I have read Fodor's Choice for hotels for Arenal and Monteverde, but one of them also had a review that makes me question one of their choices.

I'd like to hear from you as to which hotels in Arenal and Monteverde you have experience with.

Also, if we stay 5 nights in Arenal will that give us easy access to beaches for sunning when we want down time? Or are we too far away for beaches?

Thanks for your help,

We stayed at Lost Iguana in Arenal, and would go back in a heartbeat. Absolutely fantastic, great service, grounds and view of the volcano.
Do you only have 5 days all together? I don’t think you can go to any beach from Arenal (or Monteverde) as a day trip.
Can’t help with Monteverde hotels, but no matter what you do, you’ll love CR and you will go back.

We're Lost Iguana fans too, have stayed there a few times. In Monteverde, we liked Fonda Vela, one of the hotels closest to the Reserve. Arenal isn't close to the beach. It has a lake, but that's about it.

We've stayed at the Arenal Observatory Lodge twice, and it's the main reason we'd go back a third time. Best wildlife, best volcano view. Not luxurious and not close to anything but the volcano, but worth it.

We stayed at Arco Iris in the Monteverde area. If you're looking for value and convenience, it's a great option. The Honeymoon cabin is fabulous and a relative bargain.

for MV

www.fondavela.com

www.hotelbelmar.net

for Arenal

www.tabacon.com Volcano lave view room free best hot springs

www.lostiguanaresort.com www.hotelmountainparadise.com budget

for beach

www.reservaconchal.com

www.hotelcapitansuizo.com

Happy Hunting,

If we can't do beaches as a day trip from Arenal or La Fortuna, would it be best to stay at a hotel located on the beach, then do day trips to Arenal? Or just do the day trips offered by the hotel?

I wouldn't do day trips between Arenal and a beach. I'd stay in one or the other, or if you enough time stay in both. We did Arenal and Manuel Antonio for our first trip, and it took us about 5 hours to get from one to the other, not really practical for day trips.

Thank you volcanogirl, this is rather tedious, though I know in the end it will be well worth all my efforts. We need to do beach for 4-5 nights. Not sure which other area would be best to stay...monteverde, MA or Arenal. We are doing beach for our daughter otherwise my husband and I would do a different itinerary. Please help!

Manuel Antonio is the beach. Check out somewhere like Tulemar Bugalows or Buena Vista Villas. Si Como No is popular too, but you'd have to take a shuttle to the beach. Most people do a split between Arenal (volcano area) and Manuel Antonio for their first trip. Both locations are pretty easy. You could do something like four nights in each place. Sometimes you have to stay a first or last night near the airport due to travel times. Since you're mentioning your daughter, you might take a look at Los Lagos in the Arenal area; it's popular with families with young kids.

Arenal has natural hot springs that she'd probably enjoy, also a waterfall hike where you can swim at the bottom, the Cano Negro tour to see wildlife, and hiking at the Hanging Bridges. Depending on your daughter's age, there's also adventure activities like ziplining and rafting. The active volcano is neat to see if it's doing anything.

MA has a beautiful beach inside the national park, lots of pretty tame wildlife, horseback riding, mangrove tours, and things like that.

Once again, volcanogirl, thank you. Our daughter will be 15 in May & is up for the challenges. We've done zipline in Mexico & loved it! I will check those places out at MA. We rented a 4X4, though taking a shuttle to the beach may be best. I'm sure I'll have additional questions!

Sky Trek is a popular zipline in Arenal, and Rios Tropicales is good for rafting if you have time to do it. Have fun!