I'm sure you've seen more than my fair share of posts lately, but I truly am lost. I'm starting to get really discouraged with my planning.

Ok. First of all, let me tell you our plan so far:

Day 1 Arrive at around 10:45. Rent car. Hopefully be on road by 1:00. Arrive at Arenal Paraiso around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. Get a bite to eat, then head over to the hot springs at night.

Day 2 Arenal- Do the hanging bridges and something else. Not sure what yet? (rafting? canopy?, volcano tour?)

Day 3 Peace Lodge- Drive to Peace lodge and spend the day in the La Paz waterfall park

Day 4 Peace Lodge- Maybe go rafting(?) Or zip lining?

Day 5 Peace Lodge-Poas volcano and coffee factory

Day 6-Drive back to San Jose in morning for flight at 2:00pm


Ok, first of all. As I posted before, my husband is 300 lbs. I have read conflicting things on whether he'll be able to zip line. I have emailed a bunch of tour companies and not heard back from a single one, so that's up in the air. I've basically given up on that idea since I can't seem to get a straight answer. So, I figure rafting would be nice, but I can't seem to get an anwer as to whether the Sarapiqui will be open to class III rafting in April.

I considered the Pacuare River, but can't seem to figure out how to fit it in. It seems like we'd have to spend two days somewher in between just to raft. I'll consider any suggestions you have.

I guess the other thing we can try is postponing our trip to a time when the river will be higher, but we also don't want to get washed out and would love to see Arenal erupt.

Please help me. I started out this planning with so much excitement, but everywhere I turn there seems to be another stumbling block. I'm about to throw in the towel. I'm starting to think maybe CR isn't for us. My husband being large means we can't zip line or horseback ride, and I'm thinkg even repel. The other fun activity we could think of, whitewater rafting, may not be possible in April (at least not near by). I could really use some honest advice.

Thanks,
Mo

[email protected]

First, stop fretting. Costa Rica is a truly wonderful place.

Have you already made your reservations for a vehicle and lodging? If so, that is enough. All the tours will be available once you arrive. Don't try to prebook tours, there really is no need. And who knows, once you arrive, what you will really want to do!

I hope you get answers about the water level and weight issues and wish I could help.

If you have a site that has a phone number to call and ask your questions, that might be best. Be patient with the email - sometimes it gets lost back and forth along the way and sometimes it is only read every once in a while.

Mo, I'm sorry to hear of the problems you've been having planning your trip, but don't give up on Costa Rica. It has been my experience that businesses in Costa Rica are terrible about responding to E-mail. Maybe they are so overwhelmed with requests for information, maybe the E-mail doesn't get there, or maybe they're just lackadaisical about it. (And I think it's often the latter in many cases.) I'm not trying to excuse it, but it is a problem.

You can still participate in some of the activities you mention in your itinerary. You can still go to the springs at Tabacon. You can still see Arenal erupt. You can still visit a coffee plantation. One of the underrated tours that you can do out of La Fortuna is a visit to the Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge. (Sunset Tours or Desafio do a very nice day-long tour of the refuge. Their offices are in the center of town.)

Dear Mo,
I agree with the other post. Don't let any of the tour issues made you upset. There are just tons of things to do here. The Caño Negro tour is a great idea.

My husband was a large man, too. Sometimes we could not go horseback riding or on specific tours because of his height and weight. But, we found lots of other things to do that were wonderful. In Costa Rica we have something for everyone!

The tours for Paquare leave out of San Jose.

Write to [email protected]

Let me see if I can fit things in for you to do more of what you want to do.
And leave a few blanks in case there are some things at last minute that interest you.

hopabout

I wholeheartedly second Jeff's suggestion of the Cano Negro Refuge tour. We saw so much wildlife! Your husband would have no problem with any aspect of that tour. It's all day, as it includes a drive almost to the Nicaragua border - very interesting.

Oh please don't fret. Don't worry. Just plan your trip as far as hotels and transportation. You can plan your tours after you get there. It's much better that way. All hotels have the tours posted with great explanations as to what level of activity it is. My husband has had 2 heart attacks and 6 stents opening blockages in arteries. He loves Costa Rica. My husband says don't worry. You can rent taxi's to take you everywhere. He says just go to Costa Rica, relax, have a good time. You don't have to do all the physical things everyone talks about. Just enjoy the people, food and beverages. Decide what you want to do when you get there. Or do nothing but relax.

I admit that I'm just about to take my first trip to CR, so no expert, but I'm wondering what others would think of the following options for days 4 or 5 while they are based at the Peace Lodge:

Visit to Selva Verde w/a float trip or whitewater trip on the Sarapiqui River.

Tour the towns of Grecia, Sarchi, Zarcero.

Tour of the Orosi Valley & Lancaster Gardens.

Braulio Carillo National Park and ride on the Aerial Tram.

Big thumbs up to all of your ideas. Absolutely all good stuff. The only one I would hestitate to recommend is the aerial tram. Haven't done it, but have heard you don't see any wildlife because the tram itself and all the activity surrounding it has scared the wildlife away. So basically it is just a ride for tourists and nothing more. That doesn't appeal to me. However, driving through Braulio Carillo is a nice experience. Beautiful. If I had time, I wouldn't turn down the aerial tram--it just wouldn't be high on my list. Orosi Valley is gorgeous.

The last and first time we went to CR we did not do any canopy things at all because one of our guides said we wouldn't see any wildlife on those things. Some people pack so many tours and things into their trips that it would be overwhelming to me. I need time to sit back and relax a bit. Also the costs of tours add up for our family of four. My suggestion is to go, pick and chose what you want to do and don't worry about it. You won't want to or have time to everything anyway. I think you have quite a lot planned now. Go and have fun, and don't worry! You're going to have a blast.

Thanks everyone. Ok. So last night I decided to take a minute and breathe. I think it doesn't help that my husband isn't great at planning trips. If I don't take over we always end up with disasters. I finally reached Peace Lodge and they ahve availability for April 28-30. But it seems silly to me to spend close to an extra $100 when I can just go 1-3 or something. So I will be calling again. I got an answer from the zip line guy who says the issue is more waist size (harness size)than weight. That makes much more sense. He says they go up to a size 42 or XXL. My hubby is hovering around 44. But I'm going to see if we can get his butt in gear and maybe he can lose some weight by then. If not, we have both decided not to be too dispappointed. We found a tour company in La Fortuna to do white water rating with. We can't do the Peace Lodge one because it involves starting off on horseback. But anyway. Things are falling a little better into place. I feel much better now that I know we can do rafting from La Fortuna, and don't have to try to fit in Pacuare. I aprreciate all your help and encouragement!!! Thanks for helping me calm down!!

mosey--there's no reason that you can't do the canopy tour if your hubby can't. Mrs. Fly and I enjoy many of the same interests while travelling, but we also have some things one enjoys but the other doesn't. It doesn't bother us to be separated for a few hours to fulfill individual interests.