Hi friends... fam and I are finally booked for Feb. for an Osa/Arenal adventure and am just deciding on tours which leads me to my question... Would it be wise to leave out Cano Negro tour if we're going to be doing the wildlife refuge in Osa? Also...... as stated in previous posts, I was booked for AOL... well, I decided instead to go with Los Lagos for the kids' sake. I just think it would be more family friendly and closer to other activities. Would've loved the great volcano view, but.... I hope I'm not gonna regret that move. Any input is appreciated. Thank you.

I would still go on the Cano Negro tour unless you just don't have enough time. Cano Negro and Osa Wildlife Refuge are completely different animals so to speak. ;-) You will still have great volcano views from Los Lagos, just not from the same angle as AOL. Have a great trip!

Totally agree with hip; we love Cano Negro, one of the best tours we've done in CR. Just the fact that you're floating down a river makes it a neat experience. We used Sunset Tours and loved them and saw loads of birds, a sloth, howler monkeys, and even a baby albino howler.

Definitely go with the Cano Negro tour. We think AOL is pretty special, but understand the convenience of Los Lagos and am sure it will work out great for your family. Certainly way easier to get to!

Have a great time!

I'll throw in another vote for Cano Negro unless you really don't feel you have time. CN is a neat mangrove eco-system and a different experience than the hiking you'll likely be doing on the Osa. You will see some of the same animals, but I personally can never get enough monkeys or sloths! Sunset tours does an excellent job.

Thank you girls. You're a great help. Based on your advice, we'll do both. We have 3 nites in Arenal so I will definitely include Cano Negro. Fit in Eco Termales for an evening. Maybe Hanging Bridges or SkyTrek depending hoe thw kids feel about that. Is there a nite hike on Arenal? I hear the horseback ride at Los Lagos is okay as well.

On the Osa end, has anyone done Matapalo charter fishing? I may be interested in that. Other than that, the wildlife refuge and some hiking, what else can you recommend? Staying at Casa Bambu which I think Shill mentioned is near BDC. Thanks again.

Hi Hans,

With 3 nights in Arenal, Cano Negro will fit into your schedule nicely. You'll be back around 3:00-ish in the afternoon, and could visit the hot springs that evening if you like.

We ended up doing both Hanging Bridges and Sky Trek on the same day and that worked well for us.

I'm not sure about night hikes, but if the skies are clear as evening arrives, you'll definitely want to head to whichever side of the volcano the lava's current flowing on to try and catch the show.

I have not done a fishing charter, but the Osa seems to be a good place to line one up.

I believe Casa Bambu is down on Pan Dulce Beach. It would be a fairly quick drive by car to BdC, but a bit of a trek on foot (I think it took us almost an hour to hike to that area from BdC).

Other than the activities you mention, you can probably arrange various boat tours on the Gulfo Dulce. We did the wildlife refuge combined with dolphin watching and a trip to a mangrove area, so you could probably look for something like that if you're interested. Hiking and beach will probably keep you fairly busy for much of your time. It's a gorgeous area! Enjoy!

The only night hikes I know of in Arenal are to go out and see the lava. We did a volcano hike and then took shuttles out to near Arenal Observatory Lodge to check out the lava flow. It was so neat, but then we got hit by a downpour, so didn't get to see much. I was just as content to enjoy the view from our balcony and watch the flow from there.

You guys are so helpful... again, thanks a bunch. Another question (get used to them until Feb.). Volcanogirl... you had mentioned Sunset Tours and they look like a fine outfit, but I've also been looking into Desafio as they get raves on Trip Advisor and rates seem to be a heck of alot cheaper than Sunset. For example, Cano Negro runs about 85.00 for Sunset and 53.00 or so for Desafio. Quite a difference when travelling with 5. If anyone can offer up info on Desafio and other tour companies, that would be great. Thank you so much. Oh yeah... another question. Is it necessary to go with a tour guide for the Hanging Bridges?

Hi there! We stayed at Los Lagos and our kids loved it! Of all the places we went and stayed at in CR it was our kids absolute favorite! You mentioned the horseback ride there, we did that and I would recommend it. However when we went it was raining and very cloudy, so we had absolutely no volcano view whatsoevery. There is one point where you stop at the observation point on their property and can view the volcano - we saw nothing at all. And due to the rain the ride was exceptionally long, too long to be honest - but we certainly got our money's worth! But the guides were very good, especially with the kids and the horses seemed to be in very good condition. Los Lagos also has their own zip lines on their property which we did and really enjoyed.

