Depending upon your arrival time, you could be met at the airport and brought right to the Arenal area.

Best transportation from Arenal to Monteverde would be the Jeep-Boat-Jeep route. Very easy to set up.

From Monteverde to Manuel Antonio, you can either take a shared shuttle or private driver...

Wide range of hotel options, would need to know a budget to better advise.

Lost Iguana is a great choice. I'd add a day at MA, if just for beach time.

I agree with Eliot that more information is needed. What are you looking for in an accommodation? What is your budget. Also agree with adding a day in MA, as long as it doesn't take away from Arenal or Monteverde. If so, you'll have a decision to make!

We like the Lost Iguana too. On our last stay they said they're going to be doing a bunch of upgrades to the rooms, not sure when that is scheduled to happen. I love the jungly setting there. Fonda Vela is a good choice in Monteverde. They have some newer junior suites that are nice and have a bathtub and a small refrigerator; there's also a good restaurant on site. We picked it because it's one of the hotels closest to the reserve. We used Desafio's Jeep Boat Jeep to go between Arenal and Monteverde; it's pretty affordable and saves you time on the roads because you cut across the lake. Grano de Oro is a good city hotel in San Jose if you need one; their restaurant is excellent. Tulemar Bungalows is very popular in the Manuel Antonio area if you want to check there.

As of today air fare from NYC to San Jose is approx. $ 468 round trip which means that I can either leave and arrive earlier or leave in the afternoon and arrive in san jose at 8:30 pm. Any suggestions?

I know that it is a 3 hour ride from the airport to Lost Iguana and would rather not make the trip in the evening so I will need a hotel closer to the airport.

We are a couple that will want to hike, explore the area, take photos ( wife is a photographer), see wildlife. We are considering both the nighttime hike and zip lining (just not sure where and if we should do this). My wife is a vegetarian and so we need to find restaurants and hotels that will accommodate her. We would like to go on a few guided tours and perhaps hire a driver to take us from one location to another. Regarding our budget: I would say in the $ 200 per night range for a hotel.

We like the idea of staying someplace where we can relax after a day out , enjoy a good meal, and a nice glass of wine.

Thanks Eliot, Cattail and Sylvia!

I'd zipline at Sky Trek in the Arenal area - highest, longest lines in the country and beautiful views of the lake and the volcano. For night hiking, we liked Hidden Valley in Monteverde - saw some cool nocturnal animals like a fox, porcupine, etc. when we did it. If you want to get some good wildlife shots, I'd recommend doing the Cano Negro tour with Sunset Tours or Desafio.

In MA, look at the penthouse at Costa Verde2.

Thank you so much volcano girl! I have been reading all of your postings and many of my choices have been a result of your experiences. Like you we are hesitant about the zip lining . We are 67, in fairly good physical shape (I do have some neck issues) and eager to have new experiences. How about my question regarding vegetarian choices for my wife? I also have checked out the Fonda Vela and it looks like a fit for us.

If we are leaving from Manuel Antonio how much time will we need to get from there to the San Jose airport ?

Thanks!

You're welcome, ally! We saw some good birds at Fonda Vela; they have a little garden area and some trails, and we saw toucans there and an emerald toucanet. I liked the restaurant. It was chilly when we were there, and they had a fireplace going that was really nice. It took us about 3 hours to go from MA back to San Jose when we did it.

We didn't look specifically for veg. restaurants in our travels, but I would check Don Rufino and La Choza de Laurel in the Arenal area. Those are two places we like. I know Don Rufino has nice salads and pastas. If you want fancy, the restaurants at Nayara and at the Springs Resort and Spa have high end food with a lot of options. We liked Pizzeria de Johnny in Monteverde. I had a good salad there. In MA, we liked Ronny's Place/Mi Lugar, Cafe Agua Azul, Barba Roja, and Salsipuedes. Cafe Milagro has nice coffee drinks. Most places will offer salads, rice, beans, grilled plantains, and things like that.

http://www.donrufino.com/e_index.php#B1 is a link to the Don Ruf. menu for you.

ally, what type of transportation would you consider; shared shuttle, private driver, rental car, bus...? If you are taking a shared shuttle, you may need to book within the city. Otherwise, there are several excellent options near the airport with grounds and trails. The Orchideas Inn is one of the less expensive choices; friendly and relaxed, and we've seen lots of great birds there on the hilltop (I don't care for the caged bird though). Xandria (sp) near the airport was running a special last I looked, and it looks amazing.

