Just returned from CR; a "first timer's" report (long)
Apr 6th, 2008, 12:07 PM
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My goodness, it's a surprise to see this one pop up again on the forum!
Laurieshell,
Arenal is a favorite destination within Costa Rica for many that post here on Fodors. It's a beautiful area and there are lots of activities available (not least of which is just spending time gazing upon a very active volcano!). Most hotels in the area offer tour desks so its pretty easy to arrange the things you want to do.
We spent 3 nights there and did the following:
-Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge: Highly recommended! We went with Sunset Tours (arranged through our hotel) and had a wonderful time. The excursion takes a good chunk of the day and includes lunch. We saw lots of wildlife (including our first monkeys in the wild). We absolutely loved it!
-Tabacon Hot Springs: Known for it's lush landscaped grounds and extensive set of connecting hot pools and waterfalls (all heated naturally via the nearby volcano!). Tabacon is fairly expensive, and can be crowded but we enjoyed our visit there. There are other Hot Springs available in the area as well that get good reviews. I recommend you visit one of them for pure relaxation.
-Hanging Bridges: This is a great nature park to explore. You traverse a series of hiking trails and suspension bridges that put you at eye-level with the upper tree canopy in several places. You can hire a guide for this excursion, or go solo. We hired a guide because we wanted to learn more about the eco-system. We had some pretty rainy weather for our time in the park, but it was beautiful there. I'd like to go back!
-Sky Trek/Sky Tram: We wanted to try ziplining while we were in Costa Rica. Sky Trek was a blast! The location provides terrific views of Volcan Arenal to boot. I would definitely recommend Sky Trek, but there are other ziplines in the area as well the other folks have enjoyed.
There are lots of other things to do in the area aside from what we had time for (waterfall, caves, lava field hike, waterfall repelling, rafting...).
We had 3 nights/2 full days there and defintely could have been happy with another full day or even 2.
As far as transportation goes, the Arenal area is pretty spread out and having car makes life more convenient, imho. That said, plenty of people have visited sans car and were able to see and do what they wanted. Your hotel will be able to help you with transportation and many of the local tour operators will come pick you up at your hotel (sometimes for an additional small fee).
Arenal is definitely a wonderful choice for a first visit to Costa Rica!
Laurieshell,
Arenal is a favorite destination within Costa Rica for many that post here on Fodors. It's a beautiful area and there are lots of activities available (not least of which is just spending time gazing upon a very active volcano!). Most hotels in the area offer tour desks so its pretty easy to arrange the things you want to do.
We spent 3 nights there and did the following:
-Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge: Highly recommended! We went with Sunset Tours (arranged through our hotel) and had a wonderful time. The excursion takes a good chunk of the day and includes lunch. We saw lots of wildlife (including our first monkeys in the wild). We absolutely loved it!
-Tabacon Hot Springs: Known for it's lush landscaped grounds and extensive set of connecting hot pools and waterfalls (all heated naturally via the nearby volcano!). Tabacon is fairly expensive, and can be crowded but we enjoyed our visit there. There are other Hot Springs available in the area as well that get good reviews. I recommend you visit one of them for pure relaxation.
-Hanging Bridges: This is a great nature park to explore. You traverse a series of hiking trails and suspension bridges that put you at eye-level with the upper tree canopy in several places. You can hire a guide for this excursion, or go solo. We hired a guide because we wanted to learn more about the eco-system. We had some pretty rainy weather for our time in the park, but it was beautiful there. I'd like to go back!
-Sky Trek/Sky Tram: We wanted to try ziplining while we were in Costa Rica. Sky Trek was a blast! The location provides terrific views of Volcan Arenal to boot. I would definitely recommend Sky Trek, but there are other ziplines in the area as well the other folks have enjoyed.
There are lots of other things to do in the area aside from what we had time for (waterfall, caves, lava field hike, waterfall repelling, rafting...).
We had 3 nights/2 full days there and defintely could have been happy with another full day or even 2.
As far as transportation goes, the Arenal area is pretty spread out and having car makes life more convenient, imho. That said, plenty of people have visited sans car and were able to see and do what they wanted. Your hotel will be able to help you with transportation and many of the local tour operators will come pick you up at your hotel (sometimes for an additional small fee).
Arenal is definitely a wonderful choice for a first visit to Costa Rica!
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