Dear Fodor Friends~ My husband I are taking our first trip to Costa Rica December 15 to 29. We will be visiting Arenal (staying at Arenal Paraiso Hotel), Monteverde (staying at El Establo Hotel), Manuel Antonio (staying at Villas Nicolas) and finally Puerto Jimenez (staying at Villas Corcovado). We love to hike very much, so I wondered if you could suggest some of your must do hikes. Also, if you recommend specific tour guides, we usually hike alone, but have read that a guide may be a better option, than I would really appreciate your insight. We typically will hike 8 to 10 miles at a time, but we are not backpackers or overnighters. Thank you for your thoughts

I would recommend the Hanging Bridges in Arenal - it's a very pretty hike, volcano view if it's not fogged in. If you buy the admission that comes with a guide where they sell the tickets, you will have a better shot at seeing wildlife like howler monkeys.

In MA, definitely hike through the National Park there. We saw capuchins, sloths, iguanas, bats, etc., and the beach inside the park is very pretty if you want to take a swim too.

If you want a real hiking adventure, try hiking Cerro Chato ( in the Arenal area) in a downpour. My fiance and I were followed by a puma, no joke.

We stayed at Bosque del Cabo in the Osa Peninsula, and the hiking there is fabulous. Not sure how it is at Villas Corcovado - are you going to go to Corcovado National Park? I'm sure you'll have amazing hiking there.

There is some great hiking you can do in the Monteverde area. Finca Ecologica, Monteverde, Reserva Santa Elena, The Children's Eternal Rainforest. You can easily walk to some of those from El Establo. If you are looking for a Quetzal sighting you might want to have a guide in Monteverde initially and then go off on your own. There are some trails there that are more off the beaten path. http://www.monteverdeinfo.com/monteverde.htm

There is some hiking in the Arenal area around the volcano in the Park. Hiking on the old lava bed is interesting. You could go up to the Arenal Observatory Lodge and hike to the old lava bed from there. It was super clouded in when we did that hike and it was so spooky at times. We could barely see each other. The Hanging Bridges are a nice walk.

Villa Corcovado is further from Puerto Jimenez than they make it sound. I would guess about an hour over a rough unpaved road from Villas Corcovado. We stayed at a little place near Villa Corcovado called Suital this past summer and it took us a good while to get to Puerto Jimenez (a lot depends on current conditions of the road). They had some pretty good trails there. Not super long but a lot of up and down. It is pretty hot and humid in that area. Don't know what Villa Corcovado has in the way of trails. Do try to get over to the Animal Sanctuary.

You are leaving soon! Have a wonderful time.

Thank you Volcanogirl,esp05 and Suzie2~ I have booked a hanging bridge tour in Arenal and we are going to visit the National Park in Manuel Antonio. I like the Cerro Chato suggestion! It sounds like our cup of tea, so to speak. I refuse to let a little rain daunt us!Suzie2, your suggestions for Monteverde are exactly what we are looking for. Thank you so much. I am still wondering how best to tackle the Osa region as far as hiking. We have no plans (other than the hotel) and it is over the Christmas holiday. I really have no feel for the nature of the area and where we should definitely go and see. Should we hire a local? We went to Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Canada in September and found the experienced insight in hiking to be exceptional. It makes such a difference, so I really appreciate your insights.

Best I can remember, Villas Corcovado is up kind of at the top of the mouth of the Golfo, I think? That would put you somewhat near Piedras Blancas, you may be able to drive or take a boat across. Haven't seen lots of reports on VC so do report back!

I hiked to the top of Tenorio Volcano. It was a spectacular hike with a great view of the crater and Lake Nicaragua. I ended up going there by accident since Santa Rosa Park was closed due to flooding. There were no tourists there at all.

I was staying in Guanacaste (Playa Hermosa)at the time, and a tour guide picked me up at my hotel and he hiked with me. What a fun day!!

On the map, you can see this is closer to Arenal, but I think it might take longer to get there from Arenal due to the poor quality of roads.

I especially like Dariow's idea. . Tenorio is beautiful and provides nice hiking. We didn't make it to the top, but had a great time hiking to the Rio Celeste and further.

Great, this is very helpful. I can hardly wait and have the added benefit of escaping the bitter cold of home. I will definitely post back on my hotel and hiking experiences!