Hello,

My fiance and I are going to be in Costa Rica for 11 days in June (10 days to spend). We are flying into SJO and renting a 4X4 and are interested in the following:

1) Arenal (3 nights)
2) Monteverde Cloud Forest (1 night);
3) Beach time at Tango Mar Resort by Tambor (3 nights)
4) (If time) getting down to Manuel Antonio (3 nights)

What do you think? Is that too ambitious? Also, we want to do a class 4 rafting excursion for 1/2 a day somewhere in there. Do you have any recommendations? From a miles standpoint, it looks possible, but I've never been there and am not familiar with the roads.

Thanks,
Wes

Monteverde is challenging to get to; I don't think it's worth your time to go there for only one night. The most popular spot for rafting is the Pacuare with pickup in SJO. We haven't done it yet, but it gets good reviews.

First of all, congratulations!

I'd add to Monteverde to get 3 nights. We stayed 2 and it was not enough. Can't imagine one!

Also, please consider choosing one beach location so you CAN add some nights to MV.

The 2 locations are vastly different. Tambor area more laid back, less busy-ness. It has Curu Wildlife Refuge and Montezuma not so far distant for a little night life and shopping.

MA so different with more high end hotels, more restaurants, more PEOPLE! The park is pretty, though, and the wildlife viewing good. Beaches are more picturesque.

Tambor harder to get to; involves a ferry crossing (and 2 more hours), but we always think that is kind of fun!

You do have some order choices. What time are you arriving? If you are coming in late, you could actually START at Tambor or Manuel Antonio (3 hours from SJO). End up at Arenal, 2.5 from airport.

If you want another option in PLACE of Monteverde (and a great little piece of luxury), stay at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, Peace Lodge. Expensive, but just gorgeous. They are probably booked already, but you could give them a try. Sometimes they don't respond. If that happens, e-mail again and tell them you've been trying to reach them for a LONG time. They'll probably call (unless they are booked, then they might not give a rip!). Lots to see and do there, very romantic, my opinion.

You could start out at SJO, raft the Pacuare (full day, but supposedly marvelous!). Stay your first night at Hotel Grano de Oro.

Then first thing next a.m., off to Tambor (or MA). If you choose MA, it won't matter whether you do it first or last. If you choose Tambor, I'd do it first (lotta time from Monteverde due to rough roads).

Clear as mud? Hope it helps! It's all wonderful!

I meant that, if you are coming in late, stay near the airport, then start early for Tambor the next a.m.

Totally agree with the Peace Lodge recommendation - it's very honeymoonish!

First of all, thank you so MUCH for your input. This exercise is making me wish I had a month to spend in CR!

OK, first, I took your advice on the Peace Lodge and booked the 20th and 21st, the only two rooms (deluxe) they had left for that time period. I'm excited about that, especially since we both LOVE waterfalls.

The problem is that I'd prefer those two nights to either be at the end or the beginning of our trip, as the Lodge is fairly close to the airport. Also - because I chose to do this I took out the visit to MV.

We arrive at 2 PM on the 16th, so we should be able to get 4 or more hours of day driving in. I also took your advice on making our ONE beach portion the first part of our trip. We will avoid the crowds you mention and stay at Tango del Mar from the 16th through the night of the 19th.

Then it's on to The Lodge for two nights (20th, 21st), and then up to Arenal for the 22nd through 24th or 26th. We'd have to leave early though, as our flight departs SJO at noon.

A couple of things remain to do. Booking a hotel in La Fortuna - we're checking into Linda Vista del Norte and the Arenal Observatory Lodge, simply because they both have views of the lava flows (if no clouds).

The alternative is staying in San Jose the last two nights. We could raft the Pacuare the 25th, stay in Hotel Grano de Oro that night, and then it would be easy to catch our noon flight on the 26th.

It's either that or stay in La Fortuna and raft the Sarapiqui (they say it has 4-star rapids) on the 25th.

What do you think? Do you prefer any particular hotel in La Fortuna? Would the Pacuare be that much better than the Sarapiqui? Again, thank you so much for your helpful advice,

Wes

Er.. I meant 2 nights available, not two rooms (at La Paz) - as it will be our honeymoon.

Great on booking Peace Lodge! You won't regret it. It would be nice if it were at the beginning or end, but it will be a lovely middle too!

