imototyan

Greetings, Fodorites.

It's been a pleasure reading your suggestions and invaluable bits of advice on this forum. I'd appreciate any help I can get regarding the following:

1) What is the best (and most reasonably priced) way to get from Arenal to Manuel Antonio?

2) Comments on this rough itinerary:
Sat: Arrive SJO at 3pm. Night in Alajuela.
Sun: Bus (?) to Arenal, early morning.
Mon: Arenal
Tues: Arenal
Weds: Arenal
Thurs: Manuel Antonio
Fri: Manuel Antonio. Bus to Alajuela.
Sat: Fly out of SJO.

3) I'll be traveling with 5 other young professionals, some of whom will be bent on beach revelry. Is it advisable to fit in Guanacaste somewhere? or can we get the beach experience at MA?

Thank you so much!

hipvirgochick

With 6 people have you thought about just renting a car? This would be pretty cost effective and gives you tons of flexibility in Arenal and MA and elimates cost of taxi (which may be difficult with 6 people anyway). Tri-color gets goods recommendations for the best rental car prices. There's also Interbus, about $35 from SJO to Arenal and $30 from MA to SJO. We used Interbus and liked it (actually it was a van, but I'm sure it depends on how many people are travelling).

With this amount of time I wouldn't advise fitting in Guanacaste in ADDITION to MA, either one or the other. MA will have the wildlife opportunities in the park that you won't want to miss in CR, but the nicest beach there is inside the park. I think the park is $7 per person, closed on Mondays.

In Arenal you can take the Cano Negro tour (a great tour along the Rio Frio along the the Nicaraguan border where you will see monkeys, sloths, huge variety of birds and more). We used Aventuras for both Cano Negro and ziplining. Aventuras takes you zipping waaaayyy above the canyons and waterfalls, so it's super adrenaline (11 cables, some of them very long). Eco-Thermales hot springs is excellent to. They also have a dinner option, but we didn't do that. They do have a bar on the honor system (i.e., when you check out you tell them what you bought and pay then).

Hope this helps!

volcanogirl

Hi, imo - we hired a private driver through our hotel to take us from SJO to Arenal; the total cost was $120. Interbus or renting a car like hvc said are also things you should check into - just depends on your budget, sense of adventure, and how much flexibility you'd like to have.

I definitely agree that you should do the Cano Negro tour. We loved it - used Sunset Tours and highly recommend them. SkyTrek gets good reviews for the ziplines. For the hot springs, we went to Tabacon - really pretty, but also a little pricey.

I think your itinerary looks great. You can definitely go the beach inside Manuel Antonio National park - it's really pretty. Would not try to squeeze in Guanacaste - it takes a long time to travel from place to place, and I think you would feel rushed.

pegoode

How did it work out for you arranging transportation with your hotel? We're going in November and are wondering if we should set the transfers up ahead of time or if that can be done once we get there. We're doing a couple of nights in three different places but don't want to drive ourselves.

tully

I'm a little concerned about your time in MA - or lack thereof! You drive from Arenal to MA will run you about 4 hours or so, from MA to SJO about 3; so depending on the bus schedule (or however you decide to travel) you're looking at being in MA for only 24 hours. I love the Arenal area, so much to do there but I might cut out one night there and add it to MA, just so you'll be able to catch your breathe before moving on again.

volcanogirl

pegoode, it's really easy to set up private drivers. Just ask your hotel to set everything up for you. We did this when we booked our hotels, and they handled everything for us.

When you get off the plane, there will be someone waiting for you with a sign bearing your name, and they'll whisk you off to your destination. I'd definitely book all of it before you go and not when you get there.

cmerrell

Tully makes a good point about the amount of time (or lack thereof) in MA. I think it actually took us closer to 6 hours to make the drive between Arenal and MA. I would definitely donate one more night to MA and save Guanacaste for next time! ;-)

volcanogirl

Yep, Arenal to Manuel Antonio took us 5 1/2 hours - traveling between spots eats up more time than you would expect.

imototyan

Thanks, everyone, so much for your help! I'll be sure to post updates as we get more details sorted out.

Looking forward to visiting this beautiful country!