Hello to everyone! We are going to Costa Rica in November for our honeymoon. We are planning to stay at Arenal Paraiso in Arenal for 3 nights, Sapo Dorado in Monteverde for 2 nights, and Costa Verde II for 3 nights.

While in Arenal I would like to take the Cano Negro tour, visit the hot springs, and hike. Do you need to take a tour for the good hiking at Arenal? Of course we want to see the volcano, I am also a wildlife biologist and would love to see as much wildlife as possible. Best hot springs???

In Monteverde we are planning to do the Zip Line Sky Walk tour. Are there height and weight limits for the zip line?

Inn Manual Antonio, no tour plans, although it seems to make sense to have a tour guide for the parkto see more critters.

We don't plan on getting any shots, we did the shot thing for Belize two years ago. Anyone strongly advise against this? I don't care for malaria pills, they make me feel awful.

Debating a rental car versus Interbus? We like our freedom, however, we aregoing at the end of the rainy season which may mean the roads will be tricky. Relaxing and easy is important for this trip, although I loved the freedom of a car in Belize. I do worry a bit about the vehicle being broken into, we love to stop at random places. Opinions? How is Interbus?

As this is our honeymoon we would like a good mix of relaxation and adventure. Any restaurant suggestions would be appreciated. I know there is a lot of advice on this forum about this stuff, but with wedding planning right now, life is busy!

Thank you and wonderful weekends to you all!

Peace!

hyladae, at El Sapo dorado don't get a classic mountain cabin as it smells really smoky...apparently previous users didn't know how to light fires and everything inside smelled so smoky it made me wheezy. I had to get the front desk to get us new blankets and that helped a little. So get the sunset suite cabins or the fountain suite cabins. Better yet, I would consider the Monteverde Lodge. Although the El Sapo dorado did have an excellent restaurant though!

My hubby is a biologist. You'll love the Monteverde cloud forest preserve. go in the early early morning, as early as you possibly can, ahead of the tour buses. The guys working at the ticket desk are very helpful in helping you figure out which trail you want to start on. consider asking them in which direction most people start, and then starting in the opposite direction, for more privacy. this is what we did, in the early morning. BRING BINOCULARS!!! You probably already know this, but the Monteverde cloud forest is very dense, and therefore it is difficult to see wildlife. but the flora is very cool! to see any wildlife at all, even cool insects, you need to go very very slowly, stopping often. sometimes it's slippery so you'll be watching your footing. You have to stop to see anything! If everybody is passing you, then you are going at the right pace. If you are passing everybody, you are going too fast and you "won't see anything". I have to say though, people who "dont' see anything" at Monteverde cloud forest must be blind, what about all the cool plants and trees that look like they might get up and walk away any minute?! Being a biologist you won't have this problem I'm sure.

It rains a lot afternoons at Monteverde. Plan all your nature walks and activities for the morning. Being on your honeymoon, you can probably come up with something interesting to do with a rainy afternooon...PLAN AT LEAST 3 nights in Monteverde, because the rain cuts back on your actual hiking time. IT'S REALLY REALLY WORTH IT!

Johnny's Pizzeria at Monteverde has great food! You'll love it. It's near the El Sapo dorado hotel.

You don't need a guide for the Manuel Antonio forest preserve because it's NOT a dense forest, it's easy to see monkeys and sloths. Many people walking through are willing to share with each other what they saw and where they saw it. It's much easier to see wildlife here than it is in Monteverde. (However the cloud forest at Monteverde is much more ancient and dense and beautiful in our opinion.) Bring binoculars. WEar a bathing suit under your clothes into the Manuel antonio forest preserve because the nicest beaches are inside the park. In June it was very very hot at Manuel Antonio and we wanted to jump into the ocean after hiking.

We enjoyed the Hotel si como No at manuel antonio.

I recommend the luxury suite at the Lost Iguana resort in Arenal. this is a very romantic room with volcano view and private jacuzzi on your deck or balcony. We were on the first floor and we had a lava rock shower with a double shower head, screened overhead and open to the moonlight, plants inside the shower. really cool. Every room at the Lost Iguana has a volcano view. The standard deluxe room is much smaller than the luxury suite. It's still very nicely decorated, but for a honeymoon you want the luxury suite if you can afford it at around $160.

We loved the Hanging Bridges at Arenal. Take your time, take about 2 hours to make the hike. Patience will be rewarded...we saw our first howler monkeys near the end of the hike. wow! We were thrilled. You won't see them if you go too fast. From the Lost Iguana resort it's a 10-minute walk uphill to the Hanging Bridges, or a 5-minute drive.

Our trip was this summer, June, also the rainy season. It's fine to drive if you get up early and do your driving in the morning. It usually starts raining in the afternoon. At least, I can say it's fine to drive to Arenal, Monteverde, and manuel antonio. I don't know about other places. the drive to Monteverde is rough, it will bump you around and there aren't any guard rails on the mountain curves.

happy honeymoon!

One more tip. I think 2 of the hotels you have mentioned are included in a package which you can find out about from Neta at La Finca que Ama. The package is a really good price. Or you can go to the web-site www.costaricapackage.com

I second Melissa's suggestion that you consider the Monteverde Lodge. My husband and I just stayed there for three nights during our honeymoon. It was my favorite of all the places we stayed in Costa Rica. The rooms have large picture windows that look out on beautiful misty treetops swaying in the wind. In the mornings, we could see hummingbirds right outside of our window . There's a nice little fireplace in the bar-restaurant area and a jacuzzi in a central glass atrium (though the water wasn't too warm). The staff at the front desk were the friendliest and most helpful of all the staff we encountered in Costa Rica. Monteverde Lodge is also next door to the lovely grounds of Finca Ecologica, which has a good twilight walk.

As for Arenal, we stayed three nights in a Deluxe Cabin at Arenal Paraiso, and I have to say, I did not like this place. The grounds around Arenal Paraiso are pretty and atmospheric, but I did not care for the cabin itself. Each cabin has a nice porch with a view of the volcano, but we could never sit on the porch because it was always covered with so many bugs. The cabin interior was dimly lit with flourescent lights, which made it a bit depressing. The showers had very flimsy doors on the verge of breaking. In short, I just did not find the cabin an attractive place for a honeymoon. (The breakfasts, though, were the most plentiful and varied of all the places we stayed in Costa Rica.) If I were to visit Arenal again, I would book a really nice suite at the Arenal Observatory Lodge, which has excellent close-up views of the volcano.

I just noticed your request for restaurant recommendations.

In Monteverde, I would suggest the restaurant Sofia, which serves Nuevo Latino cuisine. The food, though not consistently excellent, was creative and reasonably tasty. I especially liked the plantain-encrusted sea bass. What I really loved about the restaurant, though, was the atmosphere. It was the most romantic of all the restaurants we visited in Costa Rica, perfect for a honeymoon. Also excellent service.

We also really, really liked Morphos. I know others have said that it's overrated, but we had two very good meals there. Their batidos (milkshakes) were the best I've had anywhere, and the hamburger with avocado was fresh and carefully prepared.

In Arenal, we really liked El Nolvillo and were sorry we didn't get to eat more meals there. It's just a plain open-air shack with plastic tables and chairs, but the food was darn good. We had a delicious ceviche and two tender, flavorful steaks (one with garlic, the other with mushrooms and bacon, a bit overkill). The staff was super-nice, and the chef really seemed to take pride in preparing the food.