I'd suggest heading up to Arenal first. By the time you get out of the airport and rent (assuming you arrive on time), it will be at least 3:30. You can be at Arenal by 6:30, just as the last bit of daylight leaves the sky. BUT you won't have time to get to Tambor that day. I haven't checked the ferry schedule (and it is subject to frequent changes), but there's just no way. You can look into that for your own purposes at www.nicoyapeninsula.com. The drive to Puntarenas is about 2 hours. The ferry wait about 1 hour, the ferry ride about 1.5 hour, the drive to Tambor another 45 minutes. You don't want to be driving to Tambor and trying to find your way around in the dark. Plus the ferry after dark would not be fun at all--if it even runs later in the day. Part of the fun is seeing the gulf and surrounding area during the crossing.

So Arenal the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th. That's a good deal. Lots to do there. We love Arenal Observatory Lodge--and the lava views are on that side now. Lost Iguana gets good reviews as well and is a bit more "luxe". You can certainly include the Sarapiqui, and I know it is probably a pretty good ride, just think the Pacuare would be a bigger thrill. But again, haven't done either--just going on hearsay. PLEASE do the Cano Negro daytrip while there--it's excellent and lots of wildlife and great information (boat trip).

Peace Lodge the 20th, 21st. Leave Arenal by 9:00 or so; you'll have an entire 1.5 day to explore the lovely property of La Paz(tons to see) AND hang out plenty in that fabulous room. You are going to be amazed! All those jacuzzis--it will keep you busy hopping from one to the other--inside and outside!

June 22--take your time getting to Tambor. OR if you want an early start, from Peace Lodge, you should be able to get there about 2:00 p.m. Always depends on the ferry times (Puntarenas to Paquera), and you have to arrive at the ferry in hour or so early.

Return on the 25th, by 4:00 or so. . .if you get back to airport area that early, consider Vista del Valle Lodge for a lovely last night (20 min. from airport).

This is a very nice itinerary. Remember, that if you want to add more flexibility, you can opt for Manuel Antonio. You could get there the first day as well as Arenal.

We stayed at the Lost Iguana in La Fortuna and really loved it. It's set a little outside of town so it's quiet, and it has gorgeous grounds, nice volcano view, small pool, open-air restaurant on site, small frig in room, and best of all, a jacuzzi on the patio. Very fun to sit there and watch the volcano. We also had a couple of nice rockers out there. While we were there, they were installing a spa and massage services. I think it's a romantic spot.

Again, great advice about flipping my trip around once more. There are a few reasons I think I'd still like to try it:

1) I think we want to get our beach time in first.
2) I've already booked Tango Mar through American Express for a discount. I'm not sure how easy/cheap it would be to change it and keep the discount.
3) We'll be prepared to make the trip as efficiently as possible to get to the ferry by 5 PM (flight lands at 2:05 PM). Of course, our flight could be delayed or customs take a long time - but that's the fun of travel! According to the schedule, there's a 9 PM ferry as well, so that gives us 4 hours cushion. We should be able to take in the ferry during the daytime on the way back.
4) If we went to Tango Mar after Peace Lodge, we'd have to travel back the 24th to be ready to raft the Pacuare on the 25th (I've decided we need to do that rafting trip). That means we'd only have about 2 days on the Nicoya.

I'm still open to your input - not completely set yet. So my schedule so far is:

16th: Arrive at 2 PM, hussle to the Ferry, sleep Tango Mar
17th-19th: Sleep Tango Mar
So 3 days at Tango Mar
20th: Leave early, get to Peace Lodge around midday.
21st: Enjoy Peace Lodge,
22nd: Leave Peace lodge midday, head up to Arenal. Sleep at either the Observatory or Lost Iguana.
23rd: Cano Negro Daytrip, sleep Lost Iguana or Observ
24th: Spend most of day at Arenal, leave mid-afternoon for Vista del Valle Lodge
(only 2 days at Arenal - the weakness in the plan) The 24th and 25th are available there, but I'll wait to hear before I book them.

25th: Raft the Pacuare.

I also would appreciate any recomendations on who to go with for the Pacuare trip. For $25 they'll taxi us to the Hampton Inn, from where the a trip goes. Is this the best way to do this?

Again, thank you.

