First of all, thanks to everyone who has been giving such great advice so far.

Here is my itinerary (trip dates 11/24 - 12/1):
Day 1 - land in Liberia at 1pm, Tricolor rental, then we are off to the Arenal Observatory Lodge

Day 2 - waterfall rappeling then hot springs (Tabacon or Eco Thermales) another night at AOL

Day 3 - cano negro, then here is where things get sticky.

Since we have our car we wanted to drive up there, either staying the night at Cano Negro Natural Lodge or heading down to La Carolina near the Rio Celeste for the night. We want to do Rio Celeste on Day 4. If we dont check into the lodge though, we will have to leave our stuff in the car which I hear is a major no-no. If we do check in the lodge, we will have the same problem with our stuff being left in the car the next day on our detour to Rio Celeste.

Day 4- Rio Celeste, drive to Playa Grande

Day 5-Playa Grande - surf in morning then?

Day 6-Playa Grande - surf in morning then?

Day 7- take the congo trail up to Playa Hermosa for the night, to be close to Liberia for our 8am departure on Day 8

I can see maybe staying in Arenal hotel on Day 3 and doing Cano Negro as a day trip, but we want to visit the Rio Celeste on our way back to the coast. Anyone have ideas on how we can make this stop??

Please e-mail Bill Harwell, who owns La Carolina. It's a VERY interesting place to stay, and Alejandro will take you on your day 4 tour of Volcan Tenorio and Rio Celeste. He'll have you back about 1:00 p.m. In the afternoon he'd take you horseback riding, but you'd probably want to get on the road to Playa Grande (about 2.5 or 3 hours). One night would give you a little taste of the place.

If you could get there say, around 3:00, which you should be able to do from Cano Negro, you could have a pleasant late afternoon enjoying that fabulous spa built into the riverside and heated with a wood burning stove!

This place is excellent for being so totally authentic. We loved the lack of electricity and having the ladies on staff come around and light our candles each evening. You should give it a try! I think it would really enhance your experience!

I see this as your best option for touring Rio Celeste and Tenorio, since you want to drive yourselves there.

Another option, if you'd be willing to consider it (and it would probably be easier), is to stay the 3rd night at Arenal. AOL could arrange your Cano Negro tour AND your Rio Celeste tour on day 4. It would be a little less stressful to eliminate some of the driving and just let them take care of you!

It's just that, not having done the Rio Celeste tour out of Arenal, I'm not sure what time it gets back. You'll be about 4 (maybe a little more) hours away from Playa Grande.

Sorry I didn't help much with your luggage problem. As you already mentioned, it is tricky either way you decide--unless you stay at Arenal and do your tours with a company from there.

As for Playa Grande afternoons, consider:

Tamarindo one day

Playa Flamingo/Potrero area another day with a dinner stop in Brasilito at Camaron Dorado

Of course that last option, you'll probably want to do on your way to Hermosa (check out the Brasilito/Flamingo/Potrero area. You pick up the Congo Trail in Potrero.

You might also want to explore beaches near Tamarindo such as Playa Negra, Playa Avellanas, etc.

Another option, if it sounds interesting to you, would be an afternoon drive down to Santa Cruz, then out into the country another 10 km or so to Guayitil, a pottery making village. There are some very nice pieces there--make great gifts and mementoes.

Of course, you COULD just relax and do nothing as well!

Thanks Shillmac, great advice as usual. I just emailed Bill to see what his advice is...I also emailed Cano Negro Natural Lodge to see if I do a tour through them can I leave our bags somewhere safe with them (there is a bit of a language barrier so I'm not sure they will understand my question though

I'm hoping to either stay the night at La Carolina and find a place for bags during Cano Negro, or do Cano Negro as day tour from Arenal and then swing by Rio Celeste on way to the coast (but the darn bags! hopefully Bill has some advice).

Santa Cruz sounds great, I am putting it on my to-do list.

La Carolina and Guayitil (outside Santa Cruz) will both offer you uniquely Costa Rican experiences.

I just can't say enough about La Carolina. I spoke with a friend recently and when I recommended it to her, she reminded me that she travels alone and lack of electricity didn't appeal much to her. Fair enough. And certainly understandable.

