cmerrell

Hi everyone,

I posted a few questions on this forum back towards the beginning of the year when I was in the initial stages of planning my first trip to Costa Rica. I was very impressed with the helpful and informative responses I received. My trip is now rapidly approaching (counting the days!), and I have some additional questions to help tie up odds and ends.

I am traveling with my mom and brother. Mom is 67 yrs old; brother and I are 40-ish.

Our itinerary is as follows:

Dec 04: Arrive SJO around 2:30 p.m. Pick up rental car and head to Peace Lodge for first night.
Dec 05: Spend morning at Waterfall Gardens, then drive to Arenal; stay at Arenal Lodge.
Dec 06: Cano Negro tour?
Dec 07: Sky Trek/Sky Tram and/or Hanging Bridges??
Dec 08: Drive to Manuel Antonio; stay at Hotel California.
Dec 09: National Park.
Dec 10: Some sort of Dolphin watching / snorkeling tour?
Dec 11: Drive back to SJO for 3:00 p.m. flight home.

Questions:

What is the approximate driving time between the Peace Lodge and Arenal Lodge?

In the Arenal area, we'd really like to do Cano Negro, Sky Trek/Sky Tram, the Hanging Bridges, and one of the hot springs. Is this all feasible to cram into approximately 2.5 days? Any suggestions for optimizing our schedule so we don't kill ourselves rushing from activity to activity?

In MA, we'd like to spend one day in the park and the other on some sort of cruise. I absolutely love dolphin and whale watching. I know there are various dolphin watch/snorkeling tours available. Any favorites? Are we likely to see Humpbacks in the area in early December?

Also in MA, are all the beaches in the area prone to riptides?

Thanks so much for any information you can provide! It's so nice to have access to the wealth of knowledge represented on this board!

guanacaste

<b>definitely</b> do the cano negra tour!!
IMHO i'd skip the sky walk/ hanging bridges, it's down to a matter of taste, but, i prefere walking on the ground!
yes, MA does have rips, ask at the hotel and don't swim where u don;'t see locals swimming. <b>if</b> u get caught in a rip <b>don't</b> swim against it.
wait for it to take u until the current stops, then swim parallel to the shore and swim back!

http://costa.rica.typepad.com/la_for...ome/index.html

http://costa.rica.typepad.com/manuel...ome/index.html

tully

You should be able to fit the Hanging Gardens and the Sky Trek in one day. You might be able to save some time if you can somehow arrange the pickup van from SkyTrek to drop you off instead at Hanging Gardens, then afterwards taxi back to your hotel. Both of these are about a 10-15 minute drive West of where many of the hotels are located, so might make sense not to double back. The Hanging Gardens were fantastic, it is a lot of walking, plus the 10 or so so suspension bridges. But amazing scenery and we were very lucky seeing a lot of birds, monkeys, 2 pit vipers etc. Would your mom want to do the SkyTrek as well? It is very intense - but so much fun, especially after you get the first one under your belt and convince yourself you will not fall. If she doesn't want to do that, I believe she could walk a path down but you might want to check how far/long it is cause you start up pretty high. You could also fit in one of the springs if you do it later in the day, many of them are open late.

In MA, go early as that's a weekend and it will be packed. The one beautiful beach in the park, the 2nd one I believe, is more like a sheltered cove and was as calm as a bathtub when I was there. Have a great time!

shillmac

The drive from Arenal to MA is approximately 6 hours, allowing plenty of time for a lunch stop and a view of the crocs at the Rio Tarcoles bridge!

Also, I agree with Guanacaste about the Cano Negro tour--it is excellent. We went with Sunset Tours and I remember that we were back fairly early. Seems like around 3:00 p.m. This is the evening that we went to Baldi Hot Springs (or whichever one you want to do). They all serve dinner (or have food available) so you could enjoy the daylight hours and part of the evening as well, making good use of your time. Agree with Tully that you could easily do the Hanging Bridges and SkyTrek on the same day. If you want something tamer than SkyTrek, you could always do the ziplines at the Arenal Paraiso.

