Totally Confused - HELP
Oct 31st, 2004, 08:54 AM
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Totally Confused - HELP
My husband and I are beginning to plan a trip to CR Dec 29 - Jan 4. We are not much "beach people" but would like a little time to relax or snorkle/raft/whale watch - something water related for 1/2 - 3/4 day. We also wanted to see lots of wildlife, but would not enjoy a 10-12 hour hike somewhere to do it. Originally we thought Monteverde and definately the hanging bridges and zip lines and perhaps the Volcano - although we have to been to Hawaii so would forgo that if time was an issue. Moving around everyday is not a problem - our motto is "we can relax/sleep at home - vacation is a time to see all we can"
Here's my confusing part. After reading these threads for 4 hours and doing research for the past 2 days it seems as though there are cloud forests everywhere, zip lines everywhere and birds/monkeys etc everywhere. My plan of San Jose, Arenal, Monteverde and MA now seems redundant, but I'm not sure!!
How/where can I get all my must sees in without feeling as though I've missed something? How do I get the best blend? Thanks for making me less confused.
Here's my confusing part. After reading these threads for 4 hours and doing research for the past 2 days it seems as though there are cloud forests everywhere, zip lines everywhere and birds/monkeys etc everywhere. My plan of San Jose, Arenal, Monteverde and MA now seems redundant, but I'm not sure!!
How/where can I get all my must sees in without feeling as though I've missed something? How do I get the best blend? Thanks for making me less confused.
Oct 31st, 2004, 09:46 AM
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you cannot see everything in this country in six days so do not try. 6 days would be great for 2 destinations -say Arenal/ MA.
Whenever i have returned form CR my list of "Want to see" is longer not shorter
Whenever i have returned form CR my list of "Want to see" is longer not shorter
Oct 31st, 2004, 10:21 AM
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ladybug98 - Possibly, you've read that snorkeling isn't the best in CR, depending on where and when - if compared to say, Mexico/Hawaii/etc. Whale watching in CR? Hmmmm.
"My plan of San Jose, Arenal, Monteverde and MA now seems redundant"... A little. I completely agree with greenfieldhunter, saying that you should consider staying in one location for 3 or 2 days each. The difficulty is that traveling between locations consumes your vacation time - in daylight hours - due to unlit, 2-lane roads (sometimes 1.5 lanes through the mtn passes). They simply don't have the 4-lane highways lit like an airstrip as in more populated countries. That is part of the charm, though, as you aren't going to CR to see McTowns. The country isn't set up for a whirlwind tour, but you could see a lot for short periods of time if you traveled each day.
As far as rafting goes, you've probably read that you could do whitewater, or safari float. People say the best for whitewater is Pacuare - so that's what we did in Sept. I now want to do the others. We also did a safari float on the Penas Blancas and saw a wide array of animals.
After seeing the beauty, awe, danger, excitement of the volcano in Hawaii, you might be correct in bypassing the same in CR.
Back to this statement : "Moving around everyday is not a problem". If you can stick to this, you can see a good amount of CR. The key is to select where you want to see the best of everything. I really would rely on the opninons of the travelers you have read for 4 hours and 2 days. This fueled our trip and we were quite content with the results...
"My plan of San Jose, Arenal, Monteverde and MA now seems redundant"... A little. I completely agree with greenfieldhunter, saying that you should consider staying in one location for 3 or 2 days each. The difficulty is that traveling between locations consumes your vacation time - in daylight hours - due to unlit, 2-lane roads (sometimes 1.5 lanes through the mtn passes). They simply don't have the 4-lane highways lit like an airstrip as in more populated countries. That is part of the charm, though, as you aren't going to CR to see McTowns. The country isn't set up for a whirlwind tour, but you could see a lot for short periods of time if you traveled each day.
As far as rafting goes, you've probably read that you could do whitewater, or safari float. People say the best for whitewater is Pacuare - so that's what we did in Sept. I now want to do the others. We also did a safari float on the Penas Blancas and saw a wide array of animals.