But I am SO glad we spent a couple of nights there--would do it again in a heartbeat. Just to stop for a couple of days in the countryside, doing not much of anything but relaxing, enjoying nature, horseback riding, etc. And NOT being around a lot of people!

Ok ok you have me sold! Glad to hear about the good experiences of others. And good news, my new friend at Cano Negro informed me that I will be parking in a guarded lot so our stuff will be safe. . .and then off to La Carolina for the night and Day 4!!! We are actually going to do the canoe trip with a guide instead of the boat - hope its the right decision.

It will be right for you! Please post when you return!

I will post for sure!
I am a bit confused now. I got a message back from La Carolina (I'm not sure if it was Bill) saying I suggest you go straight from Arenal to Playa Grande. Cano Negro and La Carolina are just beginning the rainy season. This was never mentioned in our previous correspondence about a possible visit, so I don't know if perhaps he meant because of the luggage in the car situation.

We will be there Nov 24 - Dec 1. Is this really the middle of the rainy season there?

I usually think of that timeframe as the very very end of the rainy season.

Hi Volcano girl,
I know you think highly of Cano Negro, you think that it will still be a worthwhile trip? I was surprised to get that answer because I have not heard anything anywhere else to suggest that this is in the middle of a "heavy rainy" season.

Not middle of heavy rainy season...near the end of rainy season. Meaning you still have a good chance to have a great time on the Cano Negro tour. It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has done this tour in the rain...I've not seen any comments on how the wildlife viewing is in that situation.

There are areas (sort of little pockets) that typically have more rain at certain times of the year (outside the regular dry and wet seasons). Not sure about Cano Negro and La Carolina! I wouldn't think so. . .hmmm.

Write them back and tell them you don't understand! This doesn't sound right to me. Make sure it's Bill you are speaking with and ask him to explain! Even if it is a bit rainy, it's not going to be like October on the Osa Peninsula for heaven's sake.

Oh, yes, I definitely think it would be worth it. And it did rain a bit on our Cano Negro trip. We made it all the way down the river and saw a lot of wildlife, had lunch, and then it started to pour. It was actually kind of neat to be out in the middle of nowhere in a huge rainstorm; the boat has a roof, so no issue with getting wet. But we were there in July, which really is the rainy season. I'm still confused as to why they would tell you November/Dec. is rainy. If it rained the entire trip, that wouldn't be good, but that seems really unlikely to me.

November and December are generally the two rainiest months on the Caribbean slope. I'm not exactly sure where La Carolina is located.

Jerry

You can check out the rain and weather patterns at www.costa-rice-guide.com. Cano Negro area is north near Nicaragua.

La Carolina is located north and WEST of Arenal--not on the Caribbean slope at all; rather up north of Canas more in the northern Guanacaste area. That is why I'm a bit confused. In fact, I don't consider Cano Negro on the Carribean slope either--more on the northern plains.

Still--seems odd the e-mail you received. I hope you'll check on it further.
AND let us know if you receive any more information about it!

I agree that it is odd that they would indicate extreme wet weather for Guanacaste at that season.....very strange.

Sorry, costa-rica-guide.com. That should be RICA, not RICE. I think I have had too much Halloween candy. There's a section on rainfall under the weather subcategory.

By the way, we gave out 14 bags of candy - only two pieces to each child. Seems like there were hundreds of them!

Ok, well I still have not heard back from La Carolina (I think perhaps all the questions I had been pestering them with made them decide to call it a day and direct me elsewhere!!)

Here is info I got from a Rio Celeste Tour operator after asking if it will be very rainy at the end Nov:

"The weather has been a little bit “crazy” this year, usually at the end of November we have sunny mornings and can rain a little bit during the afternoon, but the average weather has been very different this year."

So who knows, I will go and have fun and maybe get very wet

If I don't hear back from La Carolina we will make it easy and stay a 3rd night in Arenal...of course AOL is booked though! Will find another hotel closer to town for last night there I think.

I'm sure it will all work out. You should know that the entire staff at La Carolina speaks little or no English (all the more reason I loved it there!). Bill's e-mails to me were always written by him. He isn't at the hotel parts of the year, but he usually responds to the e-mails. Good luck! You have a little time to work with it. I can't believe AOL is booked up end of November. I'm sure it being Thanksgiving week makes it sort of a "mini" high season. . .