Can anyone answer several questions.
We would love to see animals in CR and thought Monteverde was a good place but read that the roads are really bad and to forget that idea. We have 4x4 suv. Should we forget about Monteverde? If so, where is a good place to see animals and birds?
Where are the best places to go hiking? Which is better to see the volcan-Arenal or Poas? Is the any good site to find out driving times to different locations and the best routes to get there?

This is your best location for finding out drive times and directions.

Monteverde is interesting, not my favorite, but others rave about it. The road is bad, but beautiful, and I never felt that it was dangerous. Just bumpy. Gorgeous views.
You would NOT go wrong by visiting there.

Arenal a bigger thrill than Poas, but some people visit Poas early in the a.m. on the way to Arenal.

Thanks shillmac for the info. I really appreciate it. You say that Monteverde is not your favorite. I m curious as to what is your favorite and why?

Another question, which do you think is better to stay at Peace Lodge or Bosque del Cabo? Its our 25th anniversary and had planned on staying somewhere special. Our plan was to stay at Peace Lodge for our last few days but due to a mistake on their part we can only stay one night and are now looking at possible staying at Bosque del Cabo if we can get it there. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Bill

Sorry, Bill, for a badly worded answer. Truth is, I don't have a favorite. It's all very good. There are several areas we keep returning to, but Monteverde has not been one of them. Sometime we'll go there again, perhaps. It is a nice area, but just doesn't "call" me back! There's something (or several somethings for everyone in CR).

We return almost every trip to the Guanacaste area; find the southern Nicoya Peninsula very relaxing; enjoy the Arenal area tremendously; Puerto Viejo de Talamanca on the southern Caribbean side; San Gerardo de Dota area south of San Jose (cloud forest like Monteverde, but not so touristy); Osa Peninsula, Cabo Matapalo (Bosque del Cabo); and although we won't be returning there this year, absolutely loved the Tortuguero area. Although we've not returned there (will sometime), we very much enjoyed the little Italian settlement of San Vito and nearby Wilson Botanical Gardens.

Anyplace that is off the beaten path with very few tourists appeals to us, hence my fondness for a little horse ranch near Bijagua with no electricity called La Carolina.

I think Peace Lodge is a beautiful place (the entire property of La Paz Waterfall Gardens), but to me 2 nights will be enough. Gonna know for sure in a few weeks. On the other hand, Bosque del Cabo has so many trails, that if you like hiking, you could be happy there for 4 or 5 days, or even longer.

There are a lot of areas we have not explored yet, and have those to look forward to: namely, Playa Zancudo and Playa Pavones, Drake Bay side of the Osa Peninsula, a couple of the less frequented national parks, such as Tapanti. We've never rafted the Pacuare and hope to do the 2 night package one day. We have visited (couple of times) that area of "put-in" around Turrialba, and down into the Orosi Valley, beautiful area.

There isn't a right or wrong. I think you'll find all parts immensely interesting. If Monteverde had been my first taste of Costa Rica, I would probably think it was more memorable.

I had 2 nights at Peace Lodge and that was plenty. I really enjoyed it, even though it's very over the top and the animals/birds you see are in cages. For wildlife & hiking you just can't go wrong at Bosque del Cabo. I always stay for 5 or 6 nights but if I had the time & money could spend double that there.

If you have a couple days, I would choose Arenal over Poas, it's much more impressive and much more to do in the vicinity.

Thanks Shillmac and Tully, your info is both insightful and very informative. I am presently trying to change our destination from Peace Lodge to Bosque del Cabo. I put in an inquiry into BdC about availablity but havent heard anything yet. I hoping to stay there 3 days and eliminate Peace Lodge.

If we can get into BcD which would you eliminate a day from? We have 3 days in both Monteverde and Manual Antonio.

My only problem will be the drive back to San Jose to depart. We will take most the next to last day we are there to travel to San Jose so we arent rushed driving back. I not sure on the time factor but figuring maybe 7 hours give or take. Is that about how long it will take with our 4x4?
Thanks again for your help. And thank you again Tully for suggesting to keep trying on this forum. You were right as i m sure you usually are...haha

Forgot to ask, does anyone have a preference as to where to stay in BcD?
Also if we cant get into a bungalow or Casa Blanca, would you stay in the tropical garden if available? Thanks again, Bill

If you end up going to Arenal, you could take the day trip to Cano Negro. It gets rave reviews and is a great place to see the animals. Arenal really impressed us - seeing the lava flow at night was amazing.

We just booked a deluxe cabin at BdC. The garden cabins seem like they are further from things and we've heard they can be a lot warmer since they don't get the ocean breezes that the other cabins do. The deluxe cabins that seem to get the rave reviews are Lapa, Congo, and Mariposa. If you do a search for those, you can probably find links to pictures and more detailed info. I believe Mariposa has a bathtub which seems like a real treat out in the jungle.

Tully,
Can you elaborate on the wildlife you've seen at Bosque del Cabon and what is typically seen?

Is most of your viewing on your own or with a guide?


Crlover10,
Please post your itinerary when it is complete. I like animal-intensive tineraries.

