Ashwini_Karnik

Hello All,

Planning a vacation for family of 4 (boys ages 10 and 12) to Costa Rica for December (10 nights or so). Thinking about Arenal, Monteverde and MA. IS 11 days enough..In the process of booking flights from Chicago..Spirit Airlines seems to be the way to get there!

To give you a general idea - would love to hike the trails, do ziplining (think the younger one would be able to do that too), beaches..We are an active family so plan to be on our feet a lot.Want to do MA at the end so we can relax a bit before coming home!

Thanks in advance -would love your inputs as to itinerary, hotels etc.Have done a bit of reading here..Seems like Tulemar bungalows seems to be the universal choice for one of the hotels..

volcanogirl

It depends on your budget, but some hotels we like in the Arenal area are The Springs Resort and Spa - expensive, but there's a great Groupon deal right now, Nayara, and the Lost Iguana. The Lost Iguana is more jungly and set out by the lake and the Hanging Bridges. Silencio del Campo and Los Lagos are also very popular. Arenal Observatory Lodge too, although it's set far from town so you would probably want a car.

In Manuel Antonio, we love Tulemar. Very nice because they have their own beach. When we stayed there, they supplied us with a concierge which was great. Si Como No is also pretty popular, but not on the beach.

In Monteverde, the accommodations tend to be more rustic, but we liked Fonda Vela - their new junior suites have two beds, a tub, and a refrigerator which seemed nice for the area.

I'd lean towards more time in Arenal and Manuel Antonio than Monteverde just because the first two areas offer more in the way of activities. You may need to spend a first or last night near the airport due to your flight times. Another spot you might consider is the Peace Lodge, about an hour from the airport. It's pricey but very popular with young families because of everything to do on the grounds and the five beautiful waterfalls you can hike to.

volcanogirl

In terms of activities, some things we've liked are:

In the Arenal area, the Sky Trek zipline is great, also hiking at the waterfall, at the volcano, and at the Hanging Bridges. Also enjoyed waterfall rappelling with La Roca, and doing the Penas Blancas river float and Cano Negro tours to see wildlife. The Proyecto Asis animal rescue center is fun, and you can feed the animals there. Also liked tubing at The Springs Resort and rafting with Rios Tropicales. Check out the websites for Sunset Tours and Desafio for more tours.

In Manuel Antonio, there's a beautiful beach inside the national park and tons of fairly tame wildlife. You can do a guided tour; the Damas mangrove tour is also fun. We liked the Villa Vanilla spice tour, but not sure if your boys would find it interesting or not. Lots of adventure activities here as well.

In Monteverde, we went ziplining, did a guided tour of the Reserve to see quetzals, and did a neat night hike at Hidden Valley.

You won't run out of things to do!

Ashwini_Karnik

Thanks so much Volcanogirl!! I looked at the Groupon but looks like is sold out now..will check out the other hotels..Want to stay at the Tulemar but they are sold out for the 31st..So may stay there the next 3 nights and see what else is available in MA for the 31st...400-500$ a night is fine with us!! All the activities you have mentioned is what I was looking for..We did the spice tours in India and the boys did well..We have a contract with them - if we do 2 things they like, they have to do 1 that we like It has worked well so far..So for now I am thinking 4 nights in Arenal, 2 in Montverde and 4 nights in MA..does that sound OK? We will be renting a car - my husband loves to drive..he is a seasoned Indian driver

volcanogirl

Sure, Ashwini, I'm happy to help. I think that sounds like a great trip! December can be very pricey since that's one of the most popular times to go, bummer about the Groupon deal, but sounds like you're still in your budget which is great. The part of the spice tour your boys might enjoy is the eating part, my husband liked that - they served vanilla bean cheesecake, ice cream, little spice cookies, tea, and hot chocolate on our tour. They have a small shop at the end where you can buy vanilla beans, peppercorns, and other goodies. There's also a beautiful view from the little eating area, kind of a hut on stilts with couches inside. If you drive, I'd recommend getting the GPS. We had one on our last trip, and it really helped since things aren't well marked. Don't leave anything in your car unattended though. When you drive to Manuel Atonio, be sure to stop at the Rio Tarcoles bridge to see the huge crocs down below. We saw about 15 on our last trip. Your boys would like it. You can build up points to get them on the spice tour - ha, ha!!

