We are planning a trip to CR in Feb. I was planning the typical Arenal to Monteverde to MA in 8 nights. Now I am thinking about skipping Monteverde and doing the Sarapiqui area instead? Our plane arrives around 1:30pm into San Jose - is Sarapiqui a good starting area or would Arenal be better. We are planning on renting a car. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated! Also, distances between these areas, hotels, activities. Thanks!

We went to Monteverde last visit (14 yrs ago)--and from what I hear it is so much more crowded and built up now. We're going to CR in December and will be spending a night in Sarapiqui at a nature preserve that looks great! Will let you know.

Sarapiqui would be a good starting area. Selva Verde is a nice lodge right on the river. There are others, but I am not familiar with them. With a 1:30 arrival, I think you could arrive there by 6:00 (after nightfall). From there, it would be about 3 hours to Arenal (maybe less, haven't made that particular drive). Then the beach.

I'd suggest 2 nights Sarapiqui area. You could take your time getting to Arenal, because there are things to see on the way. 2 nights Arenal, and 3-4 nights Manuel Antonio.

Three locations in 8 days is a push, but do-able if you don't mind the travel and short stays at your locations. You could also reverse the order. Depending on your departure time, you may need to spend the last night near the airport. If you are scheduled for an afternoon departure, you could return early in the a.m. from Manuel Antonio or Sarapiqui. Enjoy!

Shillmac - thanks for the advice. Do you think skipping Monteverde is OK? Is Sarapiqui similar to Monteverde? It sounds like it, will we be able to do most of what is available in Monteverde? Any thoughts?

One more question - where is the best place/area to stay for the Sarapiqui area?

I can't advise you on which you would enjoy more. We haven't been to Monteverde yet. However, I can tell you that they are not at all alike (with the exception of lots of green). Monteverde is cloud forest, cool, misty, rainy, literally in the clouds. Sarapiqui is on the Caribbean slope. Lowlands, hot, humid. The advantage to Sarapiqui (in my opinion) is that it is very easy to get to and is close to many other places that would be interesting to see (La Paz Waterfall Gardens, Poas Volcano)--it's just a neat part of the country--very typical Costa Rican.

On the other hand, Monteverde has an outstanding canopy tour, etc. The time it takes to drive in and out of there has always discouraged us; and the times we've gone when time wasn't an issue, we've chosen other areas to explore.

I just write from the perspective of believing that the central valley area of Costa Rica is one of its true highlights, and although the Sarapiqui is not exactly central valley, it is an easy-drive extension of it.

Have you ever been to Los Angeles Cloud Forest Reserve? Is that a possibility on our way to Arenal from the Sarapiqui area? Is there a more central area to stay to see the Central Valley area and still do the Sarapiqui area and all the other things around there? Thanks!

A brief lesson on CR. It has many many different facets and I am going to mention just a few. Rainforests, cloud forests, dry forests, central valley, coasts are the most commonly known areas. What you are inquiring about is actually a cloud forest (Monteverde) vs a rain forest (Sarapiqui). I love both and have stayed in both several times. Both are quite moist and very lush and green. Monteverde can be quite cool and windy at times because of its higher elevation. The Sarapiqui area is lower and can be warm and humid.

Travel times will be shorter going to the Sarapiqui and Arenal areas rather than going to Monteverde. I have stayed in different places in the Sarapiqui area...3 lodges and one private home. I really enjoyed the La Quinta de Sarapiqui. The people are just great there and the food always good. Selva Verde does have the option of hiking in its own rainforest area across the river (you can visit that while staying at any of the hotels). La Quinta has some beautiful gardens. Rooms are pretty comparable although they can be noisy in some of the rooms at Selva Verde due to the closeness of the road. La Quinta is set way back with pineapple fields between you and the road. The other lodge we stayed in is just a little distance away from the Sarapiqui area and is Rara Avis. We didn't care for that at all. The trip up to the lodge was awful..they have been talking about fixing it but don't know if they have (don't know, don't care).

Monteverde is also a very special place but considering the shortness of your time, it would add a considerable amount of travel time and you would not get to see as much as you could.

If you really want to see a cloud forest, Los Angeles was mentioned. It is right on the way to Arenal. It is a private forest so there will be a lot fewer tourists. The quetzals, from what I understand, are not in that area although they are working on trying to draw them there.

To finish up, you could just go to the Arenal area and take a day trip to the Sarapiqui area. Less packing and unpacking. Another option for good wildlife viewing from Arenal is the Cano Negro tour.

If you'd like to spend more than one day in the central valley, there are some very nice hotels more centrally located. One that comes to mind is the Hotel Bouganvillea near Heredia. Check it out online. There are several others as well.

Something else you might want to look into is the Highlights of Costa Rica Tour..it is out of San Jose, but it includes many wonderful highlights of the central valley as well as the Sarapiqui area on a 10 hour loop. Excellent guides. The company is Ecoscape Tours. When I took this tour, I was actually staying just outside of San Jose and took a $5 taxi ride in to the Hampton Inn which was a pick-up point for the tour.

