My husband, our 33 year old daughter, our 11 year old grandson, and I just recently returned from our first trip to Costa Rica. We all enjoyed the trip and there are things to do for all ages! I will just briefly tell you where we stayed and if you have any questions for me about the trip I will be happy to try to answer them.
We flew into the San Jose airport. We spent the first night at the Resort Martino in Alajuela and they had a shuttle bus at the airport for us. We rented a 4 wheel drive from Mapache. The next day we drove to Tamarindo and spent three nights at the Luna Llena. From Tamarindo we drove back to Alajuela and over to the LaPaz Waterfall Gardens and stayed in the Monarch Villa for one night. The next day we drove up to La Fortuna and stayed at The Lost Iguana which is about 25 minutes out of La Fortuna with a good view of the Arenal Volcano. We went to the Tabacon Hot Springs one night. We all rode up in the sky tram at the SkyTram/SkyTrek canopy tour. My husband and I rode back down in the tram while our daughter and grandson did the zip line. They thought it was great! Our last day we drove back to the Resort Martino. My husband and I went through the Zoo Avenue which is just down the road from the Martino. Mapache car rental picked up the SUV at the hotel. The hotel had a shuttle take us to the airport to catch our flight home.
Costa Rica is a beautiful country and we had a really great time!

Tell me a little more about Zoo Ave. We are wondering if we would be able to see it on the first day we arrive in CR. We will be arriving at 12:45 and it will probably be about 2 pm before we get checked-in our hotel, etc. Would we have time to still see it that afternoon/evening?
Thanks!

skedaddle.....you didn't say where you were staying your first night, but yes, I think you would have time to see it your first afternoon. My husband and I walked through most of Zoo Avenue and I think we were only there for less than two hours. The walkways are paved and most of the animals are visible from the path. Hope you have a great trip.

Thanks, lorac! We are staying at the Alta Hotel, so I believe it is on that side of San Jose. We are leaving Sat. and are so excited!

Did you feel isolated at the Lost Iguana? What type of rooms did you stay in? Were the insects/lizards in the room overwhelming? Did you book your tours in advance? How long did it take you drive back to San Juan. Any favorite restaurants? Anything you can tell about this part of your trip would be greatly appreciated.

Lorac, thanks for your report. Did you think it was worthwhile to ride the Sky Tram and could you see any wildlife or nice views? My family will do the zip-line but I will not. (Fear of heights and also problems with my shoulder/neck.) I am wondering if I should take the Sky Tram up with them, or if I would be better off finding something else to do. Also, when you took the sky tram down, was there a place to wait for the rest of the family to do the zip-line? Was there a waiting area with bathrooms and snacks? Or did you return to the hotel and wait? Thanks!

We're staying at the Lost Iguana too. Which floor were you on? Which type of rooms did you have? Was it quiet for sleeping at night? If you stayed there again would be request the same room?

Melissa,

What kind of room are you at at the Lost Iguana. How did you decide to stay there. I see here that you are a major researcher. I am leaning towards the Lost Iguana. But need final reassurance before I send my credit card info later today. Please help!

Misha2 and Melissa5, I think that I can answer your questions in one reply! We did not feel isolated at the Lost Iguana but we had a rental vehicle and drove where ever we wanted to go. We stayed in the Owner's Villa at the Lost Iguana. It was at the top of the hill and had a great view of the Arenal Volcano from the large balcony. I am not sure how the other rooms are but the Owner's Villa was very nice and large. We had one big bedroom, 1 and 1/2 baths, a good size living area and kitchen. The living room had a sofa bed and we also had them bring up an extra mattress for our grandson. We did not have any lizards in the rooms at any of the places that we stayed in Costa Rica but we did stay at the more upscale hotels. We did have some ants but we had those when we were in Hawaii last year also. I took a bottle of "off" and only got a couple of bites. I don't remember seeing any mosquitoes in any of the rooms either.
We did not book any tours before we went. The only place where we went that was a little crowded was the Tabacon Hot Springs.
I think the drive back to San Jose, we were actually in Alajuela, took about 3 or 3 1/2 hours from La Fortuna. From La Fortuna we took the road to San Ramon and then down the Pan American Highway 1 to Alajuela.
We were only at the Lost Iguana for two nights. The first night we ate at their restaurant and the food was o.k. We also had breakfast there both mornings and we thought their buffet was quite good. One night we had the buffet when we were at the Tabacon Hot Springs. We thought it was really good! We also had lunch at the Arenal Observatory Lodge one day. The food wasn't anything special but the view of the lake was nice.
I really enjoyed the sky tram. We all went up in it. My daughter and grandson went back down on the zip line. My husband and I rode the tram back down. We had a really nice guide and he would point out different trees and plants of interest. We did not see much wildlife but he did stop the tram a couple of times and tried to call up some monkeys but we didn't see any. When we got to the top we watched while our daughter and grandson did the two short zip lines. While we were watching them the tram went back down so we talked with the guide while we waited for the tram to come back up for us. Our daughter and grandson were already back at the beginning platform by the time that we got back down. We could also have walked back down through the rainforest instead of riding the tram but my husband has a bad knee so we just rode the tram. We did have a wonderful view of the lake and volcano on the tram ride. There is a gift shop and chairs to sit in while you are waiting for someone to do the zip line. I hope I answered your questions and hope you both have great vacations.