After seeing the beauty, awe, danger, excitement of the volcano in Hawaii, you might be correct in bypassing the same in CR.
Back to this statement : "Moving around everyday is not a problem". If you can stick to this, you can see a good amount of CR. The key is to select where you want to see the best of everything. I really would rely on the opninons of the travelers you have read for 4 hours and 2 days. This fueled our trip and we were quite content with the results...
Oct 31st, 2004, 10:27 AM
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I wholeheartedly agree. Manuel Antonio would give you some beach time, some rainforest time, possibly whale time, I have seen huge pods of dolphins just off the coast there. Deep Sea fishing is great in that area. Monkeys from your hotel room close enough?
Check out RioSPAraiso web site. Isla Damas kayaking.
Yes, there are zip lines etc in many places these days. Cloud forests are merely high mountains that catch the clouds. Plenty of those in CR.
Bosque del Cabo might be an option also but would involve a short flight to the Osa.
Biggest problem I see is timing. You are planning on going during some of the super peak time so a lot of the favorite places will be booked up at least for part of the time. After the 1st you should find more availabilities.
I would start in the Arenal area and then go elsewhere. The beach areas are very booked up during xmas and new years. Another option would be a place in the central valley and do a couple of days of day trips.
Check out RioSPAraiso web site. Isla Damas kayaking.
Yes, there are zip lines etc in many places these days. Cloud forests are merely high mountains that catch the clouds. Plenty of those in CR.
Bosque del Cabo might be an option also but would involve a short flight to the Osa.
Biggest problem I see is timing. You are planning on going during some of the super peak time so a lot of the favorite places will be booked up at least for part of the time. After the 1st you should find more availabilities.
I would start in the Arenal area and then go elsewhere. The beach areas are very booked up during xmas and new years. Another option would be a place in the central valley and do a couple of days of day trips.
Nov 2nd, 2004, 04:20 AM
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Thanks for the advice.
Triplesecdelay - do you know if rafting is an option in Dec? Is it only available in green season? What company did you use?
Jessie - if cloud forests and zip lines are everywhere, how do I find the ones that are worthwhile?
How does this sound for a whirlwind trip...
Day 1 - arrive SJ and fly to MA arrive by 3:30 poolside!!
Day 2 & 3 - MA park etc
Day 4 - am MA area then fly to SJ and drive to arenal in time for a hot springs dip and dinner
Day 5 - go to volcano in am and drive to Montverde arive by 4 or 5
Day 6 - cloud forest/ zip line etc
Day 7 - drive back to SJ and go home
Is there anything in SJ worth seeing? How far a drive are the La Paz waterfalls and in what direction? Same for Sarchi - I know it's an hour from SJ but which direction? If you can bear one more question - Can I possible go to Carara Reserve and Marino Balleno Park from the MA area, with what transportation...buses??
Thank you everyone!!
Triplesecdelay - do you know if rafting is an option in Dec? Is it only available in green season? What company did you use?
Jessie - if cloud forests and zip lines are everywhere, how do I find the ones that are worthwhile?
How does this sound for a whirlwind trip...
Day 1 - arrive SJ and fly to MA arrive by 3:30 poolside!!
Day 2 & 3 - MA park etc
Day 4 - am MA area then fly to SJ and drive to arenal in time for a hot springs dip and dinner
Day 5 - go to volcano in am and drive to Montverde arive by 4 or 5
Day 6 - cloud forest/ zip line etc
Day 7 - drive back to SJ and go home
Is there anything in SJ worth seeing? How far a drive are the La Paz waterfalls and in what direction? Same for Sarchi - I know it's an hour from SJ but which direction? If you can bear one more question - Can I possible go to Carara Reserve and Marino Balleno Park from the MA area, with what transportation...buses??
Thank you everyone!!
Nov 2nd, 2004, 06:50 AM
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Your schedule is do able but you will go home exhausted.
