Can those of you who have been to CR give me some advice on where to book what tours? They will be going to Peace Lodge, Arenal & Manuel Antonio. It seems like each area offers some of the same kind of tours. Where is the best, not neccessarily the most expensive place to book each activity? I know the forum posters recommend Sunset Tours for Cano Negro. What area is best for booking the ZipLine and raft trips? They also want to horseback ride and I guess surf lessons are for MA? What should they do from Peace Lodge that is best seen from there? I hope my question isn't dumb. CR looks amazing and I think my DH and I should go sometime, and by then I'll have lots more info. Thanks in advance.

We just got back from the Peace Lodge and did a nice tour there that was a combo of going to Poas Volcano and then to the Doka Coffee Plantation - both were excellent. Sometimes Poas is enshrouded in fog, but we got there early and got to see it and really enjoyed it. At the plantation, we learned all about the different kinds of coffee, tasted them, and got to go out in the field and pick some beans. The grounds are really pretty.

Our favorite things in Arenal are the Sunset Tours Cano Negro trip and doing the hot springs and dinner at Eco Termales. We did our zipline in Monteverde, but I'd go to SkyTrek in Arenal; it's one of the best.

Most people do the Pacuare rafting trip that leaves out of San Jose.

In MA, they could go to the national park where there's a very pretty beach and lots of wildlife. Also Finca Valmy is popular for horseback riding and also the Damas mangrove tour.

Thank you, Vgirl, you must really know Costa Rica. One last question for now. I was reading Manuel Antonio hotel reviews and some said driving and parking may be a problem. Do you believe that having a car is the best and most economical way for them to get from site to site? I realize once they get ( to where they're going ) they can park the car for the duration of their stay. Thanks in advance.

Most people don't take a car to Manuel Antonio; things are very close together, so we walked almost everywhere we wanted to go; also taxis are easy to get, and there's also a cheap public bus system. We took a cab ride to a restaurant that was pretty far out, and it only cost us 5 dollars. We just didn't feel the need to have a car there. You can just ask the hotel or restaurant to call you a cab - pretty easy and save us $.

Hi zwho,

VG has already given terrific advice (she always does ).

I'll just add that the Peace Lodge grounds (formally known as La Paz Waterfall Gardens), will keep them occupied for several hours, so doing any side-excursions from the Peace Lodge will depend on how many nights they plan to spend there. If they only have one night, the grounds might keep them plenty busy; if they have 2 nights, VG's suggestion of Poas and Doka is excellent.

I'll second the vote for ziplining at SkyTrek in Arenal. Lots of fun!

We actually did have a car in MA. You could definitely get by without one, but we enjoyed the freedom of going wherever we wanted to go. It's personal preference more than anything else... We didn't have issues with parking, but we also didn't travel during peak tourist season. They'll be able to get around the area just fine either way they choose.

Thank you for all your help. Volcano girl, I so appreciate your advice and Cmerrell, your input is helping me become an armchair sage on Costa Rica! I have never been to Latin America, so I can only compare with how we do trips to Europe. Would it make any sense for them to rent a car when they arrive at the airport, and then return it in MA? I don't know distances except, I hear it's not a large country. How to they get back to the airport or San Jose to fly home? Is the public transport system good? Private drivers, taxis, or shuttles? I don't know what the best option is as far as distance & price. I know they want to be on their own and take tours as needed, but not travel with a group. As always, thank you in advance.

All good advice here. As far as transportation, it really depends on you. There's no shuttle to Peace Lodge so you can arrange a x-fer through them to take you from SJO to Peace Lodge to Arenal, and then take Interbus from Arenal to MA to SJO, or use intra-country flights with Sansa or Nature Air, or rent a car. Those are some options. Depends on how adventurous you want to be or have the peace of mind of just having someone else drive. We've always used Interbus and Sansa, but will be renting a car next trip. If there are more than 2-3 people, sometimes even a private driver comes close to the cost of Interbus.

Do the hotels in Arenal & Manuel Antonio have parking lots? I think my son is fine with the driving, no matter the conditions. I think it's just more of a question of will there be places to leave the car once they arrive at an area like Manuel Antonio, and what will it cost them to park? If they sign up for day tours the car is'nt necessary, but nice to have if they want to move on or explore another area on a whim. I just don't want the car to be an albatross, when they don't need it!

cm, that's a great point. This was our second trip to the Peace Lodge, so we had done the grounds before, but you can easily spend a day hiking to their 5 waterfalls and then seeing the aviary, ranarium, serpentarium, the cats, and the butterfly house. At night, there's a nocturnal frog tour that's really fun because the frogs are active and moving around. When we were there last, you could even hold them, and we got some great pictures, but they seem to have changed their policy on that.

Even if they have a car in MA, they'd probably be better off leaving it parked, especially if they go to the beach. The bus goes by the main road every 20 minutes and is only about .30 each way. Even a taxi to there or dinner somewhere would only be a few bucks. That way they won't have to worry about parking and the various ad hoc security guys. If they venture further South, say to Dominical for a day trip, make sure they leave nothing in the car (well that applies for anywhere!)

Hi zwho,

Most hotels will have guest parking, and none of the places we've stayed at have charged additional for that (always pays to ask in advance though).

I remember reading your initial post, but don't recall when they would be visiting CR. If they'll be there between mid-December to end of April, parking at popular attractions might be more of a pain because that's peak tourist season. We didn't have any trouble finding spaces during the shoulder season; even at the MA national park entrance.

All of the transportation options Hip mentioned in her post are good viable options. The interbus shuttle may be the least expensive, if they're not set on having their own car.

If they do drive themselves, driving times will be as follows:

SJO to Peace Lodge: ~1 hour
Peace Lodge to Arenal: ~3-3.5 hours
Arenal to MA: ~5-6 hours
MA to SJO: ~3-3.5 hours

Tully's tip about never leaving anything of value in the car while they're off exploring is important. Car break-ins are fairly common, but can be easily avoided by not offering the temptation of things worth stealing being left in plain sight.

The drives are generally very picturesque and enjoyable, but not without the occasional adventure of taking the wrong turn and being overtaken by impatient Tico drivers!

There are pros and cons to every transportation option, but all of them will work admirably. Once again, largely about personal preference!

Costa Rica is a wonderful, beautiful country. You and your DH really should plan your own visit in the near future! ;-)

Hipvirgochick, Tully and Cmerrell, all I can say is thank you for this education. I guess you could tell my next question would be about time & distance and maybe they should consider flying. It's a lot of info that I need to research. Things are not real close, huh? Maybe they should think about ALL their transportation options. I would hate for them to spend lots of time getting from place to place, especially if they end up getting lost on their way. What a waste of time!

z, one thing about flying - NatureAir and Sansa limit the weight of the luggage you can bring on so they would have to pack light. We hired private drivers through our hotels, so that's another option for you too. We paid $120 to go from SJO to Arenal and $180 to go from Arenal to Manuel Antonio to give you an idea of costs.

Arenal to MA would be the longest leg, so they could rent a car in SJO and use it for La Paz/Arenal portion and Arenal and leave in Fortuna, fly to MA, Interbus to SJO. The roads for those segments are good, just a little windy at times.