CD

We will be taking our first trip to CR in March(12-20). Originally just my husband and I were going but hew has invited his father(age 79) to go with us. I am now re-thinking our itinarary and would appreciate any suggestions. I had planned to get a car after one night in San Jose(at hotel Orquideas or similar) and drive to Arenal/Monteverde area for two nights then drive to Manuel Antonio for four nights and back to San Jose. My husband wants to fish at least one day while we are on the Pacific coast. Would we be better off staying two nights in San Jose at the beginning of the trip and doing various day trips to the aerial tram and volcano and rain forest with a driver/guide? Then pick up a car and drive to Manuel Antonio for three or four nights and back to San Jose for the last night. I am also trying to find info on hotel El Establo and Sapo Dorado. Thanks, CD

Gina

CD<BR>El Establo looks beautiful. It has a new section which is very impressive. You will find more information under www.monteverdeinfo.com but book directly with El Establo. I have e-mail address somewhere if you want. We did not have pleasant experience with monteverdeinfo.com. El Establo is only hotel in Monteverde with the swimming pool. Its location is fantastic for the most gorgeous sunsets. We did not know about the new section of this hotel. If we only knew we wouldn't have to stay at the Trapp Family Lodge. I suggest you stay in Monteverde for three nights. There is so much to do. Cloud Forest, Sky Walk (perfect for your father), Butterfly Garden, hummingbird Gallery and more. Be prepared for the worst dirt road (25 miles of it) when driving to Monteverde. I suggest you stay outside San Jose. We stayed in the wonderful Vista Del Valle. You will be closer to Monteverde anyway. There are many posts about Vista del Valle.

Brooke

We had little interest in seeing San Jose, so when we arrived, we hopped right onto a flight to Manuel Antonio which worked out very well, but it all depends on what interests you. A lot of people call Arenal and Monterverde the same area, but that's really not true. If you're planning on seeing both, I think you should plan on a least another night or 2. When we were in Monteverde we stayed 2 nights at El Sapo Dorado, and 1 at Monteverde Lodge. El Sapo is very nice, and the food is great, but we enjoyed Monteverde Lodge more.

clara

El Establo is much better than Monteverde Lodge. we stayed in both

Kate

Brooke - Why didn't you like El Sapo?

Brooke

I wouldn't say I didn't like it, because I did. I just didn't like it as much as Monteverde Lodge. We had a low-end room at El Sapo Dorado, which wasn't as nice as our room in ML, but more importantly, I just liked the "feel" at Monteverde Lodge. It was more rustic and seemed to blend into the surroundings. The rooms looked out into forests so you could bird-watch from your room, and it had nice hiking trails. I got the impression that El Sapo clear-cutted the area and built nice cabins with lawns. We did have a great views from our room, though.

SANDY SCHAUB

SAN JOSE IS JUST ANOTHER BIG CITY AS FAR AS IM CONCERNED. PLEASE RE-THINK ABOUT DRIVING. OUR FIRST TIME WE DRIVE FROM SAN JOSE TO CARILLO. 124 MILES. TOOK US 6-7 HOURS. THE ROADS ARE HORRIBLE. HUGE POT HOLES. IF YOU HAVE A BAD BACK IT WOULD BE A VERY ROUGH TRIP. IN SOME PLACES. WE NOW FLY SANSA WHEN WE GO TO DIFFERENT PLACES.GOOD LUCK YOU WILL LOVE IT THEIR-WE GO EVERY YEAR.FEEL FREE TO E-MAIL ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS <BR>SADNY SCHAUB

TC

Hello Sadny (or is it Sandy?) Would you repeat your statement without shouting?

Kate

Brooke-<BR><BR>did you do a night hike of the volcano at all? Did you visit Tabacon Springs? What did you think? Any recommendations? What did you do for Breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the Arenal/Monteverde area? Any advice on the driving?<BR>Thanks!!

kate

Can anyone offer any information on “night” viewing or hikes of Arenal volcano? Is this something you can arrange at the hotel? We were hoping to do one the night we arrive. Also, is a visit to Tabacon Springs worth it? What is the best time to go? Is it completely overrun with tourists? Can anyone recommend restaurants in the Arenal or Monteverde area for breakfast, lunch, or dinner?<BR><BR>Thanks for your help! We leave it a week<BR>

Iza

Kate, unfortunately I can't help you with night hikes, but can give you my thoughts on Tabacon.<BR>Even though it is commercial and there are a lot of people there, I think it is worth a visit. The place is quite large with a variety of natural and man made pools and streams of various temperature. The landscaping is extremely nice and the whole place is immaculately maintained. We were there in August (which is probably less crowded than the high season in February) and we had no problem finding secluded spots, lounging chairs etc. We really enjoyed spending time there (even though the weather was not the greatest and we could not see the volcano). I believe that if you go in the evening they charge about half of the normal admission price. Their spa also looked very nice but can't comment on quality of treatments.<BR>As to restaurants, I am really surprised that you need recommendations for breakfast. Where are you staying? Most hotels in Costa Rica include full breakfast in the hotel price.<BR>For dinner, we ate at the hotel restaurant at Arenal Paraiso one night, and it was OK, nothing special. The second night we ate a local place called La Vaca Muca (I am never sure about the spelling, but it means "one-horned cow"), very good food and pleasant service, but very casual. It is located along the road from La Fortuna to Tabacon (on the left side).

