apatinage

Hey everyone,

I found a great airfare from NYC to San Jose - $350 roundtrip so I decided to book for next week from 8/18 to 8/25. I plan on visiting 2 places - Arenal and Manuel Antonio. I have never been to Costa Rica before and I want to fit in as much as possible in the Arenal area. My flight gets in at 1:30pm on the 8/18. After getting thru customs and traveling up to Arenal, it will be evening. As I only have a limited time in this area ( we will leave for Manuel Antonio the morning of 8/21) I want to see as much as possible - Eco Thermales hotsprings, Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfall, Arenal Hike, Cano Negro Tour.. I am definitely up for doing something the evening I arrive and definitely am up for doing more than one place during each of the two full days that I will be there. We are young and energetic and have no problems running around a bit before relaxing down in Manuel Antonio for the rest of the time... Can someone give me a doable itinerary for the 2 1/2 days that I will be in Arenal? Thank you! I appreciate it!

apatinage

I just read about the Arenal 4 in 1 tour that starts out with the Hanging Bridges, followed by La Fortuna Waterfall, lunch, Arenal Volcano National Park, followed by a choice of hot springs. They are charging over $200 for this. As I am on a budget, do you think it is feasable to rent a car for the day and drive to these locales myself? I am an independent traveller and if I can do these things myself at a much lower rate, I certainly would.

apatinage

lol, I keep replying to my own post... has anyone taken taxis between these locations? Are they cheap? I could probably hit all 4 locations in a day myself if taking a taxi is economical.

qwovadis

www.interbusonline.com

up to Arenal leaves from the Hampton Inn

at the airport at 3PM $39 or so

www.hotelvistadelcerro.com good budget at Arenal

lots of cupons for cheap tours from there

take tours from hotel they will pick you up

taxis get expensive...

Baldi Hot Springs for $17 with cupon...

Have fun,

cartaw

There was lava both nights we were at Arenal. If there is lava the night you are there, the best thing to do is pick a nice restaurant/bar with a view of the volcano and watch the show. We stayed at the Arenal Observatory Lodge, and there were great views, but I understand there are other restaurants with a good view. We went to Tabacon for the hot springs and they were great. You can spend a whole day there. There is also another big resort there with hot springs that we chose not to visit so we could go to Tabacon(Baldi), it is much cheaper and people who visited there instead seemed to enjoy it.

volcanogirl

We did the Hanging Bridges and waterfall by ourselves; you don't need a tour to do those, but you will probably see more wildlife at the Hanging Bridges if you hire one. They have guides available for hire at the front desk where you pay. Eco Termales is a great spot to go in the evening so you can spend your daylight hours doing other things; they serve a nice chicken dinner there. For Cano Negro, I'd do a tour since they provide the boat and guides.

apatinage

Thanks for the responses guys! To see the Hanging Bridges, Waterfalls , the volcano and Eco Thermales on my own, would it be more convenient and a less expensive ride to stay in the town of La Fortuna or base myself somewhere maybe closer to the volcano?

volcanogirl

Things are pretty spread out in La Fortuna; the things you're interested in aren't all that close to each other. You may want to rent a car for the day. Our hotel connected us with a taxi driver that dropped us off at the falls, let us call for a pickup, took us to eat, let us call for a pickup, etc. Cost was $50, so you might see if you could work out something like that.

shillmac

I would suggest renting a vehicle upon arrival (we use www.tricolorcarrental.com, but also like Mapache and Dollar) and doing the driving yourselves. It allows for a lot of flexibility which is nice when on a tight schedule.

You can certainly do Eco Termales the night you arrive, but I think you'll be pooped as heck! I'd suggest an early a.m. Cano Negro tour, followed by Eco Termales for a nice and relaxing end to your first full day.

Second day, Hanging Bridges in a.m., La Fortuna waterfall in p.m.

Not sure where you are staying, but Arenal Observatory Lodge will afford you lovely views if the volcano is visible. This is a great lodge to stay IF you have your own car, not advisable if you don't.

You can then drive yourselves to Manuel Antonio and have the car there to get out and about and see the area. A car isn't as necessary at MA (I consider it really helpful at Arenal, taxis are high), but you can get some good weekly rates, so you might as well.

Have a great time!

shillmac

BTW, I'd definitely choose ET over Baldi for my springs experience. We are also big fans of Tabacon, but so many reliable posters recommend Eco Termales I'm sure it is very nice. We weren't impressed with Baldi although it is less $$.

Another recommendation that might help: You probably will want to get right on up to Arenal the first day and you can if you arrive on time at 1:30. It will be pushing dark when you arrive La Fortuna (if you get out of the airport area by 3:00 or so). It would probably be a good idea to stay your first night somewhere low budget in La Fortuna and be right there for that 7:00 or so departure for Cano Negro (we use Sunset Tours for CN). You will return about 3:00 or 4:00 p.m., can collect your things, and drive to your volcano viewing hotel (whichever you select). Arenal Observatory Lodge will be much easier to get to in daylight!

hipvirgochick

I am not sure if you've decided to tent a car yet or your budget but you might like Silencio del Campo which is a smaller locally owned place and really wonderful. Probably offer good last minute discounts too.