Hello,
I have our ten day trip planned for next summer thanks to helpful people on this board (one night Vista Del Valle, 3 nights Lost Iguana, 5 nights Villa Mot Mot)...but now I am getting a tad bit nervous about the long trip from Arenal to M.A. (we'll have a driver). We have two kids ages 6 and 12 and I'm wondering if this is a hard drive for kids? Are there options to fly instead and would this be more efficient? Thanks for any comments you can provide.
Laura

www.natureair.com www.flysansa.com good option if in a hurry.

otherwise the trip down is very nice and scenic with a driver

With 4 if not in a hurry prefer the drive with a stop at Jaco

Bubba's is great for fish tacos...

Close to Jaco also a national park makes a nice stop enroute..

We did the drive with our kids (had a driver too) The kids did fine. The driver had a DVD player and the kids also had their DS games. However, that being said the trip took forever. All in all, with stops for lunch, etc it was over EIGHT hours. The scenery etc didn't make up for the time. The rest of the trip, we had our own car and drove, but we hired a driver for that leg since the drive was long and toward the end. It was nice to get a bit of the local history, we met one of our driver's friends, had coffee and stopped at their house - things we'd never experience. But, it was long. We stopped at the crocodile bridge, we stopped for ice cream in Jaco, had lunch in Aetnas. I know the drive can be done much quicker than 8 hours...but I think our driver was trying to show us his country and pace it for the kids etc. In the end, it was just long.

If I had to do it again, I'd fly for sure. Even if we had to connect in San Jose. The experiences we had with the driver were unique and I don't know that I'd actually give them up. We had some great conversations and met some interesting people. But if we ever go back and do it again, I wouldn't spend the time to make the drive again.

As for the kids, I think your driver will break the drive up and inquire about the DVD player in the van. I was really worried about the length of time in the van with our kids and really, they did great. It was really more me and my husband - we knew we could get there faster on our own - even driving. And my husband really enjoyed driving in CR - so for him it was a bit frustrating. We also had flown a few other legs of various trips so we knew how fast we could have been there, enjoying the next part of the trip. Most of the drive was rainy and cloud covered, so there wasn't much to see anyway.

It's a pretty drive. We had a driver, and it took us about 5 hours. We only had one stop that we requested - at the Rio Tarcoles to look at the crocs. We decided just to eat when we got to MA, so we could get there that much faster. I don't think you can fly directly between Arenal and MA. I think you have to go to San Jose in between, but doublecheck me.

Hi! I did this just last week on my trip -- took the interbus shuttle from arenal to manuel antonio. We were the first people picked up and the second-to-last to be dropped off, all told it took abt 7 hours because the van had a mechanical problem at one point. All in all, the drive was pretty and an adventure although it felt very long.

I like the drive. We took Interbus and had a great time!