Can anyone give me advice as to whether we should book our planned activities for our stay in Arenal through the hotel or would we save money by booking on our own? We want to river raft, hike the volcano, zipline and do the hanging bridges. We will be in Costa Rica from the 2nd through the 10th of June. Thanks for any suggestions.

You don't need to book the hanging bridges. If you have a rental car, you can drive there from your hotel in the Arenal area. If you're staying at Lost Iguana, the hanging bridges are at the end of the road on the same property.

We booked our hike of the volcano thru the hotel reception desk. We like to choose our activity a day or two before.

I haven't been there yet myself, but I hear it is cheaper to book the activities on your own directly through the tour company. But I guess it really comes down to how planned you want the trip to be prior to arriving.

I too had heard we could save by booking directly, but I cannot find a direct link to any of the rafting companies. It looks like we must either book through a tour company or the hotel. In that case, does anyone know if there is a big difference in savings? The rafting trip we are looking at is on www.arenal.net on the Sarapiqui, 5 1/2 hrs It runs $70. Has anyone done this one?

maryontherim,

Here are links for a few rafting companies
http://www.exploradoresoutdoors.com/
http://www.riostropicales.com/
http://www.amigosdelrio.net/

If you knew the name of some others you could probbly find their sites and contact info.

I actually don't think you will save that much money - if any - booking directly.

raquel

Thanks Raquel. The links you provided look like they will be very helpful. Has anyone had any experience with any of these companies?

In my experience, you'll save a FEW bucks by booking directly, but in most cases probably not enough to make it worth the hassle...especially if you change your mind at the last minute.

Rafting might worth the effort to book in advance, but volcano hikes & ziplining are easily booked through your hotel the day before you go. I agree w/ Mixter603 on the bridges, you can hire a guide there if you'd like...just show up any time.

VERY easy and convenient to book through the hotel. I'd agree the few extra bucks (and it wouldn't be much, if ANY) is worth it just for the convenience. We always do it that way. Especially at Arenal. Last summer, when we checked in at Arenal Observatory Lodge, we already knew we wanted to check out Baldi Hot Springs and do the Cano Negro tour. We booked them both. In hind sight, we could've just walked into Baldi, but I think we actually got a discount by booking early with the hotel. Letting the hotel book the Cano Negro trip (a don't miss!) was definitely the way to go. . .hope this helps. Lots of ways to do it. I usually opt for convenient unless it is just unreasonably more expensive that way.

Well, after contacting several companies regarding rafting, it seems that it's at least a 2 hour ride from Arenal to the launch site. Does anyone know of a company that provides an all day rafting excursion any closer? We're interested in a class III - IV.

i don't know if you have tried Deafio yet. They ofer rafting closer to Arenal.

Thanks so much, Kencolian - I think Desafio is exactly what we are looking for!!