hollyb

Hi all,
My husband and I are finally getting away for our 25th anniversary to the Lost Iguana resort in the Arenal area. We are going July 26-31st and we know nothing about what to do when we get there and how to get there. Do we need to book trips in advance, transportation back and forth from the San Jose airport, and any other helpful tips would be most appreciated.
thanks in advance!

volcanogirl

The Lost Iguana will book a driver for you if you'd like; it will probably cost around $140 to pick you up at the airport and drive you there. You can also check the Interbus schedule if you want to do something more affordable. Arenal is my favorite area, so I can tell you some of the fun things to do there. First, just watching the volcano is awesome, and LI is on the active lava view side. You can hike the Hanging Bridges which are next door, do a volcano hike, you can go to the waterfall, you can do the Cano Negro tour with Sunset tours to see wildlife (my favorite!), you can zipline at SkyTrek, visit the wonderful natural hot springs like Eco Termales where they serve a good chicken dinner, you can white water raft - loads to do in the area.

qwovadis

www.wild-rider.com

www.tricolorcarrental.com

always rent a car saves money over driver

things pretty spread out good to have

www.desafiocostarica.com best tours

Liquid Lava Rio Celeste Cano Negro my favs

www.skytrek.com for zip...

Have fun,

colibri

You may want to book Eco Termales since they limit the number of people to 100 per session. There were not nearly that many people when we were there on Valentine's Night, but you never know. Eco T. seems to be the favorite hot springs on this forum and it was one of the highlights of our entire trip. I believe you can book it through www.arenal.net

Traveltolearn

Hi, From SJO international airport it is 3.5 hours to Lost Iguana Resort. If your plane arrives in afternoon its probably better to arrange for the hotel to pick you up. Driving over there at night in a rental car is not a good idea, since the roads are mountainous and winding, and the interbus and Grayline probably dont run that route in the afternoons.
I invite you to read my Costa Rica Travel blog on the web costaricalearn Under travel tips category and National Parks Category, I talk a lot about the all the wonderful activities around Arenal, including the Tabacon Hot springs which is a must. Ive been there many many times. Regards, costaricalearn

Traveltolearn

Hi, From SJO international airport it is 3.5 hours to Lost Iguana Resort. If your plane arrives in afternoon its probably better to arrange for the hotel to pick you up. Driving over there at night in a rental car is not a good idea, since the roads are mountainous and winding, and the interbus and Grayline probably dont run that route in the afternoons.
I invite you to read my Costa Rica Travel blog on the web costaricalearn Under travel tips category and National Parks Category, I talk a lot about the all the wonderful activities around Arenal, including the Tabacon Hot springs which is a must. Ive been there many many times. Regards, costaricalearn

hollyb

do we need to book excursions before we go. Also since we are staying in Arenal area the whole trip, does it make sense to rent a car?
thanks,
Holly

cmerrell

You can probably wait until you arrive to book your tours. Eco Termales hot springs might be the one exception since they limit admissions to 100 people per session. There are other hot springs in the area, but Eco T. is a favorite as Colibri mentioned in her post.

I really liked having a car in that area. Things are pretty spread out there, and the roads are easy to drive. You may want a little SUV for clearance for some of the roads, but it's pretty smooth sailing overall. Lost Iguana is about 20-ish minutes out from town so the car will add flexibility for your comings and goings. That said, most tour companies will pick you up from your hotel for an additional fee so if you plan to do several daytrip/excursions, you can certainly get by without a car if that's your preference. Lost Iguana might still offer a shuttle into town as well if you don't mind doing things according to the shuttle schedule.