While you can do day trips from Arenal to the central valley, you should also know that, conversely, you can base yourself in the central valley and take a day trip (or an overnight trip) to Arenal.

Whatever you decide to do, you are going to enjoy Costa Rica. As I mentioned earlier, it's all green--except Guanacaste in February!

Day trips from the Central Valley are always an option but for optimum chances of seeing the volcano at night (obviously the best time) it is always better to stay there overnight. More nights translate to more chances in case one night is cloudy.

I always prefer to get away from the city and very rarely stay there. To me, CR is not about the cities. I am fortunate to be able to say "been there done that" regarding them. I have been traveling down there for many years and have stayed in SJ and area for just long enough to see what little can be seen from there. This year I did stay in the Alajuela area for a couple of days but had been in the outer areas for over two weeks by then and was heading back out for another 10 days. It is always better to actually stay in the outer areas for a better feel for the natural beauty of the country.

It is not a long drive to get to the Sarapiqui area from Arenal for a day trip if you really want to see that.

Just sharing options!
Everyone is capable of choosing those which appeal personally.

Similar dilema for a 7 night stay. We had the exact same plan of Arenal, Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio. Although we have not gone yet (Nov 2004), we believe skipping Monteverde is a good idea. We are staying in the Sarapiqui area our first night as well -- landing around noon -- and staying at El Bambu (haven't read much about it though). The remaining 6 nights are split 3 Arenal, 3 MA with a drive to San Jose on the morning of our departure. We are also planning to raft the Sarapiqui our first full day, so staying there seemed to cut down driving time. I know I am not an expert (as in I have not visited), but I thought sharing my thoughts may help confirm your idea to skip Monteverde (I too posted my question and received great feedback -- thanks to all of you). I'll be happy to let you know how our trip goes for us!

Mlestock,
I haven't been to Monteverde, but I've read enough about it and talked to enough people to know that, to do it justice, you need at least 3 days. One to get there, one to enjoy, and one to get out! You seem to be comfortable with your decision, and I think it is a good one. The important thing is not to cram in as much as possible, but to enjoy each place you choose to visit without feeling rushed.

We hope to go to Monteverde one day, and, in fact, couldn've done so during our month in CR this past summer. However, we chose to do things a little differently and visited the cloud forest area of San Gerardo instead--partly because there isn't so much hype surrounding it. We had a wonderful time there. Learned a little bit about birding ( a new interest) and treated ourselves to a little more Tico culture by taking the public bus. Wouldn't trade that experience!

Thanks everyone for your responses. They were most helpful! We are doing virtually the same as you, Mlestock. We will start with 2 nights in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui at the LaQuinta de Sarapiqui, then 2 nights in Arenal at the Paraiso Arenal, followed by 3 nights at Hotel Costa Verde in Manuel Antonio, and the last night at Hotel Chatelle in Alajuela before returning home. Please let me know how your trip turns out and what you did. Any suggestions would be great! Thanks Shillmac and Jessie, too. It sure helps to talk to someone who has done this -- I know no one!

dhswor
We are also planning a February trip for 10 days and opted to leave Monteverde for another time. We'll be spending 3 nights in the central valley (Las Orquideas), 3 nights in Arenal (Los Lagos) and 3 nights in Manuel Antonio (Costa Verde). There are so many options for things to do that we decided to take things at a more leisurely pace. Good luck with all your planning. Maybe we'll see you around!!

Mary, you are going to love Las Orquideas and the surrounding area. 3 days at each is just about right!

MaryS - when in Feb. will you be at Costa Verde? We will be there the 15-17th. Have you sent your payment yet? How did you do it? This is the only one I have had trouble with so far. Also, I saw another posting of yours--are you doing the Sarapiqui river tour or going to Cano Negro? You have 3 days, right? We only have 2 in Arenal. Have fun planning!

dhswor,
we will miss you at Costa Verde as we'll be there Feb 19, 20 and 21. I have not sent the payment yet but plan to send a check to the Florida address and then fax a copy of same to Costa Verde. This is what they suggested in their emails, but it does seem rather complicated.

I am also having some issues faxing information to Los Lagos, but I'm working on that...

I think I have decided on Cano Negro as others here have suggested that we'll see more wildlife and I know that it is an all day trip. We actually have 2 full days at Arenal because we dropped the Monteverde visit. I thought all that driving around would really take time away from all the other great things to do. There is a shortcut to Monteverde from Arenal that involves a boat trip and taxi or horses that sounded like a lot of fun. I wasn't sure my backside could take three hours on a horse though!! LOL!! We'll try touring through the Los Angeles cloud forest on our way to Arenal.

Let me know how you make out with the Costa Verde payment.

dhswor, here is my email address. feel free to email me about how our similar itineraries worked out. i'll be there over thanksgiving week. [email protected]