gailching

OK, so many decisions and I need help!

1) Is it too much to leave San jose in the morning - see Las Paz waterfalls and Poas volcano - and then drive to Arenal for the night? Or do I need stop somewhere for the night like Arguas Zapo because I won't be able to make it to Arenal before dark?

Is it even worthwhile to make the detour to Las Paz/Poas Volcano (on the way to Arenal from San Jose) - or will La Fortuna waterfall and Arenal Volcano - pretty much be a duplicate.

Should I go to the Butterfly farm in Alajuela instead of Las Paz and just go to La Fortuna waterfall instead?

3) I haven't read about anyone going to Barra Honda Park (near Nicoya) to see the underground caves - is it worth it to go to Nicoya (on the way to manuel antonio) just to see the cave?

How long is the drive from Monteverde to Nicoya? and Nicoya to Jaco?

4) Is it worth it to see Carara park? How far is the drive from Quepos/Manuel Antonio to Carara park?

If I want to get to Carara park early do you recommend acutally staying in Carara the night before - any suggestions where? or should I just drive from Quepos early the same day?

5) I am confused about zip lines vs. canopy tour vs. sky trek vs. aerial tram vs. sky tram....

are they all the same thing but different company names? or are they actually different adventures?

Any suggestions for the best ones in Arenal/monteverde/Manuel Antonio?

6) Is Monteverde a full 2 day thing ie. Cloud forest 1 day, sky trek/zip lines 2nd day - or is there enough time to do both things in 1 day?

7) Lastly, for now, how experienced do you need to be for horseback riding tours - 4 hours/full day tours seems a lot for a beginner?

Has anyone attempted the horseback option over the mountains from Arenal to Monteverde? Can a beginner do this without dying?

THANKS!!

glover

We left Arenal in the am (have forgotten how early), detoured to La Paz, etc. and were back in San Jose before dark. We enjoyed the waterfall area and the volcano crater and the drive up - definitely worth doing on the way. Not difficult driving and fun.

You could probably easily do a walk in the reserve at Monteverde and a zip line in the same day. The reason people stay longer is that it TAKES SO LONG TO GET THERE!. And there's more to do if you want . . other trails, etc.

missypie

I'm topping this thread because gailching asked lots of the same questions I have. Anybody?....

gannetmusic

Poas is best early in the day-as soon as the park opens. La Paz is fairly close by and very enjoyable. You can do these and get to Arenal before dark.

The butterfly enclosure at La Paz is well done and quite large.

At Poas you are looking down into a fairly placid but quite spectacular volcanic crater. At Arenal you have a more typical 'ground level' view of the volcano.

Carara is somewhat less spoiled than Manuel Antonio and less crowded. You will not get the scenery or 'zoo like' looks at wildlife that you can at It can be a great place for a walk.

Jerry

twbuss

I have found out that you can drive easily from MA to Carrara or take a tour with J.D. Watersports. They will also combine it with the jungle cruise on the Tarcoles River. Pat Hewitt from CostaTravel says its one area that is known for the Scarlet Macaw. If we decide to do this it will be a tour that we take from M.A.

gannetmusic

You could just as easily go to Carara yourself, see the crocs, do the tarcoles cruise and quite possibly find your OWN macaws.

Of course everyone does have his or her own comfort level, but Costa Rica is one country where, in many cases it is easy to visit most of the sites on your own.