My friend and I are 2 women in their early 30s who are planning an 8-day tour of CR and wanted some input on the following itin. and hotels. This is our 1st time to CR and want to have a lot of activity w/ some R&R at the end:

Day 1 Mar10 - SJO travel by bus to Fortuna (stay at Palo Verde, 3 nights)
Day 2 - canyoning in the AM (puretrek.com) + spa OR mtn biking in the PM (bikearenal.com)
Day 3 - whitewater rafting (full day)(desafiocostarica.com)

Day 4 Mar 13 - travel jeep-boat-jeep to Monteverde, arrive 12noon (stay at La Colina, 1 night)
combined skytrek/walk tour in the afternoon, night tour of cloud forest

Day 4 Mar 14 - travel by bus to Tambor, taxi to Sta. Teresa (stay at Casa Zen or Tropico Latino)
Day 5 & 6 - surf, relax, etc.

Day 7 Mar 17 - travel by Sansa from Tambor to SJO to EWR

Is this feasible or overly ambitious? Is Monteverde worth the 1 day or should we spend it in Arenal?
Thanks for your help!!

Although Monteverde was my favorite place in Costa Rica, I would NOT go there if I only had 1 day there, for 2 reasons. First, the best time in the Monteverde Cloud forest reserve is the early morning, and you would miss that on a day-trip. Second, the road to Monteverde is so rough, you need 3 nights in Monteverde to make the trip worth-while.

I didn't stay in your hotels. We liked the Lost Iguana resort in Arenal and would stay there again.

My family did the Puretrek canyoning and it was a unique experience. I think it is good you are going in the am. They went at noon and the guides were behind schedule by then, and so rushed everyone. You will get wet.

If you have time, the Sky Trek/Sky Tram zip-lines are also great, and they are cheaper than the Puretrek Canyoning.

Have fun.

We were in Monteverde 2 nights and didn't feel it was enough time to enjoy everything and justify the difficulty of getting there. Agree with Melissa. I'd spend an extra day at Arenal. Thought about the full day Cano Negro tour? It gets great reviews.

I would probably spend that extra day in Arenal also. That way you give yourself an extra day. We spent 3 full days/4 nights in Arenal at the beg. of Feb. and we liked that amount of time. We would do an activity in the late morning and then would have the rest of the afternoon to relax.

Have you explored the option of driving back to San Jose and then taking a flight over to Tambor? It will reduce drive time and you will have more time to relax on the beach.

I have been to CR twice with my husband and we are bringing our kids in April. I now feel I can offer valuable input! We went on the PURETREK canyoning trip in December. It was fantastic. I would NOT schedule another physically demanding activity that same day. You have to hike out of the canyon and my legs were shaking by the end. We stayed at Lost Iguana this past time and it was ok but the service was terrible. Dinner reminded me of mediocre large hotels for buffets, and the staff was very inattentive. Nice people at front desk but incompetent. We are staying at La Mansion in April- it is now rated first in Arenal on tripadvisor. If it is too pricey for your budget, go on tripadvisor.com and read reviews before you choose Lost Iguana. The positive review is rumored to be written by the owner's sister. Other reviews are tearing it apart- I don't think the owner is going to make it in the long run. Good luck- you will have a blast.

Do an extra night in Arenal. Sometimes it takes that long to really get a good view of the mountain (the weather is very fickle) and it's definitely worth the wait. There's plenty to do around Anrenal with horseback riding, hot springs (Tabacon is recommended, although touristy), and canopy tours. Don't miss the hanging bridges.