Brooke

Sorry Kate - We didn't go to Arenal - just Monteverde, Manuel Antonio, and the Osa Peninsula. It's a good 4 hours from Monteverde. As far as meals, we ate at various places. The food at El Sapo Dorado was probably the best. A fun place for lunch is Stella's Bakery on the way to the Cloud Forest. <BR><BR>We didn't drive - we took the public bus to Monteverde at night, so we didn't see what we were missing until the trip back with a driver. The views are gorgeous, but the roads is treacherous. My only advice would be to plan on a lot of time. It will take you much longer than you think to get anywhere in Costa Rica.<BR><BR>Have a great time.

kate

Thanks for your help! We leave it a week.<BR><BR>Thank you for all your help Brooke & Iza! I really appreciate it. We arrive in San Jose around noon, and plan to drive to Arena that afternoon. We are staying at Montana de Fuego the first night, and our room does not come with breakfast . We are staying in Monteverde the next night at Sapo el Dorado, so we will need to begin that drive by 2 pm, I guess. Iza – any suggestions on what to do the morning we are in Arenal? Should we try to see the volcano at night and the springs in the morning? Did you do any hikes?<BR>Brooke-any suggestions for an itinerary for Monteverde. I assume we will eat at the restaurant at the hotel that night. We are staying for 2 nights. Did either of you do canopy tours? We are off to Tamarindo on Tuesday morning…Iza did you go to Tamarindo? Any suggestions of activities?<BR><BR>Again, thank you, thank you!<BR>

Iza

Kate,<BR>if I were you I would just have breakfast at the hotel - Montana de Fuego is outside of town - no restaurants are within walking distance.<BR>As to what you should do the first night and next day: you will probably arrive at Arenal when it starts getting dark so it will be late for any activity and I am sure you will be tired from your flight and the drive to Arenal. If I were you I would just have dinner that first night and if you are lucky with the weather, just watch the volcano from your hotel room. The stretch of the road between Arenal Paraiso and Montana de Fuego is where the night tours go to view the lava flow! So you will be in the perfect viewing spot. Having said that, the Tabacon Springs do not open until about 11am, so if you have to leave the next day around 2pm that doesn't leave a lot of time. So, depending how tired you are the first day, you may just want to go to Tabacon Springs that night, take advantage of the cheaper rates. They have a restaurant on site so you could have dinner there and then soak away in the pools. If you decide to do that, the next day you could do some horse riding, hiking in the area or go the waterfall (ask at the hotel for recommendations on tours). We couldn't do any of it because the weather was bad (too rainy and slippery for hiking etc.)<BR>We did a canopy tour near Rincon de la Vieja - it was a part of a day trip we took from Tamarindo. It is supposedly one of the better ones in CR. It was a lot of fun, just don't count on seeing a lot of wildlife.<BR>Other activities in Tamarindo: horseback riding on the beach (especially at sunset), surfing, boogie boarding. We also drove to surrounding towns and beaches: Playa Conchal is definitely worth visiting, it is a beautiful beach with white sand and crushed shells. Playa Flamingo is also nice. If you have a car it is an easy drive from Tamarindo.<BR>Have fun!

kate

Thank you Iza. Your advice is very helpful.

Brooke

You're only going to be in Monteverde one day, so you won't be able to see everything. I guess if I were you, I would arrange for a private guide to meet you at the Cloud Forest early Monday morning. You can do this through El Sapo Dorado if you want, but you might want to call ahead of time, because it might be too short notice the night before. We used the group tours at the reserve, which were ok, but next time I'd use a private guide. In the afternoon, you could go to the Butterfly Farm, which I heard was nice, or take a walk through the Finca Ecologica Farm, which we enjoyed. I would find time to just walk around the town, which we found charming. <BR><BR>I recommend you get up early on Tuesday and do the Skywalk, before you leave town. We got there really early and practically had the place to ourselves. We originally planned on doing the SkyTrek canopy tour, but after talking to a lot of people throughout our travels, we decided against it. It's more of a thrill ride then a chance to view wildlife (the animals tend to run away when people scream), so we opted for the walk instead. We didn't see much wildlife on the Skywalk either, although we did get eye-to-eye with a sloth, but the trail is absolutely beautiful.<BR><BR>If you haven't already, check out www.monteverdeinfo.com. They have some useful info on all the attractions.<BR><BR>Have a great trip, and let us know how it went when you get back.

kate

Brooke, Thanks for the info. <BR><BR>How much time can we expect to spend in the cloud forest? Were you impressed with the wildlife? I have heard a lot of mixed reviews about Monteverde.<BR><BR>Would anyone recommend a canopy tour in Monteverde?

Wendy

Brooke, do you happen to remember what room you stayed in at El Sapo Dorado? We're staying in a mountain suite as oppose to the sunset terrace. Any thoughts?<BR><BR>Thanks!!!