First trip to Costa Rica - Is my itinerary too aggressive
 

I am planning my first trip to Costa Rica. I am traveling with a family of 6 [including myself, my wife, and 4 children (ages 9, 11, 11, 13)]. I'm concerned that my itinerary is too aggressive.
Arrival: March 17 (SJO) - will stay at Marriott
March 18: depart for Arenal (planning to stay at the Arenal Observatory Lodge 2 nights)
March 20: depart for JW Marriott in Guanacaste (3 nights)
March 23: depart for SJO - will stay at Marriott
Departure: March 24th

Concerns: drive time from SJO to Arenal, Arenal to Guanacaste, and Guanacast to SJO. Will we be spending too much time in a car? We plan to coordinate transfers with either the hotels (i.e. not renting a car)

In addition, looking for suggestions for family friendly zipline/canopy tours and rafting that can accomodate all of my children.

Thanks for the help.

Out of a total of an eight-day vacation, you're devoting the bulk of two days to flying and the bulk of three days to road travel. It sounds exhausting to me.

Your plan does have a good bit of time in the car, but that is hard to avoid in CR unless you choose to fly. You only have 1 full day in Arenal which will limit your options, but you will at least get to see the volcano. I was disappointed that we never saw the top unobscured, but that is not unusual.

I didn't go to Guanacaste, so I can't comment on that. If you don't plan to rent a car, I definitely recommend Wilson Rojas. We used him for transport between SJ and Monteverde and again from Arenal to SJ. He is extremely knowledgable and will stop for animal sightings, meals, etc. There are many favorable comments on this board about him. You can try one of these email addresses: [email protected] or [email protected].

We did ziplining in Monteverde, but Sky Trek in Arenal gets good reviews. Rafting wasn't on our agenda, we went to Osa to see the animals!

Jeff is really right. With only one week, would you consider spending the time in just Arenal and the San Jose area? You have most of your lodging at Marriott, so I assume you might be using points.

Would this be an option...it would eliminate Guanacaste, but might give you more time to really enjoy yourselves and relax too.

Arrival: March 17 (SJO) - stay at Marriott
March 18: depart for Arenal (stay at the Arenal Observatory Lodge 3 nights)
March 21: depart for Peace Lodge just outside SJ (2 nights)
March 23: depart for SJO - will stay at Marriott
Departure: March 24th

You are not far from SJ at PL and might be able to tweak this a little to actually have more time to see things. Don't know what time your flights are, so that will have a bearing on the plans.

When we first started visiting CR we didn't worry too much about time spent in the car; even that was interesting. That was without 4 kids, though! I like the Peace Lodge suggestion along with more time at Arenal--unless beach time is paramount. If it is, then go for it--no way can you not enjoy!

Do you have an option going home from Liberia Airport instead of San Jose? I think it does make more sense than coming back all the way from Marriott Guanacaste (near Tamarindo?)to SJO.

It would make more sense to trade Jaco or Manuel Antonio or even Tamarindo for Guanacaste. Personally, I think you'll wish you added at least 1-2 nights at the AOL if you stick with your current plan.

Unless you're arriving very late, I would skip the Marriott in SJO & just head straight to Arenal. That would give you an extra day there. There's a lot to do in the Arenal area. I would also consider returning from Liberia instead of wasting a day driving back to SJO. Again, if you do this you gain another day at the JW & spend a lot less time in the car.

I loved the JW Marriott but it really is in the middle of no where, you might want to consider renting a car while you're there. The place has a very quiet zen like feel to it so I'm not sure how popular it will be with your kids.

I would recommend the canopy tour at Arenal Paraiso & the half day Rio Balsa Rafting with Desafio Tours in Arenal. It's a class 2-3, and was fun but not too rough.

Even if you don't change a thing, I'm sure you'll have a great time...enjoy!!

Thanks for the all the responses. How cool is this, you type in a question and get great responses!

I agree that we're trying to do too much. I am using Marriott reward points, and they have another property in Herradura (near Jaco). Maybe three nights in AOL and three nights near Jaco?

Regarding transportation, should we rent a car?

Yes, rent a car, especially for the Arenal area. Jaco provides an opportunity to see places like Manuel Antonio, Carara, and the Tarcoles River as day trips, as well as being a beach destination. Just be prepared for a lack of culture shock--very Americanized, for better or worse.

I definitely think Arenal is worth three nights; there's a lot to see and do there - Hanging Bridges, natural hot springs, the waterfall, the Cano Negro tour to see wildlife, ziplining and rafting. We used Rios Tropicales for our rafting trip, and they were great. You'd have to check with them regarding age limits www.riostropicales.com. The longer you stay in the Arenal area, the better chance you have of seeing the volcano since it gets enshrouded in clouds/mist.

I haven't stayed in Jaco, but it has a reputation for being seedy. Hopefully someone who has stayed at that Marriott can give you feedback.

We don't rent a car just because my husband doesn't want to drive, but most people do and are happy to have the freedom a car provides. If you don't want to drive, you can book a private driver and use taxis in town. That's worked for us. The roads going to and in Arenal/La Fortuna are in pretty good shape.

I agree it sounds like too much especially with 4 kids.
I would recommend Exploradores Outdoors for rafting, and you can transfer to/from different areas (ie. in the morning get picked up at SJ and in the afternoon dropped off in Arenal) so that would be a nice "transportation day". However I am pretty sure the minimum age for that one is 12, so you will have to look into your options. have a fun trip!