We are 10 days out from our trip now, (yay!) and I am finalizing our tours.

1. We have a 6 year old son, and we want to take a canopy tour in Arenal/La Fortuna. Does anyone have a favorite? What is best, safest, and most fun for a little guy? I am thinking about Arenal Paraiso Canopy, which has a horseback riding before the canopy part.

2 Is there a best company for a mangrove tour in the Manuel Antonio area, or are they all pretty similar? Are tours super busy on Mondays? (that's when we will take ours...)

3. Finally, is there a BETTER tour in MA for a family with a little guy? We will just do one tour there and hang at the park and beach the rest of the time.

Thanks! Katniss

I did canyoning and rafting with Defasio in La Fortuna, Costa Rica, they seemed to be a quality company and really professional. http://www.poweredbytofu.com/2009/02...and-canyoning/

I would suggest doing Manuel Antonio on your own. It's very walkable.

The little guy might like Finca Valmy horseback ride in MA. They are great with families. You can go on your own to MA park, but most people say they spot a ton more wildife with a guide. Check on ages for the canopy tours, for some I think the age limit is 8, but either way he'd probably have to go tandem, not positive on that though.

www.skytrek.com best zip

www.tripadvisor.com/members/natureguide

best MA/Mangrove tours...

have fun,

I don't think SkyTrek will take your son, the age min is 8 years old. I would check around and see the others. Another option is in MA, Canopy Dafari is a lot of fun and will take younger kids. Plus it may not be so daunting to a young child - SkyTrek is a blast but it's over the trees, Canopy Safari is a lot lower and is through the trees.

I would get a guide for the MA park unless you're used to spotting on your own.

Don't know about the Damas tours but I would make sure to choose one that does need feed animals. I know I've read of some in the past that try to heighten the experience by handing out food to the monkeys to get them to crawl on to the boat.

hvc made a good suggestion on Finca Valmy, they are very good and it would be a nice way to see some more of the area. Valentin's horses are so used to doing the route you really don't have to do much except sit there, though since it was just us we did kick it up a notch.

I agree with tully about getting a guide for Manuel Antonio National Park; our guide made it so much more fun for us and spotted things we never would have seen. He also gave us a lot of information about the area and all the animals and provided us with fresh fruit and water. He added a lot to our experience. We went sailing and snorkeling in MA; the sailing was really nice, but the snorkeling left a lot to be desired because of all the sediment in the water. The most popular tours are probably horseback riding with Finca Valmy and the Damas mangrove tours.

Thanks everyone

Get a guide for Manuel Antonio and go in the afternoon --that's when the monkeys come out. II recommend Juan Brenes for that tour and for the mangrove tour.

A must agree that Juan Brenes is THE guy for both the park and the mangrove. He will show you things you couldnot possibly see plus is he is a very nice guy.

How do I get ahold of Juan Brenes?

I've seen his website contact info posted here before, Katniss. Maybe do a search on his name here? Have a wonderful time and be sure to report when you return.

Katniss posted that link for you above...

Juan Brenes is Natureguide he is the best...

www.tripadvisor.com/members/Natureguide

have fun,

Manuel Antonio and the mangroves are both great tours for kids, there is soo much for them to learn about, I always try to make the tour fun for them, if they are happy everybody is happy. The national park is the best place to see wildlife soo please make sure you do the guided tour, you will be very happy with it.
I would like to thank you all of those who always offer my name for tours in Manuel Antonio, I love nature and love to share my knowledge with everybody. Juan L. Brenes. NATUREGUIDE