I'll second the recommendation for Vista del Valle -- the food was great, the folks were nice, and it was close to the airport.

We stayed in the Mona Lisa, which was quite fine.

I think I'm in the minority, but we really did not like our room at Vista del Valle. My husband actually asked me never to book us there again. We loved the grounds, but the room was too rustic for us. Our room did not have any window coverings which made it hard for us to relax, also a little dark, and we had huge spiders in our room - the grounds were gorgeous though.

I booked the Arenal Observatory Lodge for the night of the 22nd and 23rd. The Lost Iguana was tempting, but I opted for lava flow views and cheaper rates instead of comfort and accessibility.

I did take your advice and booked the Vista del Valle for the nights of the 24th and 25th. We'll raft the Pacuare the 25th.

Still looking for a good rafting company for pickup from Vista del Valle. Maybe that's just something I can take care of when I get there?

http://www.exploringcostarica.com/in...et.php?drxe1=2

I'm getting way too excited - this is a month away!
Wes

Ooops, booked the reservations to Vista del Valle before I read about the spiders and lack of privacy. That doesn't sound good.

Wes, some of the rooms look nicer than others; I've heard the Exotic Woods Suite is really nice. The window covering thing is kind of funny. There was a path running around our room - technically not for anyone else's use, but I was just worried someone's child would come running down it or housekeeping or something. I was outside taking pictures and turned around and saw my husband using the restroom - it was just funky to me. When we went to sleep, there were 2 spiders as big as my hand right above the bed - I expect bugs in CR, but these were huge. Also the lights in our room and bathroom were bug lights, so didn't give off much light. We had a dark green tub, dark green sink, and dark bedding - also dark faux stones painted on the walls, so the whole thing just seemed a bit dark and depressing. I've seen pictures of other rooms that looked more modernized. The hot tub area, pool, and landscaping are really nice; I just felt like they put a lot more effort into the grounds than into our room. Lots of people do love it; I just wish I had researched it a little more so I knew what to expect. Congratulations on your wedding!

Wes, I may be wrong, but I don't think you'll get pick up at Vista del Valle. You'll probably need to taxi into San Jose for pick up.

I respect your decision, and I know you're both young and willing to "go with the flow", but just want to say once again that you are really putting yourselves into position for a grueling first day. Puntarenas not such a fun place to hang out until 9:00--it's pretty seedy. On the other hand, I'm guessing that you will actually arrive in Puntarenas about 6:00 p.m. (don't speed, the Interamerican is well policed). So by the time you have a bite to eat and get in line for the ferry, you probably won't have too much time to kill.

Have a great trip! Wow--it's just around the corner!

I'm sure you are right; I'm a little bummed about that first day of travel. Without your input, we wouldn't even know what to expect. Having spent a lot of time in Mexico, I appreciate your comment about not speeding.. I definitley would have sped were it not for your warning.

Can you tell me a little more about the Cano Negro Day Trip? We will have limited time in Arenal, as we'll be doing the Pozo Verde canopy tour on our way up from the Waterfall Gardens. What makes Cano Negro that neat?

We loved Cano Negro. We're going back this summer and doing it again. It's a river boat tour down the Rio Frio up near the Nicaraguan border. Sunset Tours is a great group to go with. You get picked up in a nice air-conditioned van and drive to the launching point. On the way, you stop at a little restaurant for snacks or bathroom break, and there's a bridge covered with dozens of huge iguanas. Once you get to the boat, you board and cruise up and back and see tons of wildlife. We saw howlers, capuchins, sloths, bats, caimans, and loads of beautiful birds - it's the first place we saw monkeys so it was a big thrill. The boat is really nice, and they had cool drinks on board for us. A tico lunch in also included. Our guide made it really interactive - everyone helped spot the wildlife, and you can get up and walk around as much as you like. Great day, and I would highly recommend it. Do not forget your camera and binoculars; we got some great pictures here.

sorry, I meant is included.

OK, I'm sold... I'll try to spring for Cano Negro. Sorry to keep asking you all questions, but picking your collective brains is really neat. I want to do a canopy tour somewhere, but really want to do the best one that is in the areas where we'll be. I have checked out Pozo Azul, but I see now there is one in Arenal and there was one in Malpais and another over waterfalls in Puntarenas. By the way, best for me = steepest, longest, highest and most beautiful.