suzyeq

I can't wait to embark on our first trip to Costa Rica! My fiancee and I are spending 9 days in CR in mid March. We are flying from JFK into San Jose and arrive before noon. I am planning to get a driver (need sugestions on a driver please) to take us to the Lost Iguana for a two night stay. We are then planning to leave Arenal and drive ourselves to Tamarindo to stay 6 nights on the beach at Capitan Suzio. We then fly out of Liberia back to JFK. We are interested in white water rafting, zip lining, boat cruise, relaxation on the beach and exploring the area on our own...I have tried my best to organize a great trip based on a lot of reading of different posts and hope we are not missing out by only staying 2 nights in Arenal...any comments are welcomed on my itineray...Please advise me on the following:

1.) Need names of dependable driver to take us from airport to Lost Iguana
2.) Activites to do while in Arenal--definitely want to zipline...can we do whitewater rafting in Guancaste area??
3.) Name of rental car agencies for rental car from Arenal to Guanacaste ..plan to drop car off at Liberia airport..(is this worth it to get a car or just use drivers??)
4.) Any activites in the different areas that are Must see/do!!

Thanks so much !!!Can't Wait to explore what appears to be an amazing place!!

volcanogirl

You can book your driver through the Lost Iguana; we've done that several times. They use Carlos Bogarin, and he's great. You can also reach him through Destinos Encantados; they have a website. Sky Trek is the most popular zipline - long, high, fast lines with gorgeous views of the lake and the volcano. We loved it. You can also do a sunset boat cruise on the lake and white water raft with Rios Tropicales. We also like the Cano Negro tour and the Penas Blancas river float. You won't have time for all of it with only two days, but there's tons to do. The natural hot springs like Tabacon and Eco Termales are a nice evening activity.

suzyeq

Oh good...thank you vocanogirl...I was hoping you would respond to my posting as from all I've read you seem to be very knowlegable of Costa Rica..do you think we should rent a car and drive ourselves to Guanacaste or use that day to do another activity and have a private driver take us to Guanacaste later in the day (I've read that if driving yourselves it is best to leave early in the am to avoid fog and drive in daylight). Also ..are there white water rafting trips to do from Guanacaste? I am thinking maybe first day (day of arrival) doing hanging bridges and doing zip line the next day with hot springs at night and then whitewater rafting on third day (day of departure) with private driver....or skip white water rafting in Arenal and get our own rental car to use the day to get to Guancaste as an adventure in itself ...then we would want to whitewater raft from Guanacaste...I am stressing a little as I think I should have booked 3 nights in Arenal but we do arrive by 11am in SJO so thought we'd still have time to do an activity on day of arrival...we are beach people and love to be on or under the water so that is why we did 6 nights in Tamarindo...hope we won't be disappointed...so any suggestions are great...I could I suppose try to finagle another night in Arenal if hotel available...or just settle on what I've done...I am obsessive about making this the perfect trip...can you tell

colibri

Here is a list of drivers recommended both here and on TA. I've only used Leo Rodrigues and have been pleased with him or Don Carlos (his assistant) on two trips.

Odyssey Tours (Diego and Alvaro) - [email protected]
Oscar Chavarria - [email protected]
Carlos Bogarin - [email protected]
Danny Jimenez - [email protected]
Leo Rodriguez - [email protected]
Juan Carlos and Rubier - [email protected]

suzyeq

Thank you Colibri...what can I expect to pay for a transfer from SJO to Lost Iguana? Am looking for someone knowleable about the area and personable!!

colibri

I think you can expect to pay anywhere from $150 on up. Lost Iguana is past La Fortuna right by the Hanging Bridges, so a bit further out than many lodges.

All the drivers and guides we've had over the past five trips have been excellent - enthusiastic, knowledgeable and so very proud of their beautiful country.

volcanogirl

suz, here's the website for Carlos http://destinos-encantados.com/. He's very personable and fluent in English. He knows the Arenal area very well. He even spotted a toucan for us on one of our drives. I think we paid between $140-150ish the last time we went. Prices vary according to gas prices, etc. I love him because he waited hours for us when our flight was delayed. I haven't been to Guanacaste, so can't help you with that one. It's a drier area, so I'm not sure how good rafting would be there. If you get a chance to do the waterfall hike in the Arenal area, it's really beautiful. I love Arenal, so personally I would opt for more time there, but really up to you.

suzyeq

Great! Thanks for the info on Carlos..looks like both of you have recommended him so I shall get in touch with him..I am wondering if we can do hanging bridges on arrival day....whitewater rafting on next day with hot springs at night and then waterfall hike/zip line on last day with private driver to Guanacaste that evening? Whew!! Does that sound doable??

volcanogirl

You could do the Hanging Bridges on arrival day if you make it through the airport quickly. Are you planning to eat lunch at all? It gets dark around 5:30ish, and you don't want to be out at the Hanging Bridges in the dark. It really just depends on how early you get there. The Hanging Bridges is located right next to the Lost Iguana, so that works in your favor. They sell half price tickets at the front desk, or at least they have in the past, so check on that if you end up going. Rafting and hot springs is doable in one day. Zipping took us about 4 hours total, but that included being picked up and dropped back off at the hotel by Sky Trek; they stop at every person's hotel, so that takes time. I think you could do an early morning zip and then have time to do the waterfall. You would really be packing it all in, but it would be fun! A private driver would be good because then you could go in the dark so it would give you more time.

suzyeq

Thanks for the information...sorry for the delay...finally got my power back and digging out from the Blizzard that hit us hard in CT! We will want to have lunch after landing at airport..that would be great to fit the hanging bridges in upon arrival..how long should we plan on for the hanging bridges? Is there a way to do whitewater rafting trip that ends up at our next destination in Guanacaste or is that just a crazy idea? And last question, does anyone know how long a drive it is for us from Lost Iguana to Guanacaste? Thanks for the help!!

volcanogirl

When we did the Hanging Bridges on our own, it took a couple of hours. It's easy to just follow the paths; the only wildlife we saw was ants though. When we've gone with a guide, it's taken a lot longer - maybe three hoursish because you stop to look at every little insect, flower, etc. We used a guide last time and saw howlers, a toucan, and a pretty green honeycreeper. I don't think we would have seen any of it on our own. If you have time, I think a guide adds a lot to the experience.