Anita_

We land at SJO around 8:00am. We're staying 10 days, renting a 4X4. The last 4 nights are in MA. The 1st part of our trip is not planned, but here is my thought:
1st and 2nd night: Sarapiqui (never been).
3rd, 4th, 5th night: Arenal (loved it).
Then drive to MA.
How long is the drive between all these? How is Selva Verde? Shd we do 3 nights in Sarapiqui, and 2 in Arenal instead? I'm thinking now as I'm writing this, that we will be on the road too much!

karenf

Anita, SelvaVerde is quite like the web site. It is a beautiful but rustic place. The grounds are just lovely, but it probably will rain in the afternoon. If you go there I strongly recommend making reservations for the walk at La Selva biological station. It has nothing to do with selva verde even though selva is in the name. It is run by the organization for tropical studies.Yoiu can find the web site in guidebooks. I think the cost was twenty dollars maybe. We saw a lot of animals on this walk and also ended up eating lunch there also. The food is included when you book a room there (at Selva Verde), buffet style, very plain. We did rafting there and also took a trip down the river. Unfortunately, we had a twelve year old boat captain. It is not that scenic in that you see plastic bags, etc. but we did enjoy ourselves and saw monkeys crocoldiles, lots of birds, etc. What Selva Verde has going for it is the grounds, the peaceful atmosphere etc.It was almost empty when we were there. There is a river of sorts that runs through the property.There was a school group from the U.S. when we were there. It is a very quiet place in the off season. When we went to Arenal it was rainy and cloudy both days so we saw nothing. We did enjoy the hot springs. I am still debating about going there again to see if we have any luck with the volcano. I can't tell you about the drive because from Selva Verde we did Arenal and then Monteverde and then Manuel Antonio. You might want to think about doing something closer to one or the other.

Suzie2

The Selva Verde Lodge is a nice place and that area has wonderful natural beauty. I believe the river that goes by it is actually the Sarapiqui. La Selva is a great place to hike. You will see lots of poison dart frogs in the areas around the rivers. As was mentioned, the boat trip can be slow and boring. I have done it twice thinking maybe the first time was a bad time but still didn't see much besides some neat bats, crocs, caimens, birds, monkeys.
There is a little place just up the road from Selva Verde that is nice also. It is run by a sweet costa rican family and the food is very good and the rooms were nice and clean. Lovely gardens all around. It is called La Quinta de Sarapiqi. There is also an old burial grounds near there that you can walk through. Not huge but kind of interesting. Personally I think 2 nights would be enough.
The drive between Alajuela (airport) and Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui is about 1-2 hrs if you go the quick route through Braullio Carillo Park. If you take the scenic route through Heredia, Ciudad Quesada etc it can take about 4 hrs. The time from Pto Viejo de Sarapiqui to Arenal is about 3 hrs. The scenic route is the only way this time. There is a bridge that you cross that has lots of Iquanas sitting in the trees.
I believe the trip to MA is about 5hrs.

Anita_

Thanks for all the good input! I guess drive times sound doable. I really would like to see the volcanoe again. We went 2 yrs ago and it was clear for almost the entire time. We stayed at Observatory lodge. One of the Smithsonian rooms. The giant plate glass looked out at the volcanoe, and the moon was almost full. Although we didn't see lava from that vantage point, the view is still awesome, and the grounds at the lodge were wonderful. There were very few people, we saw many animals (toucans, monkeys) on the nature walkways. There is a path to a pretty cool waterfall on the dirt road that runs past the Smithsonian rooms. We did stay at Tabacon for one night. We're glad to have visited the Hot Springs, but the actual lodge was not impressive. But for the view of the lava at night, it would have been nothing to write about. We saw the glowing boulders tumble down the mountain (through binoculars). The whole area is just too crowded. And the plastic wrist band they make you wear was tacky. I hear the Penas Blancas float is something fun to do at Arenal. Last time we did the Original Canopy/ Horseback, zip-line thing. It's fun, but you don't really get to see much of the canopy when you're flying by so fast. Does anyone know of any suspension bridge networks around Arenal or Sarapiqui?

