LA PAZ WATERFALL GARDENS - are all waterfall open now?
 

I've read somewhere that not all waterfalls are open after earthquake but their website does not provide much info . I was wondering , if they are all open and if not, is it still worth a visit and $35 price to enter ? Appreciate any info provided. Thanks

We were just there Sunday. Only 4 of the waterfalls are visible from the trails. It is beautiful but to us, not worth the drive on that terrrible (and IMHO unsafe )road. If we were staying at Peace lodge anyway then we would go but I think it is too soon to say "the road to La Paz is open"

Which road are you referring to? I've been somewhat concerned about the route we're going to take from Peace Lodge to Arenal.

I've heard the road from SJO to the Peace Lodge is in good shape - is that right? Isn't it the road from the Peace Lodge to Arenal that's damaged?

We are thinking of staying in Pura Vida Hotel http://puravidahotel.com/. It is around 40 min from Poas. This is our 1st day in Costa Rica and we've been thinking to hire a taxi for a half a day tour to Poas or La Paz waterfalls. Is it the same road to Poas as to the waterfalls?

You'll be fine on the road to Poas or La Paz from Pura Vida. The road that is questionable is the road from La Paz to Arenal. It was pretty much destroyed by the earthquake.

Yes, I suspect 1bhcrashman was talking about the road from Arenal to La Paz. I hope he/she comes back with more info. Peace Lodge told me that portions of that road have reopened (even though it shows it as closed on their website) and that's the route their private drivers are using, but I'm not sure I want to use it.

Sorry I wasn't clear. I was talking about the last 6k from Vara Blanca to La Paz. Even though they have been working on the road, the damage from the quake was extensive. I have been told but don't know from personal experience that continuing on past La Paz towards Arenal is even worse. If you have a driver who is familiar with the roads it would probably be better.

I drove that road from Vara Blanca to Poas, when I visited in November. It is open but in awful shape. I didn't like it at all.

Is the "road from Vara Blanca to La Paz" the same route you would take from SJO? Or is there another way?

"SJO" the airport? "SJO" the city? There are two ways to get to Poas Volcano, one via Vara Blanca and one heading north from Alajuela. I advise the latter.

I checked on google maps, the Road number you want to take is 130 and not 126 (which is the road via Vara Blanca). 126 still isn't open to San Miguel. And don't expect to see Route numbers (or any roads signs for that matter) on any of the roads, but you will see signs pointing the way to Poas, so pay attention to those and follow them.

BTW here is the website for "estado de rutas" in CR. It's a handy one to have although you need the ability to translate Spanish, but the word "Normal" is the same. "Totalmente cerrado" means completely closed..

http://www.transito.go.cr/estadorutas/

Thank you for the info. This is what is making me nervous - Peace Lodge told me in an email that the private transfer they arranged would take me through San Miguel, which is now open. I'm not arriving until June so I'm just going to wait and see what happens with the road. I asked about this on tripadvisor (I have the user name Junk2), and I really don't know what to think at this point.

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-..._Alajuela.html

I don't want to make you unnecessarily nervous but June could be pretty wet up there. I would ask Peace Lodge if they can tell you how long a drive they are accurately figuring. Personally, even though they say the road is safe, I would wait until closer to the arrival date and verify it again on this board or others. Leave yourself sometime to cancel if necessary and inn the meantime book somewhere else as a backup plan. If you plan on going on to Arenal from there, I would just skip this place & route for this time and head up to Arenal.

It's still getting pretty consistent five star reviews on tripadvisor. B, maybe you could message some of the reviewers.

If I'm understanding things correctly, the road from SJO airport is fine. So my back-up plan, as it gets closer to June and I'm still not comfortable with the route Peace Lodge is intending to use to Arenal, is to just cancel my private transfer with Peace Lodge and hire my own driver, insisting that he backtrack to the airport. Do you think that sounds reasonable? And, VG, good suggestion about messaging some of the reviewers. I will definitely do that with the reviewer who mentioned the scary road to Arenal.

