herb1700

We are leaving for CR on Friday and staying 3 nights at Vista Del Valle , 4 nights at Punta Islita, and one night back in SJ. I checked the weather and it looks like constant rain for the time we are at Vista Del Valle. Should we adjust our itinerary, i.e. go to Villa Caletas or semewhere else for the first few days? Please help!(Shillmac--you there??)

toucan

though i'd have to suggest that three nights at Vista del Valle might be one night too many, I wouldn't worry so much about the weather. This is still the rainy season, but I can't tell you how many times the weather looks gloomy by forcast, but will still clear up alot at this time of year -there just is absoltely no way to predict the rain in advance.

shillmac

herb1700,
Don't worry about it! The rain isn't going to spoil anything for you. I looked at a couple of 10 day forecast maps for both San Jose area and Puntarenas. It looked like, although there is a 60% chance most days, it will be scattered and most likely in the afternoon. Remember, 60% chance of rain means 40% chance of no rain, and that's pretty good! I think you can expect the usual during the green season---sunny mornings, clouding up by noon with rain moving in by 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon. There isn't anywhere you can go to guarantee less rain. Be sure and write when you get back and tell us all what a GREAT time you had!!!

shillmac

BTW, 3 nights at Vista del Valle wouldn't be too much for us--we think the central valley area is about the best place we've ever been--absolutely love the year round climate there! It will be nice to have the time to see and do what is in the area--in a leisurely way! You'll surely want a little hammock/book/beer or coffee time as well!

herb1700

Thank you for your responses. I guess part of it is that it has been raining nonstop here in NYC and we don't want to go on vacation to experience the same thing. Toucan, why not 3 nights and where would you spend a different night? Villa Caletas? And Shillmac, does the rain that roll sin around 2 leave later in the day?

shillmac

Depends, herb. In July, we spent several days in the area where you will be. It started up about 3:00 and poured hard for about an hour--almost like clockwork several days in a row. It rains during the night frequently as well. You know, it's the weather--it generally falls into predictable patterns, but can certainly exercise its perogative to do otherwise! Getting an early start on the day and making the most of the first 8 hours would be a good idea.

I've been noticing the umbrellas on the Today Show! I was in NYC during the first part of November last year, and it was SO cold!

herb1700

So I guess it does not matter where we go? Anyway, I do not want to give up our deal at Vista Del Valle-3nights for the price of two! By the way, is it reasonable to do Arenal in a day, and where are the best canopy tours in the central valley?

Percy

I will let shillmac answer but I just want to say that I hope you are staying at Exotic Woods Suite at Vista del Valle because the view of the Canyon from your front porch is terrific.

Please say hello to Elisa Nunez for me, she is the nice lady at the front office desk.

Also if you bump into Oscar tell him Percy says Hi...his last e-mail to me was about a month ago.

And yes, it is easy to do Arenal in one day.

Shillmac ,where would you say is the best canopy tour... in the Central valley.!?


Percy

herb1700

Shillmac?

lvk

Sorry, I'm not Shillmac either, but I do have a bit to add. There is a Canopy tour in San Ramon that is supposed to be very good.

It was pointed out to us by the afore-mentioned Oscar as he was driving us from Arenal to MA. However, since it was raining heavily, we didn't get to stop there. Hope this helps.

Have a great trip!

lvk

Still not Shillmac, but the canopy tour is called San Lorenzo and it is at the Valle Escondido Hotel. It has one line that it 700 meters long.

shillmac

There are many others more qualified than I to answer your canopy question!
Actually, the San Lorenzo one is the only one I am aware of, having driven by there. All of the canopies are, in my opinion, fairly comparable.

You can do Arenal in a day from VDV if you get an early start on the day (7:00 or so). You should be there about 9:00, allowing you plenty of time to do a hike, look around in La Fortuna, and go to Tabacon Hot Springs in the p.m. Although others would disagree, I think Tabacon is a big highlight of the Arenal area.