Having done a lot of rafting in CR I am going to jump in on that question. The time period that you are going should be great for rafting. It is before the real dry period so there should still be plenty of water for a good ride. If anything, I would determine refund policies due to high water cancellations. I have used Rios Tropicales, Costa Rica Expeditions, and Horizontes. Another outfit that I have heard good things about is Aventuras Naturales. I have rafted the Reventazon (before it was dammed) and the Pacuare. I have done single day and overnights.
If you want to see La Paz, Sarchi, etc you could do it on your way to Arenal if you fly back to San Jose very early, get in your car, and get moving. La Paz is slightly NE of Alajuela (airport) and Sarchi is N. You could drive up to La Paz, come back down the mountain and swing over to Sarchi and from there over to San Ramon where you can get on the road to La Fortuna. You can get a good map at Barnes and Noble and the car rental company should be able to give you good directions. I think my husband has been doing some CR dreamin
because the one I keep by my desk is missing so can only go by memory of how we have driven that area.
As far as the zip lines. Arenal has a couple of good ones. One of which is just now opening (or should be open by
the time you get there)and is the same company that is so popular up in Monteverde-Sky Trek. I would just skip your monteverde leg and take advantage of all that Arenal has to offer. The Hanging Bridges have many of the same types of plants as Monteverde not to mention gorgeous views of Arenal (weather permitting). I think most people would agree that 2 places is good for a 7day trip.
I have not rafted the Sarapiqui but have spent a lot of time hiking in that area. Lots of wildlife and I hear the rafting is fun. Aguas Bravas (as well as other companies) works out of Arenal and you could make arrangements through your hotel in that area to go with them.
As far as Carara and Belleno, they are a good distance away from MA. You could conceivably hire a taxi for the day and go to one of them but I honestly think that you could find enough to do in the Manuel Antonio area. The road to Dominical is pretty rough. They are working on it but don't know how far they have gotten. It looked like they were just starting on the bridges this summer. Keep in mind this is latin america and they do things a little slower.
Having done a lot of rafting in CR I am going to jump in on that question. The time period that you are going should be great for rafting. It is before the real dry period so there should still be plenty of water for a good ride. If anything, I would determine refund policies due to high water cancellations. I have used Rios Tropicales, Costa Rica Expeditions, and Horizontes. Another outfit that I have heard good things about is Aventuras Naturales. I have rafted the Reventazon (before it was dammed) and the Pacuare. I have done single day and overnights.
If you want to see La Paz, Sarchi, etc you could do it on your way to Arenal if you fly back to San Jose very early, get in your car, and get moving. La Paz is slightly NE of Alajuela (airport) and Sarchi is N. You could drive up to La Paz, come back down the mountain and swing over to Sarchi and from there over to San Ramon where you can get on the road to La Fortuna. You can get a good map at Barnes and Noble and the car rental company should be able to give you good directions. I think my husband has been doing some CR dreamin
because the one I keep by my desk is missing so can only go by memory of how we have driven that area. As far as the zip lines. Arenal has a couple of good ones. One of which is just now opening (or should be open by
the time you get there)and is the same company that is so popular up in Monteverde-Sky Trek. I would just skip your monteverde leg and take advantage of all that Arenal has to offer. The Hanging Bridges have many of the same types of plants as Monteverde not to mention gorgeous views of Arenal (weather permitting). I think most people would agree that 2 places is good for a 7day trip.
I have not rafted the Sarapiqui but have spent a lot of time hiking in that area. Lots of wildlife and I hear the rafting is fun. Aguas Bravas (as well as other companies) works out of Arenal and you could make arrangements through your hotel in that area to go with them.
As far as Carara and Belleno, they are a good distance away from MA. You could conceivably hire a taxi for the day and go to one of them but I honestly think that you could find enough to do in the Manuel Antonio area. The road to Dominical is pretty rough. They are working on it but don't know how far they have gotten. It looked like they were just starting on the bridges this summer. Keep in mind this is latin america and they do things a little slower.
