Booked a last-minute trip to Costa Rica for this month and want to get the best exposure to the rainforest and wildlife of the country. Due to time constraints we may just do the beaches of Nicoya and then La Fortuna/Arenal....

Are we really missing out if we skip Monteverde, or are the canopy tours around Volcan Arenal just as good? Thanks!

I loved Monteverde, but if I had your time limitations, I would stick with the beach and Arenal.(There's plenty of wildlife and greenery in the other places you're visiting. Don't worry, save it for the next visit!)

www.skytrek.com best Arenal canopy tour...

in limited time would just do that...

Best Monteverde Real Estate rental company http://www.costaricaeye.com

We just visited CR for the first time this past May, but the weather in Arenal didn't cooperate as we had hoped, and our plans changed somewhat. We didn't do the Lava hike or the walk down to the waterfall, but we did use a guide to get a discount to get into the waterfall overlook just to see it and get some pictures on our way out of La Fortuna.

Based on research we did on this board, we chose to do the zipline in Monteverde over Arenal. We used Selvatura and really enjoyed our experience. One of my coworkers did the Sky Trek zipline in Arenal and really enjoyed it; she chose not to go to Monteverde. So you just have to decide where you will visit and plan accordingly.

But...you don't mention how many days you have. We were there for 10 nights and still felt rushed. Don't try to cram too much into the trip or you will not be able to enjoy it. Just look at it as an excuse to return...we are already discussing our options as we only scratched the surface!

Thanks for the advice! It sounds like we should just move forward with Arenal, as we will only be there for a week.

Glad to hear everyone liked CR enough to want to go back!

Arenal is wonderful area; you won't be disappointed.

Do Arenal this time and Monteverde next time.