As for a guide at Hanging Bridges, we didn't do a tour package, which will cost you more - but if you have a car or get a taxi, you can drive there your self and just pay for a guide right at the window where you pay for your tickets. This will cost less, and the guide will help you to spot a lot more wildlife and explain a lot about the ecosystem and about the region in general.

Have a great trip!

We didn't hire a guide at the Hanging Bridges, but if we went back, I would. We had a nice hike, but the only wildlife we saw were ants! People who have hired guides have seen howlers, vipers, etc. No guarantee, but it will greatly increase your odds of seeing some wildlife like Shell said. Regarding Sunset Tours prices, did you look at the Rio Frio prices or the wildlife refuge prices? There are two sets on their website. We did the cheaper one, the Rio Frio which starts at $55, but it varies by what hotel you stay at. Check out their website for info. I'm sure Desafio would be fine, but we love Sunset Tours.

Hi Hans,

I think that Desafio generally has a good reputation, so they'd probably do a good job for you.

We did both Cano Negro and the Hanging Bridges with Sunset Tours and found them to be very professional, knowledgeable and interesting.

As VG notes, there are different Cano Negro tours available. We paid about 50$ when we went 2 years ago. We booked through our hotel and Sunset was the group they used. We were very satisfied! We saw our first monkeys and sloths on that tour and it was just wonderful!

Us, too! Do you remember how exciting it was to see your first monkey? I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a mad dash for the camera.

Desafio is a good company so I think you'd be fine with them. That said, as vgirl mentioned you might be comparing 2 different tours. Not sure.

In Osa one year we combined the dolphin watch/snorkel with the wildlife sanctuary. They used to tow you behind the boat on a rope with a boogie board and you could go underwater with a mask and see all the dolphins swimming around you. They don't do this anymore. Also, the snorkeling isn't that great.

Another year we combined mangrove kayaking with the wildlife sanctuary, that was also a good combo.

It was just me and my daughter these trips and she had a fabulous time with everything we did so I know you will have a great time as well! She definitely enjoyed every minute in the pools at Los Lagos that we weren't out doing something else.

Please post back about Casa Bambu. It sounds like a great place as glover stayed there a while back. Have a great trip!

I was absolutely beside myself, when I saw my first monkey, VG! It was a major highlight in a week full of highlights on my first CR trip; a big part of the reason I ended up falling in love with the country.

I still remember our conversation, "Is that a monkey?! Look, a monkey!!!"

Okay... I have something else. Desafio's offers something called "Volunteering at the Proyecto Asis animal shelter". I thought it would be a cool thing for the kids to do although I've never paid 45.00 to "volunteer" for anything.

Looking forward to seeing lots of monkeys. My only trip to CR was in the Montezuma area and a couple days at the Peace Lodge. Didn't think I saw the best of what CR has to offer as far as wildlife goes but I really loved the country. Now I'm expecting lots in Osa. Need to see many monkeys, birds, at least one anteater and maybe some ...... fireflies. That's right.Fireflies. I wanna sit in front of my casa at nite with a cerveza and watch critters. Getting real psyched and you guys have been a big help. Can't thank you enough. Now i just need to keep this secret from the kids til Christmas.

Hans, we saw tons of fireflies at the Peace Lodge; that was neat for me because I had never seen them before. We saw an anteater in Arenal and another one in the Osa. They are pretty neat to see. In the Osa, we saw all 4 kinds of monkeys pretty readily. You'll get your best shot at the wildlife there.

Wow, I didn't know your trip was a secret!!! Is it a Christmas present?

I've spent 10 days in the Osa and I still haven't seen a darn anteater. I guess I'll add that to my list for next June! But like vgirl says all 4 species of monkeys and tons of other wildlife and birds. I had so many wonderful encounters I can't wait to go back!

I haven't volunteered at Proyecto Asis but I've been there. We went on the Desafio "cultural" tour that takes you there, plus a woman's coop and an organic farm/lodge (Nuevo Arenal I think) for lunch and organic/herb-medicinal garden tour. We really enjoyed the tour (11 year old daughter and me). I would choose that over volunteering only because they didn't have that many animals they were rehabilitating then. But who knows now...The women's coop was very interesting as was the garden. The spoonbills are one of my favorite birds and there was an abundance of adults and babies all around the swamp so that was a highlight!

Anteater. . .thinking the same as hip. We saw one once at Cabo Blanco Reserve near Montezuma. Only time in all these years in Costa Rica. . .saw a small one on Pipeline Road in Panama.

Maybe you'll get lucky!