We'll be hiring a driver to take us from Arenal to MA. I know it's a long drive (around 5-6 hours?) and have two questions: 1. What would be worthwhile sights to stop at and see along the way to help break up the drive a little bit - or - 2. since we are hiring a driver; does it make sense to do this drive at night, leave Arenal around 4-5 in the afternoon and just drive straight through? Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated!

Hi, amyi - we left Arenal in the late morning and got to MA in time for dinner; we enjoyed doing it that way because it's a pretty drive, and we wanted to stop at the Rio Tarcoles - if you haven't heard of it, it's a river full of big crocodiles. We must have seen about 15 of them right under the bridge that you drive over. We got some great pictures there. It's good that you'll have a driver because he can stay with your stuff while you go take a peek.

We stopped and rode horses at Villa Blanca in the L.A. cloud forest. Also stopped in San Ramon for a bite to eat. There is Carara National Park, close to the Tarcoles bridge. Our driver, Wilson, hired a guide named Victor Chavez ([email protected].)for us. He was great, supplied us with rubber boots also. We saw macaws there along with other animals. This rainforest is less crowded, we didn't see anyone else there! It took 2 hours for the tour.

Approximately how much is the driver for the trip?

$ 175.00 from Arenal to Manuel Antonio!!

About 5 hours...with stop over at Tarcoles!!

Do the drive during the day...is full of great views!!

And of course is a lot safer!!

R.A Luis

Just buckle up and enjoy the ride in paradise!!

Thanks a lot for the tips. It really helps me figure out how many days we should stay in each spot.