacon.com my fav

monterverdeinfo.com

fondavela.com

hotelvillacaletas.com

manuelantoniopark.com issimosuites.com

tripadvisor.com/members/natureguide best guide

use him to spot best park wildlife...

Happy Travels... Spirit.com cheap flights down

first class for coach price for me...

I always travel light onebag.com buy just the flight

nothing else save a tonne...

"Arenal - because I would LOVE to see an active volcano (esp at night)"

As mentioned, Arenal is sort of sleepy lately. It is astounding, especially when the side of it you are observing is brightly lit by the sun. The words "lava flow" are used rather carelessly in reference to what you can see of this beautiful cone (and its little brother). To some people "lava flow" means "flowing molten rock," but a more typical use is "the place where molten rock--and similar matter--once flowed." The whole area is wonderful and worth a visit, but not in hopes of seeing what isn't there at night. It's important to the tourism industry not to describe it with geological accuracy. Arenal WILL reward you, but most likely not with something red and flowing.

Keep track of Arenal with the live webcam. It updates every 10 seconds, but you probably will have to reload the screen to get the benefit of the update.

http://www.ovsicori.una.ac.cr/vulcan...nal/camara.jpg

It;s also a good way to study clouds.

I love arenal, even if you don't get to see any activity. So much wildlife and lots of fun things to do. I've had luck seeing some activity out of the volcano only when I stay at the Arenal Observatory Lodge. Your room has a big window, so even if there is a tiny eruption in the middle of the night, you will have the opportunity to see it.

Since you have arthritis, there are some easier trails that would suit you. Last time we went an ocelot jumped on my husband's back!! We are thinking about going again in a couple weeks. Safe travels, you're trip will be full with incredible wildlife so make sure you have a big camera card.

www.happierthanabillionaire.com

You have a real knack for writing, H.W.L.! I got a great deal of amusement , and some moments of reflection, reading your blog.

An ocelot on your husband's back? For real?

That was probably the fairly tame margay that hangs around AOL. I have some pics of it linked from my trip report. Our AOL guide said that it was very tame when it was younger. It has gotten more shy as it ages.

Probably a good thing. ;)