Los Suenos Marriott and area
Jan 13th, 2007, 12:06 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 487
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Los Suenos Marriott and area
We are planning a trip this April 8-15 to the Herrada area and staying at the Los Suenos Marriott. A few questions for those in the "know":
1. Is it possible to do a day trip to the Arenal/Fortuna area and visit the falls and spas from here? How long is the ride?
2. How long a ride is it from Herrada to Manuel Antonio? What should we see in this area?
3. Should we rent a car at the airport or from our hotel? I've heard the roads are atrocious and wondering if we should even try. We did rent a 4-wheel drive in Maui and we still drove around the back of Haleakala and on the North Shore even tho we were warned the roads were bad (which they were not). But I'm trying to get a feel for how bad these roads might really be.
4. What else should we plan from this area?
Thanks in advance for your responses.
1. Is it possible to do a day trip to the Arenal/Fortuna area and visit the falls and spas from here? How long is the ride?
2. How long a ride is it from Herrada to Manuel Antonio? What should we see in this area?
3. Should we rent a car at the airport or from our hotel? I've heard the roads are atrocious and wondering if we should even try. We did rent a 4-wheel drive in Maui and we still drove around the back of Haleakala and on the North Shore even tho we were warned the roads were bad (which they were not). But I'm trying to get a feel for how bad these roads might really be.
4. What else should we plan from this area?
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Jan 13th, 2007, 07:10 PM
#2
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The roads to Playa Herradura are fine. You'll be pleasantly surprised There are very few truly bad roads in Costa Rica. If you've driven the Hana Highway, no sweat--you're already a pro!
Rent your car at the airport. We use Tricolor--excellent prices, excellent service. Los Suenos is about a 2 hours drive with good signage--could be a wee bit less. It's about 1.5 hour to Manuel Antonio from there. In MA, you could do a mangrove tour, kayaking, horseback to the falls (Finca Valmy), river rafting on the Naranjo, and of course, the park is MA's claim to fame (closed on Mondays). You need to be at the park early on the day you plan to go. Hire a guide outside the entrance and take your swim gear and water/snacks inside for a day at the beach. The beaches inside the park are very nice--particularly the 2nd one (best for swimming). I'd suggest the Finca Valmy tour, the park, and perhaps the Damas Mangroves if you can get down there for more than one day.
Arenal is too far for a day trip. It would be nice if you could head up there from SJO for a couple of days before going down to Los Suenos as it is something to see. From Los Suenos, it's about 4.5-5 hours away. I guess you could bite the bullet and stay overnight if you want to see the area badly enough! People do day trips to Arenal out of SJO; we had friends who did that in September and had a wonderful time. Long day, but good time. Saw the volcano all day and at night as well. THAT is never a guarantee, unfortunately. . .
You could visit Isla Tortuga on a daytrip from Los Suenos, I think--might be interesting. By all means, spend some time at Carara Biological Reserve and perhaps Turu-Bari Park. Both are very near and you really shouldn't miss them as much time as you'll have in that area. Those things, plus a little R&R will surely fill up your week!
You'll be arriving on Easter Sunday, is that right? You should experience a fairly normal week; Holy Week is a peak time since the Ticos are vacationing as well. The drive to the coast might be interesting that day as all the weekend local vacationers will be returning to SJO from the Pacific beaches. Thank goodness for you, the heavy traffic will be headed into SJO and westbound traffic should be relatively light.
Sounds like a good time to me! Have fun. . .
Rent your car at the airport. We use Tricolor--excellent prices, excellent service. Los Suenos is about a 2 hours drive with good signage--could be a wee bit less. It's about 1.5 hour to Manuel Antonio from there. In MA, you could do a mangrove tour, kayaking, horseback to the falls (Finca Valmy), river rafting on the Naranjo, and of course, the park is MA's claim to fame (closed on Mondays). You need to be at the park early on the day you plan to go. Hire a guide outside the entrance and take your swim gear and water/snacks inside for a day at the beach. The beaches inside the park are very nice--particularly the 2nd one (best for swimming). I'd suggest the Finca Valmy tour, the park, and perhaps the Damas Mangroves if you can get down there for more than one day.
Arenal is too far for a day trip. It would be nice if you could head up there from SJO for a couple of days before going down to Los Suenos as it is something to see. From Los Suenos, it's about 4.5-5 hours away. I guess you could bite the bullet and stay overnight if you want to see the area badly enough! People do day trips to Arenal out of SJO; we had friends who did that in September and had a wonderful time. Long day, but good time. Saw the volcano all day and at night as well. THAT is never a guarantee, unfortunately. . .
