Ideas for Costa Rica trip
 

We are going to CR for a week (7 nts) June 20. We are planning on flying into Liberia. As a bio teacher, we are interested in the wildlife but also would like to see the beach. What are your suggestions? Our son (19) may be with us.

If you are flying into Liberia...you can go to any of the Guanacaste beaches...Tamarindo, Conchal, Flamingo, Potrero, Coco, Hermosa, Panama, Nacascolo, Guiones, Samara, Nosara...all of them offer good and bad hotels...and the same with restaurants and all of them offer a lot of tours alternatives...

And since you are into Biology...you must visit Arenal and of course Monteverde! You will be in heaven at either place!!

R.A Luis

100% costarican and proud of it!!

I really would like an idea of specific times. We don't want to hop from place to place but how would you plan it? 3 nts in Guanacaste, 3 nts in Arenal area, and then 1 nt back in Liberia? Or is the Rincon Park just as good as Arenal?

Perfect...3 nights at each place and one at the end,to me that make sense!!

Rincon de La Vieja is a very nice area...but never in the services options can be comparable to Arenal!!

Guanacaste beach and Arenal combination a great combination!!

R.A Luis

Just buckle up and enjoy the ride in paradise!!

I vote for Arenal as well. You will be glad that you "hopped around."

Sandy

As a bio teacher, you might like the Hanging Bridges and Cano Negro. We saw the most wildlife on the Cano Negro trip - it's wonderful to see the animals in such a natural setting.

As nice as the beaches are, there has been a lot of development in the Guanacaste region over the last few years. So I don't look at them as nature destinations any longer. The beaches are fun though.

If you are a biology teacher, you really need to get to Monteverde, especially since you will be so close in Liberia.

The cloudforest is an extremely delicate ecosystem. If you change the altitude, even by a few hundred meters, everything changes. There are several reserves here, at different levels. It can be cool and cloudy in the cloud forest reserve, and hot and dry in Santa Elena. The plants and bird life are completely different, and we are only talking about a distance of a few miles.

Monteverde is also unique in that it is "developed" for eco-tourism. I don't mean condos and glitz. They have found some very creative ways to make nature accessible. The locals have taken a very active role in preserving the natural environment, and are extremely willing to share it with visitors. This area is a model for sustainable tourism.

We have a huge variety of nature oriented activities available here. There is a insectarium, serpentarium, butterfly farm, orchid garden, "Ranaro" (Frog zoo), bat exhibit, and the aforementioned reserves. There are lots of very well trained nature guides, and a night hike in the reserve is a must do.

My wife and I have an Easter morning tradition of hiking to the San Luis waterfall, located in the nearby San Luis Valley. It is a fairly easy and beautiful hike. Just challenging enough to be interesting.

There are also the best canopy tours in the country (these were invented here) and two networks of bridges through the forest canopy. When you are "natured out" you can shop in the local galleries, or check out the restaurants. On one of our recent trips, we toured a "trapiche." This is a small traditional home based sugar factory. They also grew and processed coffee. It was a behind the scenes look at what was once very common in rural Costa Rica. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

I am a little biased, as I spend a lot of time in Monteverde. But even after dozens of visits, it remains my favorite spot in Costa Rica.

Hope this helps! Let me know if I can offer more advice.

Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
(Travel professional)

Thanks for your advice. So, should we just skip Rincon? We would love to see Manual Antonio but I don't see how we could include that in our time frame. Do you have a suggestion for a place to stay near Monteverde and is one day enough time to see everything at the park?

It is hard for me to tell you to cancel something. All of the areas mentioned here have something good to offer. But you need to allow yourself some time to explore each area, and to travel between destinations. So you are going to have to cut something. I think going to two destinations, and doing each well, should be the plan.

If it was me, I would split this between Monteverde and Manuel Antonio. We have already discussed Monteverde. What makes Manuel Antonio so appealing is the National Park there. Three species of monkeys, means that you are almost guaranteed some good sightings. There are lots of good nature / adventure tours available here too. Plus, the beaches are really nice. You are going to be there at low season, so you won't have to deal with crowds.

The only drawback to the above plan is that you will have a long drive back to Liberia for the last night. Figure about four and a half hours.

I hope this helps! Let me know if I can offer more advice.

Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
(Travel Professional)

Thanks so much for your advice again. Since we arrive in Liberia around noon, which direction should we head to - Pacific coast or the Arenal area? We will be renting a car. I assume we will just make a big loop- Liberia - Pacific coast - Monteverde/Arenal and back to Liberia. I did see that MA was closed on Mon and Tues. Let me know, thanks.

I do that kind of driving almost in a daily basis...and for the last 38 years!!...the best according to my knowledge can be..Liberia...Junta de Abangares...to Monteverde...from Monteverde to Arenal...from Arenal...to Manuel Antonio...From Manuel Antonio to Liberia!!

R.A Luis

I am catching something here. Are you considering Arenal and Monteverde as the same area? It is an easy mistake to make. But they are completely different destinations.

When you look at the map, you will see that they are only about sixteen miles apart. But this is as the crow flies. And I am afraid that the crow is flying over the Continental Divide, where there are no passable roads. To go to Arenal from Monteverde by car, you have to go through Tilaran and around the north side of Lake Arenal. This takes a little better than three hours.

So if you are spending three nights in Monteverde and three nights in the Manuel Antonio area, you really don't have time for Arenal. I just want to make sure you are aware of that.

I would drive to Monteverde, then Manuel Antonio and back to Liberia for the last night.

The park is not closed on Tuesday. The last I heard it was only closed on Monday, so I just double checked with a friend down there. It is open on Tuesday. But I would not stress about it. You won't be going to the park every day you are there. There are lots of other opportunities to see nature in this area. If you arrive in the country next Wednesday, you would spend the nights of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Monteverde. You would arrive in Manuel Antonio on Saturday afternoon. You could still go to the park on Sunday, and spend Monday going to the beach or on a nature tour. On Tuesday afternoon, you would head back to Liberia.

You are planning this pretty late! You leave in five days. I would get going on reservations. What's your budget?

Hope this helps! Let me know if I can offer more assistance.

Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
(Travel professional)

Thanks again. Would we be able to make it to Monteverde with a 12 noon plane arrival in Liberia? What are your suggestions of places to stay? I am a teacher so go figure what type of budget we have! We thought about contacting the UGA San Luis Lodge but we haven't decided about that. We are late planning people...

One more thing, how long is the drive from MA to Liberia?