cbw, I DO think you've made a good decision. You can leave after breakfast from Orquideas and see La Paz on the way up and still get there early to mid afternoon. And coming back down, you can take a slightly different route and make a few stops in some of the little unique towns along the way like Zarcero, Sarchi, Grecia. You can tour the countryside nicely between Orquideas and Arenal. If you get a really early start (7:30 or so) from Orquideas, you should stop at Poas, then up to La Paz. At any rate, have a great time. I don't think you'll be sorry. Of all the things to do at Arenal, Cano Negro is VERY hard to top!

Sounds like your itinerary is shaping up very nicely, CBW.

You mention the Cerro Chato hike as an option for Arenal. I remember reading a post here fairly recently about that hike. It sounded extremely challenging and for people who are very physically fit. You might want to do a search on it and read up a bit. If you are an avid hiker, it may be just what you are looking for. Sounded like it might be a bit much for the more casual hiking enthusiast. It would probably do me right in, LOL.

Cano Negro continues to win accolades. We saw our first monkeys in CR there and I loved every minute of it! Lots of other good stuff to do in Arenal as well...