My kids have decided to honeymoon in CR and I am trying to gather info for them. I have already received invaluable advice on this Forum and know I'll get the best answers here. 1st question is, should they book activities tours like the zip line and raft trips and horseback riding on the internet or wait until they get there? This will be in the latter half of November. We are trying to contain costs, but still give them everything they want. Are there any web sites that have budget or less expensive hotels, that still have plenty of charm? They want to stay at Peace Lodge for a day or 2, but then find inexpensive alternatives that still have something besides price going for them. The truth about driving? They can do it, it will give them freedom, but is there an easier or less expensive way? They have pretty much decided to break the honeymoon up into San Jose for a day when they arrive and a day before they go home, then Arenal for 3 days and ManuelAntonio for 3 days. Should they use the Peace Lodge for the 1st and last day in San Jose? And then a hotel in Arenal and 1 in MA? Any good budget suggestions are welcome, but remember we want charm and beauty! My husband and I have never been to Costa Rica, but we go to Europe and always find great little family owned small hotels that cost a third of the 4 star American style places. I think the kids would like something comparable to those. Last question (for now), what is Cana Negro Tour? Thanks in advance.

How about this:

Day 1: Arrive, check into the Peace Lodge, check out the waterfall gardens (if they arrive in SJO before noon).

Day 2: Do the waterfall garden and Poas, then head on out to Arenal

Days 3 and 4: Stay in Arenal area

Day 5: Drive to Manuel Antonio

Days 6 and 7: Manuel Antonio

Day 8: Drive to Orquideas Inn for last night.

For a first night/last night option, the Orquideas Inn is very nice option at about $100-200 cheaper per night. It's about 15 minutes away from the airport. It's not a luxury place like the Peace Lodge, but it probably has better food.

Alternatively, they could do the first night at the Orquideas, do Poas on the way out to Arenal the next day, and then do the Peace Lodge and waterfall gardens their last day after Manuel Antonio.

Cano Negro is a marshland renowned for having all kinds of wildlife--TONS of birds, plus lizards (Iguanas and basilisks) caimans, and 2-3 different species of monkeys.

Oops. Forgot to add that Cano Negro is a full day tour that departs out of the Arenal area--you leave at 7:00 and get back by 4:30 or so. An ideal combo is to do a hot springs for that evening.

You might check out Silencio del Campo in Arenal/La Fortuna; it gets loads of great reviews. Maybe Costa Verde, Villas Nicolas, or Mango Moon in Manuel Antonio. I'd recommend using tripadvisor.com to see pics and read the reviews to see what fits their likes and dislikes.

The Cano Negro tour is one of our favorite things in CR. We've done it twice, and I would do it again and again. We always use Sunset Tours - great operator. You take their nice, air-conditioned van for about 2 hours, board a covered boat, and go up and down the Rio Frio wildlife refuge to view howlers, capuchins, sloths, caimans, and lots of birds - it's a great trip for spotting wildlife.

vgirl makes good suggestions. I'd throw in a plug for the Arenal Observatory Lodge. There's no place like it in terms of location and view.

For me car rental off airport when you first get there drive to Peace
Lodge for a night or two.Poas volcano in AM maybe Doka Coffee plantation then to Arenal.

Silencio Del Campo moderate choice
well rated in the area.Royal Corin
from $150 or Lost Iguana a bit more
but more luxury.AOL more of an ecocamp expereience up several miles
of rattly potholed hardpack road.

www.costaverde.com nice moderate choice close to overlooking MA.

www.thealtahotel.com nice boutique
hotel in Escazu overlooking the
central valley pretty close to the
airport from $100 booked on expedia.

Forgot recent bad experience 2 weeks ago at Orchideas was shown 2 rooms everything shabby smelled like mildew including sheets A/C in 2 rooms not working sadly had to make arrangements to stay somewhere else.So be careful there...

The bigger rooms are very nice at the Orquideas--we stayed in a superior room for $100/night and found it perfectly nice.

Thank you RAC (that's my DH's initials) Vgirl and qwovadis. You have given me some great itinerary and lodging suggestions to pass on to them. Can they book when they get there or should they do it now? And even the hotels, how busy is CR in mid November? Can they book the 1st and last night Lets say Peace Lodge and Orquideas and just find quaint places in Arenal & MA as they need them, or it that just a bad idea? Just curious? Thanks again.

They are very popular areas. I would book ahead.

Book as early as you can. MA and especially Arenal are VERY popular destinations.

One other suggestion: book the flights first, and then finalize the itinerary. Peace Lodge for the first day makes a lot more sense if you arrive at 10:00 am than it does if you arrive at 6:00 pm.

My husband & I were in Costa Rica last year & loved every moment of it. We rented a small SUV & can't imagine being without a car. The roads were not as bad as people posted with a few exceptions. They just don't seem to think road signs or directions are all that important.
We stayed at Costa Verde in MA. It was wonderful--huge rooms, great pool & a killer view of the ocean. We spent many hours on our deck which was also huge (with 4 great rocking chairs & table) & could watch the ocean & listen to the howler monkeys. The restaurant there was good as well. At Arenal we stayed at Arenal Paraisio which was great. Our cabin was right in front of the volcano & again those great rocking chairs. The gardens were wonderful & they have about a dozen hot springs pools that we loved. Most of the time we had them to ourselves. They also had a zipline which we did & had great fun. We did the hanging bridges with our guide Anna. It was fascinating. We saw a boa constrictor & green viper (and I hate snakes) but was a great site. People that went without a guide saw very little. It was well worth it. Our favorite restaurant in La Fontana was Choza del Laurel. Our last day we spent at Vista de Valle which is near San Jose. What a wonderful place. We had a little bungalow with outdoor shower & a bridge over a stream filled with koi. Obsolutely delightful & great restaurant w/ lots of fruit.
For more info, I did post a travelog last year. We covered a huge area & had one of the best trips of our lives.

Thanks again, for all your info. We have decided the kids will come over Sunday, read these posts and probably look for a flight and then they can read idahospuds trip report and any others on CR, and I think I'll run out and get them a travel guide book. Questions will probably start turning up again, once they know more about Costa Rica,

Oh, then don't miss my trip reports! Three times, with kids, so a very different trip than they're planning, but lots of pictures and links. http://www.markandmonica.com/travel.htm

You will want to book the stay at Peace Lodge very soon. We are staying there in late November, but we have been booked since May.

They should be able to handle the driving. They're kids, right? Maybe someone struggling for gift ideas could get them a good map and a guidebook.

I wouldn't book activities ahead. You tend to change your mind after talking with others plus it is nice to check out the weather and see what you feel up for. The more popular trips can be arranged a day or two in advance. There are many tour companies/desks in the resorts or in shopping areas where you can make arrangements.

A camera with zoom is an especially nice thing to have for Cano Negro.

Yes, definitely book Peace Lodge ASAP; I booked 4 or 5 months ahead and got the very last room they had. I had wanted just a standard, but all they had left was one deluxe which upped our price. Good luck!