Gracias

Where will you be coming from the day before you leave? Not sure how set you are on MA, but if you can manage it, I'd throw in at least 2 days extra at BdC and skip MA. I like MA, don't get me wrong, but before/after BdC on the same trip I would skip it personally, just my dos colones!

As far as cabinas at BdC, I'd readily take any of them but my favourites are Congo & Lapa. Not sure I could do the garden cabinas, just a little too open for me personally, plus the walk in the dark after dinner, and I'd guess they are warmer as you don't get that wonderful breeze off the ocean. But then again, when I've been there, people that were in those cabinas always seemed to love them , so it's just a matter of opinion.

atravelynn - oh boy...off the top of my head - spider/squirrel/howler/capuchin monkeys, tons of macaws, toucans, countless birds & butterflies & lizards & frogs and spiders, pygmy & red-tailed squirrels, agoutis, coatis, peccaries, snakes, bullet/army/leafcutter ants, bats, possums and sloths.

All of these I've seen just hiking on my own, on the BdC grounds or many of them right from my cabin. The only exception is the peccary I saw with Phillip, the guide (and aren't we all thankful for that, I know I am! )

Thanks Tully.

crlover10 -

What about going to Arenal and then one night at Peace Lodge and then going to BDC? If you can, fly to BDC. I had a lot of recommendations that if going to BDC, Manual Antonio would be a let down. We saw both Arenal and Poas, and I agree that Arenal is definitely the must see volcano! Poas is difficult to time without the cloud cover. While you can walk basically up to the rim, you take a big chance that you pretty much see a wall of clouds. There is so much to do in the Arenal area. If you leave there early, and head to Peace Lodge, you'll have a full afternoon there to explore. It really is beautiful there and while the animals are "caged" - they are definitely up close! To me Peace Lodge is perfect for your anniversary, it's very romantic. If you tell them it's your anniversary, they'll give you a bottle of wine which you can either take to dinner or just enjoy in your room. We loved it there!

Then as far as BDC, we stayed in Lapa, it's one of the deluxe cabinas. It has a great view. We saw a lot of wildlife right from our porch and overlook. Almost as much as we did on any trail! We met a couple of people who stayed in the Garden Cabinas and they seemed fine with them. Although both had made prior arrangements to switch to the ocean view ones during thier stays.

Have a great trip!

volcangirl. You said to see Cano Negro. We have seen tortugero canal on a cruise and wondering if they are pretty similar.

Does anyone know if they are?

Atraveln. My iternary finally is

day 1 arrive in san jose at 2pm
drive to our motel
days 2&3 Monterverde
days 4&5 Arenal
days 6&7 Tamarido(visiting friends)
days 8&9 Manual Antonio
days 10-14 Bosque del Cabo
day 15 return home

any comments or suggestions will be appreciated?

to San Jose?

Also about how long to drive from Tamarido area to MA? I ve read that is best to take the ferry but also you might wait a couple or hours. If that is so, is it till faster and better to take that route?

As you make have seen i eliminated Peace Lodge not because we wanted to but with them making a mistake and just one day it would have meant us staying in 4 different motels in 4 days. And also from some recommendations we wanted to spend time in BCD. We were lucky and got the last cabana.

Thanks for all your advice. It truly is helpful.

Just a few suggestions, take or leave!

First of all, you are not staying long enough in any one place, with the possible exception of BdC. The time you have allowed for Monteverde is absolutely not enough given the amount of time it takes to get there. I would, without hesitation, scrap that location and add the time to Arenal so you can really enjoy all that area has to offer.

Second, have you looked at a map? The ferry doesn't take people to Manuel Antonio. It goes to the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, areas of Tambor, Montezema, Malpais, etc. To get to Manuel Antonio, you drive south from Tamarindo to Nicoya, continuing on a short distance until you reach the junction for highway 18. Take a left, drive across the Friendship Bridge (several years ago there was a ferry here, is that what you are thinking of?). About 45 min. after you cross the bridge, highway 18 will dead end at the Pan American highway. It's a very good break place. There's a nice restaurant with a little bakery, sandwich shop next to it. Also a very nice, fairly new service station, or gasolinera.

Go south (right turn) toward Puntarenas. Follow directions to Quepos/Manuel Antonio. It will take you about 4 hours.

I think others will agree with me when I tell you you should spend another night or 2 in Tamarindo, then arrange air transportation to Bosque del Cabo. You are going to wear yourselves out with all the jumping about. Especially given the amount of time it will take you to transfer from place to place. You will be amazed at how much time will get away from you with checking in, checking out, packing, unpacking, driving. You will literally be in your vehicle nearly all the time.

My version would be:

Arrival night hotel

3 nights Arenal

3-4 nights Tamarindo (lots of area to explore in this part of Costa Rica)

overnight near airport in San Jose

4 nights Bosque del Cabo. It would be nice to add an extra night at Bosque del Cabo. It would also be fun to find a couple of nights free for staying there in Puerto Jimenez, someplace like Iguana Lodge, before be driven up to Bosque del Cabo.

