I've read many reviews on this tour, mostly positive but here's my dilemna(s). The books say it can be very dry until November and less wildlife to be seen. This confuses me since I thought it was currently rainy season. (we'll be there 2 weeks from today). Does anyone know the current conditions of water / wildlife there? Also, we will be driving from SJ and also over to MA Park. The thought of a 2 hour bus trip is not that appealling to my family and they think it will be boring sitting in a boat for 2-3 hours just "looking" at stuff. We will tour MA PArk so is the wildlife much different. Are there any trips that would offer similar experience with out the long drive? We'll be at Arenal Observatory Lodge and will have a car. Thanks much!

You're riding in a nice air-conditioned van, not a bus, so it's a pretty comfortable ride. They break up the drive by stopping at the Iguanas restaurant so you can get a snack, use the restroom, etc. The trees are full of huge iguanas there so good photo op. When we were there a couple of months ago, a baby howler came down from the trees and got very close to us. It even shook hands with a little boy. The Cano Negro tour has always been great when we've done it. We've seen howlers, capuchins, spider monkeys, cool birds, caimans, etc. but if your family doesn't want to sit in a boat and look at stuff, then I probably wouldn't do it because that's what Cano Negro is.

MA Park has a ton of wildlife, but it's the kind of wildlife that is very used to people, so doesn't exactly act wild. I always say the monkeys there will steal your potato chips, and they know how to open them. Very touched by civilization, but also very easy to spot. We've seen 15 people with camera flash bulbs surrounding one monkey. Cano Negro is a much more wild atmosphere where the animals act naturally, and it's fun to see what you can spot. The boat is covered, and they offer cold drinks. You have lunch together afterwards.

If you don't think your family would enjoy it, you could check out a mangrove tour in Manuel Antonio - same ride in a boat, but the wildlife isn't as prevalent there.

It is rainy season now for this area - Mayish to Novemberish. Not sure why a book would say it's dry.

Not sure of the ages of your family, but they might like a white water rafting trip as well. We did one with Rios Tropicales that was great.

www.desafiocostarica.com

lots of other tour options

Rio Celeste www.ruralcostarica.com is awesome

or rafting rapelling liquid lava closer in.

www.tripadvisor.com/members/natureguide best MA guide

get your wildlife fix with a park maybe mangrove tour

Plenty there skip Cano Negro...

If Cano Negro doesn't sound appealing to you, then maybe you should skip it since it's a pretty full day. However, as you can see by the numerous posts of families, couples and singles, pretty much everyone has nothing but wonderful things to report back. My 10 year old loved it. The wildlife will vary, the migratory birds start coming in December through May. I haven't been this time of year so I don't know how it compares with dry season.

Two of our favorite things are being out on the water and spotting wildlife, so for us, it's great. If it's not your thing, it's okay to skip. Arenal has plenty to keep you busy - volcano, waterfall, rafting, ziplines, Hanging Bridges, hot springs - you can definitely fill up your time.

It is a long trip even for adults. The iguanas in the trees at the restaurant break are amazing. We took the tour in Jan. and didn't see a lot of wild life up close, other than caiman. We spent a lot of time trying to spot animals and birds. In MA in March we saw lots of wildlife; monkey troops, a herd of anteaters, sloths, birds, a boa constrictor. At the beach we encountered the "tame" monkeys trying to steal any food they could and almost posing for photo ops. Since you are already doing so much driving I would opt out of the CN trip.

rpowell - A "herd" of anteaters? Wow! That's cool! Were they in the trees or walking?

I thought the same thing - a "herd" - I've only seen them individually and even that was really cool. I'd love to see a herd!