Ashwini_Karnik

Ok here is the Itinerary:

25th - Flight to San Jose reaching at 1:20 am on 26th. Stay somewhere close to the airport
26th morning - Drive to Arenal
26th night - Arenal
27th night - Arenal
28th - Drive to Monteverde
29th - Stay in Monteverde
30th - Drive to MA
31st- MA
1st- MA
2nd - MA
3rd - evening drive back to San Jose
4th- Flight to Chicago at 2:00 am
**The problem is MA Tulemar is all booked on 31st so will have to see what to do for that night..
Does this look overall good? Thanks!

volcanogirl

Yes, I think it looks really good. Monteverde is kind of a pain to get to, the road isn't in the best shape, kind of long and bumpy. We used Desafio's Jeep Boat Jeep service to get there, but sounds like your husband won't mind driving. There's a really nice Marriott close to the airport in SJO if you need a spot there. We also really like Xandari which is set a little outside the city on beautiful grounds with fantastic views. If you want a city hotel, we like Grano de Oro, but with the boys, I think the other two might be better. They have pools and big expansive grounds, while Grano de Oro is small with a great restaurant.

Ashwini_Karnik

I am looking at the hotels mentioned here for the dates and getting unavailable on a lot of them!! Would going through a tour operator help?

volcanogirl

It's due to it being holiday season. Christmas through New Year's is one of the most popular times to go and books up months and months ahead of time. I don't think going through a tour operator would help other than that they might know of some open hotels. Is it possible for you to change the dates of your trip, or do you have to go at that time?

Ashwini_Karnik

well the boys are out of school at that time and the weather in Chicago starts getting horrible..So perfect combination!! But if I cnt get the hotels then we will have to postpone to December 2014 I have sent a couple of VRBO enquiries - so am going to wait on those..

volcanogirl

Good luck. I hope you're able to get the places you want. One thing about VRBO - I'd check on their security. Friends of ours stayed in a VRBO spot in Manuel Antonio, and it was broken into while they were there, rare, but it can happen.

Ashwini_Karnik

Well the VRBO owners responded and they are full..One other option we have is 21st-31st of March..How does the weather compare from December to March?

volcanogirl

March is one of the warmest times of year to go with less rain. If it's Easter, it will be busy. Not sure when Easter is next year, but it's not too early to book. It's crazy how quickly places fill up. Guess that means you're going to a good place! We've been in April, and it was a great time to go.

Ashwini_Karnik

I looked and Easter 2014 is April 20th and our dates will be March 20th till April 2nd or so!! With almost everything everywhere booked I think we will do Spring break 2014..Thanks for everything volcanogirl!!!!!

volcanogirl

I think that sounds like a good plan. I look forward to your 2014 trip report!

volcanogirl

If you end up going to Tulemar, I'd recommend getting a place with a balcony. The bungalows (round ones) do not have them. Upper Mot Mot is popular if you want to explore that one. I have trip reports for both The Springs and Tulemar if you think they'll help you.

Shooie

Ashwini,
For Manuel Antonio, you might want to look at staying in the converted 727 airplane at Costa Verde. http://www.costaverde.com/727.htm
It sounds kind of kitschy, but it really nice. Our grandkids loved it, and there were all kinds of monkeys on our deck each morning. You might want to look at flights on TACA airline from Chicago. We have several friends who went that route, and they all recommended it. The price is right, and you get a lot of extras like free drinks on the flight. I don't know anybody recommending Spirit, and if you figure in all the extras they tag on, you end up paying as much.

Ashwini_Karnik

Thanks Shooie - will certainly look into it!!! Also I read some horrible reviews for Spirit airlines! So for my new March dates its going to be American!

Ashwini_Karnik

Volcanogirl!!!! I would love to read your trip reports if you can point me to them!!! Well we have new dates for March 2014 and I will be booking my airtickets in the next day..Am getting some good deals..Also spoke to the sweet lady(Susan) at Villa Mot Mot and unfortunately they are booked for those dates too..However she said she would look at some of her friends properties at Tulemar property..
So would you do 2 or 3 nights in Arenal? We would follow that with 2 nights in Monteverde and 5 nights in MA!!

volcanogirl

Arenal is definitely worth three nights. There's lots to do there. I'll be happy to top some of my trip reports for you.

Mot Mot is very popular. We stayed in the smaller lower unit. I can recommend Casa Panorama if you want to check that one out. Our concierge let us tour Upper, and it's really nice. Fantastic view too. We stayed in lower there too, which is a smaller unit.