rickandpat

My husband is a great guy, but does not handle less than perfect directions in a foreign country. I have a few different directions from the airport to Arenal, one from arenal.net (through San Ramon up past Tigre), and the "shortcut" from an Arenal hotel (turn right in Bajo Rodriguez, past the toll booth, through Angeles and El Tanque). Of course we'd prefer the shorter one, but don't want to take a difficult route either. Thanks for any advice you can give me!

shillmac

Probably the most common route is the first you mentioned, through San Ramon, Tigre. Very scenic (aren't they all!), should take 2.5-3 hours. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a shorter route. Have fun!

tully

Jill, you are hardcore, answering questions from CR! Hoope your trip is running smoothly.

Floridafran

Isn't she, though, tully.

Glad to see you arrived safely, Jill. Also great to know we won't be without your expertise while you're gone.

Fran

Pat_Hewitt

What time do you arrive? If you can take an extra hour, there is a much prettier route available.

I think the drive through Grecia, Sarchi, Naranjo and Zarcero is the most scenic drive in the country. It is worth the extra time.

I am also not sure if driving through El Tanque is a shortcut. If you are in a hurry, I would just go through San Ramon, La Tigra and San Francisco. Watch the signs in San Francisco. There is a turn thats easy to miss.

I hope this helps. Let me know if I can offer more advice.

Warm Regards,

Pat Hewitt
Costa Rica Travel Exchange
Costa Rica Concierge

rickandpat

Thanks for the replies. We're scheduled to get in around 12:30, but as we have to leave for the airport before 4 am, we'll be bushed. My guess is we'll go for the shorter route, but we'll certainly keep the scenic one in mind.

krbr17

Have you considered flying from San Jose/Alajuela up to La Fortuna on Sansa Air or Nature Air, and having your rental car delivered up there? We just did this for Tamarindo -- getting to SJO, flying Sansa to Tam, and having Tricolor deliver the car there the next morning -- and it made things much less stressful on that long first day of travel.

Also, instead of flying, you could hire a transfer company to drive you in a van up to Arenal.

fishee

How risky is it to drive from Arenal to SJO the day of our departing flight in mid-May?

Originally planned on staying at Peace Lodge the night before but they're booked. Now I'm thinking of driving from Arenal at 7:30 am to catch our 2:20 pm flight out of SJO.

Any thoughts? I know it's a little risky but not impossible?

krbr17

fishee-

Just did it on Saturday. We left Arenal at 6:00 a.m. Went nonstop, and got to Alajuela at 9:00 a.m. It took about 30 minutes to get our rental car checked in at Tricolor, and a 5 minute van ride to the terminal. Our flight was scheduled for 12:50 p.m., so we made it nice and comfortably -- plenty of time to stand in all the lines at SJO!

toucantango

I would definately take the "shortcut" that skips La Tigre. It saves about 25 minutes. In addition, it has a few less trucks and I get tired of all the twisty turns near La Tigra. The shortcut takes you north out of the mountains and then runs you west parallel to the mountains through some pretty farmland (papayas, bananas and that bushy plant they use the roots for food). The shortcut on the far side of Bajo Rodrigeuz can be accidently passed though -if you do just forge ahead through La Tigre, as it's really no big deal.