Haven't done it, but I've heard the Damas Mangrove tour out of Manuel Antonio is excellent in case the dolphin/whale watching doesn't pan out for you. Also, the Finca Valmy horseback tour gets rave reviews.

Have a great time, you three! How I wish I could have taken my mom to Costa Rica. How she would have loved it!

batson57

I've done both the Damas Estuary and the Finca Valmy----loved both--doesyour Mom ride horses? I don't really, but I still enjoyed Finca Valmy. I'm not sure what the horse thought.

cmerrell

Thanks for all the terrific replies!

Guanacaste, I've looked at your blog before. You have some really beautiful photos posted! Cano Negro is definitely at the top of our to-do list for the Arenal area. Wildlife and ecosystem viewing is a huge part of the allure of CR for us.

Tully and Shillmac, thanks for confirming that we can fit both Sky Trek and the Hanging Bridges into the schedule. Both activities appeal to us. At this point my mom is all gung ho to try a canopy tour! She may change her tune once she actually sets eyes on the first zipline (heck, I expect to be slightly terrified myself, but really want to try it!).

Shillmac, thanks for mentioning that Arenal Paraiso has a tamer canopy experience. We may need to take that into consideration. I know what you mean in mentioning that you wish you could have taken your mom to CR (a place you obviously love). My mom loves to get out and see and do. She's very excited about this trip and I'm glad of the opportunity to share this experience with her.

I had considered the Mangrove tour in MA. I was just wondering if it would be fairly similar to Cano Negro? Even if it is, we would probably really enjoy it. I hadn't really considered Horseback riding, but perhaps I should. Which was your favorite of the 2 activities, Batson? And I'm sure the horse was quite pleased to be your escort! ;-)

I really appreciate everyone's input. Thanks!

airwayvz

We'll be back from Costa Rica a week before your trip, cmerrell. Plan on diong the Damas Mangrove tour while we're there...I'll give ya a review when I return.

cmerrell

Thanks Airwayvz. I'll look forward to your feedback. Have a great time on your trip!

batson57

The Finca Valmy tour is on horseback, but is absolutely beautiful. I don't even like horses, but every single one I've ridden in Costa Rica has been as Simpatico as the people. I guess you could say that Damas and Cano Negro are similar, but I'd say, go for both. When you're out bird and wildlife watching every hour is different to say nothing of every place. I've done both a couple of times and will do each again. Have a wonderful time.

guanacaste

thx for the compliment,not too bad for a $200 camera. shame i lost it on the caribbean, have 2 buy a new one i guess!
they're not all mine, but i've given credit to those that are n't.
my favorite is the manta ray photo given to me by a friend in Playa del Coco, i told her she should send it to National Geographic!
and like shillimac i used sunset tours for the cano negra tour, they're a <b> little</b> bit more expensive than other operators but worth it my opinion!
they don't try and sell u every tour they try and finbd out what you want!
i'll have to disagree with shillimac about the springs tho, i think Baldi sucks.
either spend the money -too much IMHO- on Tabacon or go to my favorite, Eco Thermales!

http://costa-rica.typepad.com/photos...thermales.html

shillmac

We haven't been to Eco Termales, but I hope to soon. We are taking a trip in March with family and I'd love to do it then, but my daughter has her heart set on Tabacon. She's heard me talk so much about it. Do you think Eco Termales would be a good substitution? Can't imagine anyplace being as gorgeous--and we were hoping to do the spa there.

cmerrell

Hi batson57,

You make a good point about the ever changing facets of wildlife observation. Every habitat is special and unique in its own way.

A good dolphin/whale watch tour still tops the wish list, but I know we would be happy with the mangroves or Finca Valmy as well. Thanks for giving them your seal of approval!

Guanacaste and Shillmac, I've read various pros and cons of the different hot springs around Arenal. I've been leaning towards Tabacon because this is our first trip, and my mom loves beautiful landscaped gardens. It sounds like the sort of place you want to see once before seeking lower-key options on subsequent trips... How horrifically crowded would you expect it to be there the first week of December? I also read a lot of mixed reviews about Tabacon's dinner buffet. Do you recommend giving it a miss?