Suzie2

There is a new place called Hanging Bridges I believe. No money was spared and it is a wonderful walk. Even the road leading up to it was paved with bricks. It is just beyond the dam. They had just opened it when we went in Feb. and were still working on the restaurant or cafe (couldn't tell which) but the restrooms were done and were very nice so I would imagine the other building will be also. The walk is very comfortable and there are some of the most amazing views of Arenal that I have seen. Even from the parking lot. There was only one other couple walking that day and it was great having it almost to ourselves.
We stayed in one of the Observatory rooms also a few years ago and it was so neat having the rumbles wake you up and all you had to do was open your eyes to see the lava. It was very cloudy when we were there but we could still see the lava glowing through the clouds. Did the old lava bed hike, whew!

Anita_

Thanks Suzie2!
The bridges sound like something we'd really enjoy. I'm definitely putting it on my list. That along w/ the Penas Blancas float tour (also at Arenal). I'm now thinking that maybe we'll skip Sarapiqui, and spend more time at Arenal. Is there any nice places to spend the night on our way to MA from Arenal?

Suzie2

There are several options at different prices and interests.
Villas Lapas is an all inclusive but small place set down in a little valley along a stream. Nice cozy place with good food and lots of good birds. Rooms are pretty basic but comfortable. It is about a 5min drive to Carara Reserve which has great wildlife and scarlet macaws if you want to get out and stretch your legs. It is also near the Tarcoles River which you will see lots of people standing on the bridge looking down at the enormous crocs.
Jaco is about 1/2 hr further down the road and I hear the Best Western there is pretty good. Jaco is not my kind of place although I have had dinner there at a restaurant on the beach.
There is also Villas Caletas which is known for its beautiful sunset viewing. It is amazing there at sunset time. They have an amphitheater complete with roman columns to sit in and watch the sun go down. They also have a beautiful infinity pool. High on a hill overlooking the ocean.
For total luxury you could look at the Marriott Los Suenos. It has a complete spa and golf course, etc.
More decisions LOL! Happy planning.

Suzie2

You might also want to think about the Cano Negro boat tour while at Arenal. It is a full day tour. It is an important wildlife area and has interested people from all over the world. If you are not really interested in birds you might not care for it. It does have monkeys and lots of caimens. It is just outside the little town of Los Chilies which is up near the northern border. Los Chilies is where you will meet up with your boat people at a little restaurant most likely. Or the tour bus may pick up lunch. Lunch may be served on a little beach area or if the trip is quicker as ours was because it was arranged privately you could end up eating lunch at that restaurant.

Suzie2

Don't know if you have seen me post about this restaurant but will mention it in case you haven't. A great place to eat while in Arenal area is El Novillo. It is a tiny place on the road between Arenal Paraiso and Montana de Fuego. It doesn't look like much and you have to eat outside on plastic tables and chairs but it has a wonderful view of the volcano and the food is great! After eating lunch there we ended up eating several more meals there because it was so good and it was fun being able to look at the volcano erupting while sitting there.

Anita_

Suzie2,
Wow! You sure sre providing a lot of helpful info. Thanks! Instead of spending time in Sarapiqui, I think we'll do a two day trip from Arenal to MA, and stop along the way at one of the places you suggested. Are the maps that hard to follow btwn Arenal and MA? Last time we drove SJO-Arenal-Tamarindo-SJO w/ very little trouble finding our way. We really enjoyed the freedom of driving our own car.

Iza

Suzie2 is an amazing source of information about Costa Rica. We have decided to give Arenal a second shot this year - when we were there in 2001 it was foggy, cloudy and rainy and we couldn't see the volcano at all. The idea of the hanging bridges sounds great as well and their website looks fantastic, we'll probably give it a try too. Check them out at www.hangingbridges.com