June is a long way away. They will undoubtedly claim some kind of miscommunication (the catchall excuse) but still get you to Arenal one way or the other.

If you are on TA have you asked roadadvisor? He is in the tranfer business so will know.

Next day after we arrive are going on 2 days rating trip with Exploradores Outdoors: 1 day on the
pacuare and 1 day on the revantazon. They said they can pick us up from Pura Vida early in the morning. Would they be taking a different road? After the rafting trip they will take us to Arenal. Not sure what roads they will be taking.We are going in April. Thanks

Irina - I would just call your tour provider and ask them what route they are planning to take. I suspect it's not the same road we're talking about here.

mlgb - Yes, Roadadvisor is on that tripadvisor thread, expressing his absolute disbelief that hotels are using that road to Arenal. As you said, June is a long time away and I'm sure it will all work out. Thanks!

roadadviser is not a fan of the Peace Lodge, even before the earthquake. It frustrates him that they have caged animals on site.

Lol- Yes, I did notice that he mentioned that in numerous threads about Peace Lodge. But I still might see if he's willing to pick us up from there if I don't like the route Peace Lodge is suggesting! Btw, I just emailed that tripadvisor reviewer about her experience.

Thanks everyone!

I was really excited about PL when I first read about it, but then I kept reading things about it being contrived and Disneyesque.

We decided against a visit, in part due to the same concerns expressed here about the roads. I didn't want to spend the time going up that way and then backtracking to get to Arenal. We ended up going to Monteverde first, taking a jeep boat jeep to Arenal and then returning to San Jose with a private driver.

I can understand why Peace Lodge would prefer to go the northern route since it's much shorter, but is the road even open???

BTW it is the road to San Miguel "de Sarapiqui" that is closed. As you will find out, there are San Miguels all over CR.

I had read the same Disneyesque comments and avoided it for a few years, but it got such great reviews that I decided to go, and we ended up loving it. The grounds and waterfalls are really beautiful, and the rooms and views are so relaxing. I really like it for a night or two; I wouldn't stay there for much longer, just enough to enjoy the waterfalls, feed the hummingbirds, and visit Poas if there's time. After being so sweaty and doing so much hiking everywhere else, it's kind of a nice little respite.

I emailed a recent reviewer of PL on tripadvisor and she said that there is a road north of Peace Lodge and it is being used by A LOT of locals and tourists. She said the road is pretty bad and everyone just goes really slowly over it. (She said it's not as bad as the road to Monteverde though.) She said she wouldn't do it in pouring rain but it is passable. This section is several miles, but once you get past it, it's a very easy drive to Arenal. She said it took 2.5 hours.

As long as it isn't foggy, rainy and it isn't your rental car!!!

True dat!

Volcanogirl, even though Road Advisor is not a "fan" of Peace Lodge, that does not mean that the roads leading to that hotel are safe. I would not put our lives at risk again going to La Paz. Period. "Pura Vida" does not mean "don't use your own common sense" The OP asked was the $35 worth it to see La Paz. I say "no" considering the danger in traveling to the area. I'm done.
Volcanogirl, were you there last before or after the earthquake?

I was just thinking that he may not want to be her driver, not saying if the roads are safe or not. My advice was to message all the people who have stayed there recently to see what route they took and what the conditions were like since I'm not sure hotels will always give you accurate information about that sort of thing, although I would hope they would.

BAJJ - you may want to do a search on this forum for member Shelld and her trip report back in August when the road first opened. "Shell's return to Costa Rica" gives a very descriptive first hand account of the road as they left Arenal and came on the San Miguel road. Their driver who is very highly recommended on this forum was driving it for the first time and couldn't believe people were telling him it was open since it was in such bad shape.
It may have improved since then, but things do not move quickly....he felt so badly about scaring them that he brought them gifts when he did another transfer from Peace Lodge!
I'm going on a day trip there in a few weeks, but just going from Alajuela up the "good" road. We went up to Poasito three weeks after the major earthquake to deliver school supplies, but no further than that.

I just looked up that old trip report. Yikes! That does sound very scary.