Also related to crowds, Tully made a good point about the fact that we'll be in MA over a weekend. How quickly does the park tend to fill to capacity? Obviously, its in our best interest to arrive early, but will we be in any danger of being turned away if we're not there right as it opens? Just want to be prepared for the level of visitor density.

Thanks guys!!

shillmac

I'd definitely arrive at the MA by 8:00 a.m.

Which hot springs, hmmm! I don't think I ever said that Baldi was great--just a decent alternative. And half the price. For us, having already seen Tabacon twice, the springs at Baldi seemed an okay way to relax a bit at the end of the day.

I'm leaning toward Tabacon, though, as well, simply for the reason that first time visitors would appreciate its beauty--as you say.

Not in a million years would I eat there. Not sure if it can still be done, but we bought day passes 3 years ago (Dec. 26), spent a few hours in the early afternoon, left for dinner, and returned at night with the same pass. I think it was $29 per person at the time. We've just read too many bad reviews regarding the restaurant and particularly the dinner buffet. People walking out of there made a point of stopping us and advising us NOT to eat there. Made an impression on me!

Probably Tabacon will be crowded in December. There is so much more tourism there now that 3 years ago. You might get lucky, though. I really can't imagine going to another springs without having seen Tabacon!

cmerrell

Thanks Shillmac! You've reinforced my general impressions regarding Tabacon. We will join our fellow tourists there!

The Day Pass deal sounds like a good option if it still exists, especially since it sounds like we definitely won't want to be dining there!

We will also plan to arrive bright and early for MA national park. Sounds like we'll be communing with our fellow tourists there as well! Its all good and we certainly plan to enjoy our time to the fullest.

Your enthusiasm for CR is quite contagious, Shillmac. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!

shillmac

You are very welcome. It's fun just to talk about--if that tells you anything about being there!

You won't be disappointed in Tabacon. I was looking at their website the other day with regard to planning our March trip. Since it's inevitable that they are busier these days, you might want to check it out online and see what it says about reservations, especially regarding the spa. I do know that they have an excellent spa and spa services. The gals in my group will definitely be interested in that! As for me. . .well maybe!

guanacaste

tabacon is more 'glam' no dubt about that!
and if you've got kids or are a first time visitor or on honeymoon then tabacon is theone to visit.
but, eco thermales is more 'ntural' ad <b>generally</b> quieter, tho probably not in Dec!
as shillimac says don't eat there <b>unless</b> you're stupid rich!
and...the drinks pries re 'loco' as well!


p.s i wish i was stupid rich

dsann

We were in Arenal last December. Loved Sky Trek and the Hanging Bridges, I think anyone can do both. My 8 year old did. We went to the Tabacon Hot Springs at night (xmas eve) and loved it. It was a bit crowded but the atmosphere was not to be missed and we could find plenty of private places, have fun!

shillmac

What I meant was that the people we talked tp thought the food at the dinner buffet was not good. Of course, if it is expensive as well, that's a double negative!

Every time I find myself wishing I were &quot;stupid rich&quot;, I remind myself one out of 2 isn't bad! LOL!

cmerrell

Thanks for the input, Dsann! Its nice to have further confirmation that we can fit all of our desired Arenal activities into the schedule. Did your 8 year old go solo on the ziplines (or is there a requirement for tandem with a guide at that age)? We are all a bit wimpy with heights, but it sounds like such a fun rush. Hopefully, we won't chicken out!

I'm also looking forward to Tabacon, crowds or no crowds. Gotta do it at least once!

Shillmac, I fear that I will also only ever have one component of 'stupid rich' to call my own! ;-)

Thanks to everyone for responding to my post! You guys are great!

shillmac

Have a great trip! And let us know how it all went. I just know your mom will have a wonderful time. Especially want to know if she does the ziplines! If so, hats off to her! Belive me, 67 is looking younger all the time!