Finally, motel is a word mostly likely referring to a little sleazy place in San Jose where clandestine meetings take place! Hotel is a more appropriate term in Costa Rica.

Good luck and happy travels!

Let me just clarify one thing. When I suggested spending more time in Tamarindo, I didn't necessarily mean in the town proper. That entire area offers a lot of hotel choices. Personally, I prefer visiting Tam in the daytime for a few hours, but staying somewhere nearby, like Playa Grande, Playa Flamingo, etc.

hello shillmac. thanks for your advice. I guess i m perplexed as to what to do? I pretty much have most of our reservations made, except for arenal and the taminindo/flamingo area. I had posted a different but busy schedule and didnt get a much of feedback as to it being busy about 2 weeks ago and only really posted it because atraveln had asked for it.
Its changed since then mainly due to Peace Lodge messing up our reservations, therefore we changed from Peace Lodge to BDC. We both love to keep a busy schedule and thrived on it. I dont pretend to know anything of CR and know that traveling will be a big journey with the roads and new environment. I m not sure what to do now?

As for flying, we have a 4x4 suv rented for 2 weeks so that wont work.

as for traveling to MA. I did take your advice and lookup the traveling times (on the site you provided me) it takes to get to different places, so i have an idea of the time element but not the specific route yet. I m sure i will take the route that you mentioned. I just read on this forum about taking a ferry to MA, so that is why i mentioned it.

I will also attempt to eliminate the word 'motel' from my volcabulary. haha
thanks for the info.
thanks for all your input as i do truly appreciate and value it.
Not sure what i should do about trying to change reservations if possible since its only 2 weeks away.
Thanks again, Bill

Well, Bill, I wouldn't worry about it too much. We tend to jump around a lot, too. Please, though, put pencil and paper to your plans so you can see just how everything will work out. I was just fearful that you would barely arrive someplace before it was time to move on.

If you read about the ferry to MA on Fodor's then someone made a grave error--hope it wasn't me!

Have you purchased a map? That might be really helpful to you. The best one on the market (my opinion) is the Berndston & Berndston.

So this is what went through my mind:

Day 1, arrive, overnight near airport?

Day 2, drive to Monteverde, arrive 1:00 p.m. or so? It will take 4 hours.

Day 3, Monteverde, full day

Day 4, drive to Arenal, 4 hours, arrive
1:00 p.m.?

Day 5, Arenal, full day

Day 6, drive to Tamarindo, 5 hours, arrive 1:00 p.m.? (You would have saved some time by going to Arenal first, then Monteverde, then Tamarindo, but that's okay)

Day 7, Tamarindo, full day

Day 8, drive to Manuel Antonio, 4 hours
arrive 1:00 pm.?

Day 9, full day Manuel Antonio

Day 10, drive to Bosque del Cabo, 7 hours (to include meal time, leg stretches, bathroom breaks, etc), arriving 3:00 P.M.??

Day 11, full day BdC

Day 12, full day BdC

Day 13, full day BdC

Day 14, full day drive back to SJO,
about 10 hours, overnight near airport

Day 15, fly home

So you basically have a one day in Monteverde, Arenal, Tamarindo, and Manuel Antonio. 3 days at BdC. It's certainly do-able. Do you have a hotel booked for that last night near the airport? I'd suggest Hotel Villa Bonita, 5 minutes away. www.hotelvillabonita.com

Good luck! I wasn't try to put a damper on your plans! Have a great time!

BTW, please keep in mind that when I post drive times, I tend toward the conservative. We have found that it always takes us longer than theoretically it should!

hello shillmac. you are right. I need to eliminate monteverde as much i want to see it. I was able to get out of my reservation(actually did not have it credited yet), so i definitely will add a day to arenal but not sure i want an additional day at Tamarindo area. We love the beach but prefer to see spend time see nature if we can.

What all is there to do, since we will visiting two other areas that have beach following this(MA and BDC)?
we will arrive at san jose airport at 2pm.

Do you think we would have time to drive directly to poas that afternoon and do poas the next day or any other suggestions? Whether there is enough to do to make it 4 days at arenal? The back end of our trip is already reserved and credited at MA and BDC.

I will get the map you suggested. As for Hotelvillabonita. That was on the top of my list from you and another recommendation for it. The reviews on trip advisor are really great too. I just put in a request for the last day and possibly the last depending on Poas trip?
And you didnt put a damper on my trip. Just telling it like it is. I truly appreciate your insight and info.

Did i read somewhere that you are going to CR soon? We are going the last week in June and first week of July.

Thanks for very much for your help

4 days at Arenal would not be too much. I agree that an extra day at Tamarindo probably isn't necessary, given a lot of beach plans already.

An option would certainly be to drive to Poas Volcano Lodge that first night and see Poas early in the a.m. en route to Arenal. You would also MUCH enjoy spending the latter part of the morning at La Paz Waterfall Gardens, very close to Poas. Expensive, but SO worth it. You could still arrive at Arenal in the afternoon by 3:00 or 4:00. That would be a good use of some of your extra time. And add to your experience nicely.

Yes, I am leaving next week!