In Arenal for a couple days in Sept, book activities ahead of time?
 

I'm heading to Arenal/Fortuna area for a couple of days mid-September, and I was wondering if I need to book our activities ahead of time, or if we can book when we get there.

We would like to go canyoning, a canopy tour and the hanging bridges. We're not sure about the hot springs. I read about one that has free admission and is kind of hidden, so we might try to find that one. I'd love to do the wildlife reserve, but we won't have enough time.

Is it typically cheaper to book ahead or when we get there?

Thanks!

I booked everything in adavance, but if I were to do it again the only thing I would book in advance would be Eco Termales hot springs. That was one of the best nights of our trip. I would also possibly book sky trek.

Ultimately you can do it all when you get there and it will possibly even be cheaper.

Definitely don't have to worry about hanging bridges. We went the other day and had the whole park to ourselves. No need for advance reservations.

I would just book Eco Termales ahead since they limit entry to 100 people, and they do sell out; September isn't high season, so you would probably be okay to book everything else once you got there. The only free springs I know of are the Tabaconcito springs that the locals use right off the road. I think it's worth the cost to pay for Eco T; they serve a great chicken dinner there - nice atmosphere, good drink prices.

volcanogirl, I think we may have discussed this before...and I still haven't found any more information on the free springs. The blurb in the book says they are 1 mi from Arenal and they are called Quebrada Cedena, there are no signs, it says look for local cars.

This probably deserves its own post, but how much does it cost for a typical dinner?

n, Here's some info. on Eco T for you:

http://reserve.anywherecostarica.com...g=eco-termales

We did it in combo with a volcano hike through Sunset Tours.

I remember your mentioning the free springs before. There was a post on tripadvisor about it recently too. The locals seemed to think it wasn't all that safe there and recommended going to Eco T. If you ever discover them, let us know what you thought.

Thanks volcanogirl! We'll probably plan on going to Eco T and maybe try to find the free ones for our next trip if we have the time.

Sounds good!