I think you've got an excellent deal at VDV, 3 nights for the price of 2. Just have a great time!

toucan

last time I stayed at Vista de Valle, there was a trail that you could hike down to a thin but 50 mtr waterfall. very steep hike, had a ladder tied to the cliff at one spot. kinda neat but be careful if the trail is slippery in the rain.
Overall,I liked VDV. the central location is nice but you don't feel like you are really out in the rainforest. We had annoying dogs barking all night, but the grounds are lovely and we could sit on the porch and look out over the canyon. it was very peaceful. If you stay three nights, you might want to get out early some day and check out Poas Volcano and the waterfall gardens - probably only about an hours drive. I recommend starting early because the mountain top always seems to cloud over by about noon this time of year.

herb1700

Toucan-Do you think Xandari or Finca Rosa Blanca are significantly nicer?

toucan

No, I don't know anything about Finca Rosa Blanca. Xandari is very nice but i kinda lean towards Vista del Valle possibly a bit more, though both are excellent - just personel preference. And like you say, a 3 for 2 night special at VDV sounds good as my main problem with VDV has always been that I thought they were a bit expensive. I love Villas Caletas (even though they are even more expensive). My original comment about staying three nights at VDV was mainly to encourage you to do the long drive over to Villas Caletas for an evening -before you told me about the special price at VDV.
(If you do go to Villas Caletas though be prepared to fork out at least $30pp for dinner. Their restaraunt is good but expensive and there are no alternatives close by). You can't really go wrong with any of the places on your list, and like Shillmac says, don't worry about the rain. Now just go have fun!

TripleSecDelay

herb1700 : When we visited the canopy tour at San Lorenzo, I took a picture of the schematic drawing of the towers and cables. If you want, I can email the .jpg to you.

The text on the drawing claims 750 meters as the longest cable in the world.

Their phone number is 475-1083.
www.hotelvalleescondido.net

You can't miss their location on the side of the road, as they have a dummy on a cable overhead, crossing the road. There's also a restaurant there that serves a couple of levels above a Soda. Inside, there is a computer where you can see/hear previous customers on the zip lines.

If you are in Arenal, you can also do a canopy tour at SkyTrek/SkyTram. Their website can be found using the same name. They just might have the highest zip line - at 230 meters above the cloud forest floor. Coffee and soft drinks in a cooler, but I'm unsure if they are finished with the construction of the "bar" that was underway in September.

Nice people, all of them.

Best of luck,

TripleSecDelay

In my previous post, I used the word [cooler] when I meant : a refrigerator with a glass door that you see in retail stores.

shillmac

That was a dummy?

poss

Toucan-- You're one of the few people on this board who speaks about Villa Caletas. We've been trying to decide whether to stay there for 2 nights on our way from Arenal to MA (to break up the drive and to do something around the Tarcoles area) My main problem with Caletas is that we can't sleep in queen bed, and I've been having trouble confirming that we'll get 2 beds in the room, if not a king, which of course we'd prefer. (otherwise I suppose we'll do Los Suenos, which has much less appeal). Are the grounds and accomodations at Villa Caletas really as wonderful as the photos make them out to be? Do you know the place well enough to recommend a particular villa/suite? A different sort of question: You mentioned the price of dinner (and I assume that breakfast and lunch are comparably expensive). In the States (and often elsewhere also), my husband and I usually split meals, less to save money (tho there's that too) than because we simply can't eat big meals. Do you have a sense of whether this is ok to do in Costa Rica? I've posted this question separately some days ago, but didn't get a whole lot of informed response. Not terribly impt, but would be good to know... Thank you very much. Also: What activities would you recommend in the Villa Caletas area? We'd thought to do the boat tour on Tarcoles, and now I think I've heard that there's a tram ride in the area. Do you know anything about it? We also are thinking of doing a Rainmaker tour, though, regrettably, my fear of heights may preclude that sort of thing. Many thanks!

herb1700

Thank you. Vey helpful stuff...