Nov 2nd, 2004, 02:16 PM
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I've rafted 8 times in the US and twice in CR, so I defer to the more experienced CR travelers, such as the above...
Naming my rafting company will not guarantee the same guide, nor the same experience. Maybe <i>this</i> is more helpful :
Ask if your trip includes breakfast. If so, where?
Ask if your trip includes lunch. If so, where.
Does the trip stop midway down the whitewater tour and prepare lunch on the riverbank?
Does the trip provide lunch at a soda or a restaurant after the raft is back on the trailer?
Will there be an opportunity to hand off your waterproof camera to another raft tour company employee for photos? Ours did on the Pacuare, and we gave the camera to a pair of kayakers who "escorted" our raft down the river. Nice shots from their perspective outside the raft.
Does the tour company take photos along the tour and sell you a CD? This is also a great feature.
Going to the Arenal region during the day is fine for waterfalls, hanging bridges, zip lines, etc. Viewing of lava is not guaranteed by Mother Nature -- and is possible during the night, only. Having said that, there are times when white puffs of ash/smoke are visible during daylight hours as huge boulders skip down the face of the volcano. Obviously, this is not as dramatic. So, I like the Day 4 part. You might consider just going to Monteverde in the a.m. of Day 5. I'm not sure what your expectations are of "going to the volcano" in the morning.
The SkyTrek in Arenal is open and functional. We did their $45 tour, taking the SkyTram up to the observation deck, where views of the cloud forest, the "quiet" side of the volcano, and of the length of Lago Arenal are possible. At the far end of the lake, one can see the windmills at this man-made hydroelectric lake. Then, the second half of the $45 tour involves the zip lines. One practice run about 6 feet high for 40 feet(?) and then on to the good stuff. All new equipment and gov't inspected. I recommend this one. Other CR travelers also recommend the canopy tour which has the "superman" line, where you zip horizontally across the line. Research this one, too. We didn't have enough time to do everything.
By the way, I recommend early a.m. starts to maximize your experiences. Because the roads are as I mentioned above, this more or less dictates your travel time. There's no werewolf that comes out at night, but it's just not the same level of safety to drive after dark.
I would consider leaving the hotel room at Arenal and going to the Zip Line / Canopy Tour after breakfast. Then, on to Monteverde. IF you've already been to the hotsprings and seen the waterfall and hanging bridges the day before. That night, you will have had as much of a chance of seeing lava as any night, and on you go.
Don't mean at all to spook anybody, but I found this website prior to our CR vacation that offers a humorous look at the worst of the road conditions.
www.huecos.com
Remember this rule of journalism : if it isn't shocking, they won't show it. I just thought it was funny. There was only one drive on which we encountered potholed roads, (on an accidental shortcut from Fortuna to SJO) and then we came upon a voluntary toll booth. We gave them some Colones and after that, this particular road was so smooth you could rollerblade on it.
Ask everyone more questions here . . .
Naming my rafting company will not guarantee the same guide, nor the same experience. Maybe <i>this</i> is more helpful :
Ask if your trip includes breakfast. If so, where?
Ask if your trip includes lunch. If so, where.
Does the trip stop midway down the whitewater tour and prepare lunch on the riverbank?
Does the trip provide lunch at a soda or a restaurant after the raft is back on the trailer?
Will there be an opportunity to hand off your waterproof camera to another raft tour company employee for photos? Ours did on the Pacuare, and we gave the camera to a pair of kayakers who "escorted" our raft down the river. Nice shots from their perspective outside the raft.
Does the tour company take photos along the tour and sell you a CD? This is also a great feature.
Going to the Arenal region during the day is fine for waterfalls, hanging bridges, zip lines, etc. Viewing of lava is not guaranteed by Mother Nature -- and is possible during the night, only. Having said that, there are times when white puffs of ash/smoke are visible during daylight hours as huge boulders skip down the face of the volcano. Obviously, this is not as dramatic. So, I like the Day 4 part. You might consider just going to Monteverde in the a.m. of Day 5. I'm not sure what your expectations are of "going to the volcano" in the morning.
