We will be in Costa Rica at the end of April. Any recommendations for tours to Tortuguero? 2 or 3 days best? And hotel recommendations for the Arenal area? thank you.

For Tortuguero I think at least 2 nights and 3 would be great. I really enjoyed Mawamba Lodge. Wonderful night wildlife watching trips by motorized canoe.

I second this. At least 2 nights for sure and Mawamba Lodge was great.

Cabins are very basic, but clean and nice. Guides were very informative. Excellent staff. Food was delicious. Pool was nice. Grounds are well maintained.

I would recommend boat in/fly out option.

I'll third the Mawamba Lodge. We spent four nights there and didn't feel it was too many. Two nights minimum, three nights even better. We took the bus/boat into the lodge, but took a plane back. That worked well for us. I don't think I needed the 3-hour trip both ways...

Oh, and a few pictures of the Mawamba Lodge if you are interested...

http://www.kidville.com/Costa-Rica/tortuguero.html

Rick B.

Thank you for sharing your photographs with us. The shots are great! Happy Third Anniversary! What a nice place to spend it.

We are booked two nights at Pachira Lodge in Tortuguero with tours each day. This was highly recommended to us as was told this may be highpoint in our trip. We look forward to going there.

Travelbug-- in Arenal area we booked one night at Tabacon Resort & Spa and another at Hotel Arenal Pariaso. FYI their websites are:

http://tabacon.com/
http://www.arenalparaiso.com

We go to CR end of April. Enjoy your trip then too!

Will second everything already said about Mawamba - it was one of the highlights of our trip, although really wish we had done an extra night or two (we were there 2 nights). We did alot of organised tours and wouldn't have missed them for anything, but would have liked a bit more 'chill out' time, and also chance jusdt to wander around the gardens or along the beach. Opt for land one way and air the other if you can - it's quite a long journey otherwise although great scenery. If you're pushed for time certainly fly one way - slightly more expensive but with hindsight worth it.

We went in August and saw the turtles laying their eggs on the beach - because of conservation issues viewing is (rightly) very controlled but it was an amazing experience and not to be missed (but then you can say that about many Costa Rican experiences!

Mawamba Lodge again! Great guide, interesting tours, a really well organized lodge. Don't think you'll be sorry!