You could visit Isla Tortuga on a daytrip from Los Suenos, I think--might be interesting. By all means, spend some time at Carara Biological Reserve and perhaps Turu-Bari Park. Both are very near and you really shouldn't miss them as much time as you'll have in that area. Those things, plus a little R&R will surely fill up your week!
You'll be arriving on Easter Sunday, is that right? You should experience a fairly normal week; Holy Week is a peak time since the Ticos are vacationing as well. The drive to the coast might be interesting that day as all the weekend local vacationers will be returning to SJO from the Pacific beaches. Thank goodness for you, the heavy traffic will be headed into SJO and westbound traffic should be relatively light.
Sounds like a good time to me! Have fun. . .
Jan 14th, 2007, 04:21 PM
#3
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 288
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Los Suenos is my favorite of all hotels and resorts I've every had the pleasure of experiencing. I seem to remember the drive to Manuel Antonio taking about an hour...it is definitely worth the drive. Stop at Si Como No and have lunch at their restaurant (the Rico Tico) high atop a hill overlooking the Pacific (very good food, even better view). We did the Tortuga trip, too...which I had mixed opinions about. Also, try to get in a canopy tour...we really enjoyed ours. Here's a link to my travel review of our Los Suenos trip, in case you're interested. Enjoy!
http://www.epinions.com/content_195455585924
http://www.epinions.com/content_195455585924
Mar 9th, 2007, 12:29 PM
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 487
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks shillmac,
We are staying overnight in SJO our last night before leaving from the airport, but want not to wait til then to visit the volcano. The Marriott does offer a 12 hr. daytrip there (I guess by bus and we could sleep as we travel) w/ a side trip to the Bali springs (?).
We're actually arriving the week before Easter and leaving Easter day - ouch.
We are staying overnight in SJO our last night before leaving from the airport, but want not to wait til then to visit the volcano. The Marriott does offer a 12 hr. daytrip there (I guess by bus and we could sleep as we travel) w/ a side trip to the Bali springs (?).
We're actually arriving the week before Easter and leaving Easter day - ouch.
Mar 13th, 2007, 01:04 PM
#6
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 570
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Just back from CR.
It is possible to do a day trip to Arenal, but probably not advisable if you don't want to rush through it. Would you consider going there first, spending a full day there and then proceeding to Marriott Los Suenos?
My husband and I spent 2 nights at the resort. It's not our usual type of place to stay because of the rates, but connections got us a great deal. Being in Los Suenos feels like being in the US, if you want to just relax and enjoy your time, it's fine. If you want to feel like you are visiting some place outside the US, you have to leave the resort.
We spent one day relaxing at the pool and the other day we went to Carrara and stopped at the Tarcoles bridge to watch crocodiles for a bit and went off some side roads up the mountains to check out local villages.
We went to MA before checking in at Los Suenos but you can easily do that from there. The roads to and from Los Suenos are not really bad, but there was some construction from SJO which caused traffic to close down in one direction every so often. There are also one lane very rustic, precipitous bridges on the way to MA. Just consider them all part of the adventure!
It is possible to do a day trip to Arenal, but probably not advisable if you don't want to rush through it. Would you consider going there first, spending a full day there and then proceeding to Marriott Los Suenos?
My husband and I spent 2 nights at the resort. It's not our usual type of place to stay because of the rates, but connections got us a great deal. Being in Los Suenos feels like being in the US, if you want to just relax and enjoy your time, it's fine. If you want to feel like you are visiting some place outside the US, you have to leave the resort.
We spent one day relaxing at the pool and the other day we went to Carrara and stopped at the Tarcoles bridge to watch crocodiles for a bit and went off some side roads up the mountains to check out local villages.
We went to MA before checking in at Los Suenos but you can easily do that from there. The roads to and from Los Suenos are not really bad, but there was some construction from SJO which caused traffic to close down in one direction every so often. There are also one lane very rustic, precipitous bridges on the way to MA. Just consider them all part of the adventure!
Aug 30th, 2007, 12:20 PM
#7
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 296
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
dolciani, How did you like your stay in Los Suenos Marriott? What can you recommend for the day trips in the area?
Do you recommend to stay in Marriott for the entire week or split the time between few locations?
Thanks!
Do you recommend to stay in Marriott for the entire week or split the time between few locations?
Thanks!
Aug 31st, 2007, 06:17 PM
#8
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 161
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
We spent 6 nights at Los Suenos at the end of July. Had a blast and very relaxing. Wish i would have rented a car though. We did the hotel tour to Manuel Antonio which was excellent and included lunch etc. Make sur eto eat at El pelicano and Soda Juanita on the beach just north of the hotel. We also recommend the Fourtrax ATV Tour. The office is righ in downtown Jaco and it was great. We also fished with a guide in Quepos who was excellent. http://fishingwithchris.com
