Help on Travel order for three locations?
 

My wife and I (early 30's) are planning a trip to CR in Mid January. We have 8 days/9 nights and know that 3 locations is the most we can handle in that time frame.

We are definitely staying at the Jardin El Eden in Tamarindo for 4 days to go surfing (with another couple who will be there). We also want to visit the rainforest (either central valley -- Peace Lodge or Manuel Antonio), and Arenal volcano.

What order should we do things in? We are planning on renting an SUV to drive between all these places. Is that even doable? Should we skip M.A. in favor of La Paz? We definitely want to see wildlife and I know we'd see that in M.A., but it seems like it might be too far out of the way to get to from Tamarindo?

So to recap itinerary:
2 nights at Arenal, 4 nights at Tamarindo, 2/3 nights either M.A. or Peace Lodge.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Your feeling about MA is correct. The longest drive for your trip will probably be SJ to Tamarindo and it sounds like you are going there first? It can be done in one day so from there you could head to the Arenal area and then it's an easy drive back to the central valley. This would confine your trip to the northern part of the country. MA is south and you can make it there in one day from Tamarindo but then its another day back to SJ, possibly too ambitions for your time frame. Good luck and have fun; there is some surf near Tamarindo but even better a bit south at Playas Negra & Avellanes.

Why not try Montezuma (after Tamarindo) at the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. Its a fairly easy drive from Tamarindo and its by far my favorite place. Not as touristy as Tamarindo. You probably would not see much wildlife but there are beautiful waterfalls, beaches and less people. We stayed at Amor del Mar. No AC, basic, but very clean with great food and beatiful views. I'm not sure if they are still open. MA is nice but

sorry hit the wrong button...MA is nice but probably a bit far. The road is supposed to be better now. The last time I was there was in the month of March and it was so hot and humid our video camera would not work. And there is not much wildlife stirring in the daytime ther except iguanas. You have a better chance of wildlife in Arenal area. This is all very doable in a SUV and don't miss the hot springs when you go to Arenal. Just go to the public park its cheaper and was not crowded when we went. Have fun and allow enough time for travel between destinations to enjoy the ride and scenery. Wish I was going.

If a person does visit the hot springs, why not treat yourself and visit Baldi Termae for $15/person and/or Tabacon for $27/person? The public park is less expensive, less refined, and therefore, less impressive.

They each have several pools of various temperatures and depths. Each has food and drink and lockers. When we visited Baldi (on the same road as Tabacon), except for employees, we literally had the entire place to ourselves from 3pm - 6:30pm. It took about 15 minutes to get used to this, and then we totally enjoyed it.

A person could visit them all and provide opinions for future travelers/Fodorites. That's what we did while visiting Arenal.

As far as humidity goes, we had no troubles with video camera nor still camera. We were absolutely drenched in a downpour in a raft on the Penas Blancas river during September. Our cameras were covered by waterproof jackets, but the nylon cases got wet. Everything functioned properly then and continues to do so now.

Having said that, I've been in an office environment where different people using different keyboards have spilled their drinks and had different results - in terms of failure/non-failure of the keyboards.

My guess is that most first-time visitors (to any destination) see the touristy attractions, and on their return trips, strive for more authentic flavors & textures. That has been our experience with places such as FL (Disney); AZ (Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest); MT (Glacier National Park); etc.

For our next visit, I am committed to doing more than simply "scratching the surface" in CR.

Thanks for your help -- I think we will skip M.A. this trip and just focus on Arenal and Guanacaste region. We are going in dry season, so I know that the Nicoya peninsula will probably be brown. I hope and assume that the central valley/Arenal stays green. It is rainforest after all, correct?

Also, besides Tamarindo, does anyone know of a little hidden gem of a beach area within a few hours driving time of Tamarindo that we could split our time there in? Nosara, perhaps? We've read some slightly negative posts on the Jardin El Eden, and am wondering if there is another hotel/resort that we should stay in for a couple of nights that might be different atmosphere (i.e. right on the beach?)

Thanks again.

If you're looking for wildlife, I highly suggest taking a Cano Negro tour from Arenal. You can book it at your hotel or anywhere in town. We did it last July and saw three breeds of monkeys, sloths, tons of birds, a cool green snake, jesus christ lizards, bats, etc... We visited many parts of CR and this is where we saw the most wildlife concentrated into one area. The trip leaves Arenal/La Fortuna around 8:00 AM and returns around 4:00 pm, so it's a long trip, but well worth it.

I see you also mentioned Peace Lodge. That was the most awesome place to end our trip. It's only about 2 or 3 hours from Arenal at most.

Enjoy your trip!

Regarding boat tours on the rivers in CR, if they are offered to you in the morning and the afternoon, please consider the morning trip only. Although we saw quite a bit in the afternoon, there is more wildlife visible in the a.m. Also, the chance of rainfall is greater in the afternoon - which makes for difficult camera & binocular use.

Thanks, LA. We will look into that Cano Negro tour from Arenal -- it sounds great for seeing wildlife. Is that a boat trip or land trip, and approx. how much $$ was it? DopplerDan