The SkyTrek in Arenal is open and functional. We did their $45 tour, taking the SkyTram up to the observation deck, where views of the cloud forest, the "quiet" side of the volcano, and of the length of Lago Arenal are possible. At the far end of the lake, one can see the windmills at this man-made hydroelectric lake. Then, the second half of the $45 tour involves the zip lines. One practice run about 6 feet high for 40 feet(?) and then on to the good stuff. All new equipment and gov't inspected. I recommend this one. Other CR travelers also recommend the canopy tour which has the "superman" line, where you zip horizontally across the line. Research this one, too. We didn't have enough time to do everything.
By the way, I recommend early a.m. starts to maximize your experiences. Because the roads are as I mentioned above, this more or less dictates your travel time. There's no werewolf that comes out at night, but it's just not the same level of safety to drive after dark.
I would consider leaving the hotel room at Arenal and going to the Zip Line / Canopy Tour after breakfast. Then, on to Monteverde. IF you've already been to the hotsprings and seen the waterfall and hanging bridges the day before. That night, you will have had as much of a chance of seeing lava as any night, and on you go.
Don't mean at all to spook anybody, but I found this website prior to our CR vacation that offers a humorous look at the worst of the road conditions.
www.huecos.com
Remember this rule of journalism : if it isn't shocking, they won't show it. I just thought it was funny. There was only one drive on which we encountered potholed roads, (on an accidental shortcut from Fortuna to SJO) and then we came upon a voluntary toll booth. We gave them some Colones and after that, this particular road was so smooth you could rollerblade on it.
Ask everyone more questions here . . .
Nov 7th, 2004, 09:36 AM
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You'd better hurry, we had a hard time with hotel reservations for the same timeframe. We ended up with rather expensive reservations in Manuel Antonio at the Hotel Dero (through Hotel Diviamar) that seems to have no internet presence at all and no reviews. We're a bit nervous about it. Monteverde was difficult too. Your confusion may be unilaterally resolved by availability of lodging. Your itenerary seems a bit hurried for six-day trip. Good luck.
Nov 8th, 2004, 11:19 AM
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I just wanted to add a bit about whale / dolphin watching. TripleSecDelay responded "Whale watching in CR? Hmmmm"
The tourism for this awesome activity isn't very well marketed. Since many are not aware there are several species of whales and dolphins calling the CR waters home. AM Costa Rica has their great experience here
http://www.amcostarica.com/082202.htm
(scroll farther down for another whale story on that same link)
As many whales migrate, timing seems to be the issue of when its best to see certain species. The humpbacks are there from about June to November.
Personally I enjoyed a wonderful dolphin experience in Feb. 2004 with
http://www.divinedolphin.com/encounters.htm
Hundreds of Spinner dolphins were around our small boat for hours and we were able to get in the water with them.
http://www.fluffytails.ca/dolphins.asp
Visitors to CR should be aware that there are wonders in the water too!
And ladybug we too live by the motto "we can relax/sleep at home - vacation is a time to see all we can".
Hope you'll be exhasted but happy after your trip to CR
The tourism for this awesome activity isn't very well marketed. Since many are not aware there are several species of whales and dolphins calling the CR waters home. AM Costa Rica has their great experience here
http://www.amcostarica.com/082202.htm
(scroll farther down for another whale story on that same link)
As many whales migrate, timing seems to be the issue of when its best to see certain species. The humpbacks are there from about June to November.
Personally I enjoyed a wonderful dolphin experience in Feb. 2004 with
http://www.divinedolphin.com/encounters.htm
Hundreds of Spinner dolphins were around our small boat for hours and we were able to get in the water with them.
http://www.fluffytails.ca/dolphins.asp
Visitors to CR should be aware that there are wonders in the water too!
And ladybug we too live by the motto "we can relax/sleep at home - vacation is a time to see all we can".
Hope you'll be exhasted but happy after your trip to CR
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