Lorac, thanks for answering my questions. You mentioned that there are chairs and a gift shop near the bottom where I would wait for my family to finish the zip-lines. Was there also a bathroom?

Misha2, I am satisfied, after all my research, that the Lost Iguana is the best place for us. The owner, Elaine, sent me lots of answers by e-mail and also sent me some photos of the beautiful lava rock showers you can get if you have the luxury suite on the first floor only. while it is a little isolated (15 minute drive from town), we will have a 4-wheel drive and my biologist husband enjoys a bit of isolation!)

You can see some wildlife on the Lost Iguana grounds, which is a plus for us. It sounds like they have a nice pool. The food is reported to be good. The trip reports on-line have reported more satisfied customers at the Lost Iguana resort than at Tabacon's hotel. (people like the Tabacon hot springs but are usually not impressed with the hotel.)

Also all the rooms at the Lost Iguana have a volcano view, assuming it is not obscured by clouds.

Also trip reports at Lost Iguana are reporting that any construction has not been near enough to the guest rooms to bother anyone. While at the other hotels, there have been some reports of construction going on right next to some people's rooms.

Hope this helps. Remember, I haven't stayed there yet, have gotten all this info from trip reports, from e-mails from fodors travellers who have stayed there, and some from Elaine the owner.

The best side of the volcano for lava view changes according to the whims of nature. Elaine wrote to me that over the recent month they had lava views almost every day. Of course this could change any time!!! I didn't pick the Lost Iguana for the volcano view, which was actually best at Arenal Paraiso at the time when I booked my reservation. I decided to pick the place I thought could make us happiest even if the volcano was totally under clouds the whole time!

Hanging Bridges are also within walking distance of Lost Iguana and they give a discounted price to guests of Lost Iguana.

wow, can't believe I wrote so much. It has been a stressful week and sneaking a few moments on fodors here and there has been relaxing this week... Back to family responsibilities now...

Misha, happy travels.

Melissa5, yes there were bathrooms there at the sky tram. We had a nice view of the volcano but did not see any lava. We did see the steam coming out of the top and heard the eruptions which sounded like thunder to me. We could hear howler monkeys from the balcony of the villa but did not see any! Also, there is a path right across from the villa that leads onto the Hanging Bridges trail. My daughter and grandson did that but my legs were so sore from climbing steps at the LaPaz Waterfall Gardens the day before that I didn't try it!

Melissa5,

Thanks. I was thinking along the same lines. It's nice to know that someone who is such a thorough researcher came up with the same conclusions.

More importantly, I read about your father-in-law on the other post. I am so sorry for your loss. But, how wonderful that at such a sad time you are allowing yourselves to focus on celebrating life. Good luck.

Perhaps another tip for your trip. We are waiting our flight out of SanJose after a wonderful trip to C Rica. We stayed at the L Iguana and it was great. Dinner was just so-so, but the room was lovely, quiet, and the place was not overrun by americans (altho the Peace Lodge was). Sure, it is a ways from the city, but no problem because we had a car, and being on that side of the volcano, it is better for seeing the lava at night. We even went out at 10pm, very dark, to ride on the dirt road to get a better view, and that road is pretty close to L Iguana. Also, you get a pretty good view of the lake as you drive in and out.
We did the zip lines....even my wife, who doesn't like 6 flags stuff. She had to build her confidence, but it was easy and fun and good views up onthe platforms.
A nice place for lunch in La Fortuna is Lava Rocks....try their iced tea,and their hearts of plam salad. it is right on the main drag.
We also did the waterfall outside of town, but that was a pretty steep hike back up to our car. Maybe not good for someone not in very good shape.
Also, they mention a steak house called El Novillo, on the road out of La Fortuna towards L Iguana, on the right. We didn't try it.
One more thing....if you have a car, and some time....drive up from L Iguana along the lake toward the town of Nuevo Arenal. It is almost all paved. About 15 or 18 minutes up that road, on the left, is a shop that has a good selection of C Rican artwork..but it is a nice place to have lunch or coffee and dessert. It is called the Toad House, and if you see a big hotel called La Mansion....it is right in that area. Their deck looks out over the lake and it is just beautiful, quiet.

EK

EK,

I just saw this. Thanks. I'll try Toad House and the other places. It's heartening to hear that your wife did the zipline even though she doesn't like roller coasters. I am reconsidering.

I'd also recommend heading out to Tortuguero National Park. It's a 1.5 hour boat down the river, through dense rainforest. (on the Caribbean side) It's really great. I'm not exactly a fan of rustic surroundings, but I must say, the Laguna Lodge was pretty nice, considering the remote location. Very comfortable lodging. We got up very early each morning to take boat trips and we saw so much wildlife, it was mind boggling.