I'm a vegetarian too, so I hear your concern. Well, semi-vegetarian; I do eat fish. There were a very few times I was limited to rice and beans in three thrips to CR, but mostly there have been other good choices. If your wife is vegan, on the other hand, that might be more of a problem.

Yes, Xandari is a great choice if you can swing the cost.

My son is expressing concern that his parents would even be considering a zip line! He is the mountain climber /adventurer in the family and lived in Costa Rica when he was in high school living with a local family and helping build a community center there. If we choose NOT to do a zip line should this impact us on how many days in both Arenal and Monteverde?

Also: This same son got married in Antigua Guatemala almost two years ago. It was a beautiful location,however, I succumbed to the stomach virus that one may receive there. Will I be dealing with the same issues in Costa Rica and if so I would appreciate any helpful hints dealing with this.

Thanks!

Do the zip line! Fun, fun, fun! As far as a virus, I always travel with cipro.

We've done lots of trips to CR and have never gotten sick. I've gotten sick every time I went to Mexico though. For the most part, you can eat and drink just about everything in CR.

There's tons to do in the Arenal area so I wouldn't change the amount of time there. However, I wouldn't let you son talk you out of the zipline - when will you get the chance to do it again? It felt very safe to us. What about waterfall rappelling - would he for that? There's also the waterfall hike and the Hanging Bridges hike, a volcano hike, Cano Negro tour, Penas Blancas river float, the hot springs, and the Proyecto Asis animal rescue center.

Another question...or two!

Can I do this entire trip without renting a car? If I stay in both Lost Iguana and Fonda Vela I understand that both hotels are not close to town. How does one go into town if you want some other dining options other than the hotel?

We just take taxis if we want to go into town, but it does add up. A lot of people like to have a car in the Arenal area because it's spread out. We took taxis in Monteverde, cheaper there. The Lost Iguana has also let us ride their employee shuttle into town, but it's just based on their schedule and when they're going. If you do tours, you can have them drop you off in town for lunch or dinner or whatever and then take a taxi back to the hotel.

I meant "would he go for that?" up above - sorry for the typo!

Yes, you can. We've traveled throughout CR three times without a car! As vc said, taxis do add up, so weigh the positives and negatives of renting vs. not renting.

In three trips, my husband was sick for about 12 hours one day, and we eat and rink everything. We think that it's because he drank some tap water. I'm not sure that Cipro will work if your sickness isn't bacterial, but we always bring some.

Yes! Booked our flight and will be arriving on January 27th ( in evening). Need to book a hotel close to the airport. Just made our reservations for The Lost Iguana for the next 3 nights ( where we will celebrate our anniversary and my birthday. I am now in the process of booking our Monteverde stay and while I have checked out Fonda Vela I am also considering the Hotel Belmar. I would appreciate any comments/help with these choices so far and need some options for Manuel Antonio for 3 days!

I would suggest visiting and staying in the Guanacaste Area, this is where all the major new beach resorts on the Pacific side are located. You can find recommended hotels in this area at http://www.voyagemonkey.com/costarica.html as well as things to do and see in Guanacaste. You will find a very good Four Seasons and a Westin there, as well as a Marriott, Hilton, RIU and many more. The beaches are outstanding.

For your arrival night - we have stayed twice at Adventure Inn which is about 10 minutes from SJO and offers a free shuttle along with a great breakfast in the morning. I prefer the rooms towards the back as I think they are quieter.

I have now made the following reservations:

3 days in Arenal at the Lost Iguana
3 days in Monteverde at Hotel Belmar
3 days in Manuel Antonio at Costa Verde 2

The questions I still have remaining:

Which hotel for the night we arrive in San Jose?

Without renting a car how should I travel from San Jose to Arenal; Monteverde to Manuel Antonio and Manuel Antonio to San Jose? I have been told that both Interbus and Grayline bus are available or the hiring of a private driver.

Any suggestions?

ally, we've been pleased with Interbus, but it doesn't always run on a tight schedule. A private driver may cost a bit more, but would accommodate your schedule. Maybe get quotes for both?

Both Grano de Oro and Xandari mentioned above are nice for a one night stay.

Just reserved our last hotel: Adventure Inn (on our first night arrival) and have made plans for Interbus to take us the next morning to The Lost Iguana!

Looks like we will take the Van/Boat/ Van from Arenal to Monteverde and I am now in contact with Wilson Rojas for transportation from Monteverde to Manuel Antonio and Manuel Antonio to San Jose.

Any suggestions on books to read prior to our trip on Costa Rica or guides to bring to identify the wildlife?

How about suggestions for clothes and "must" things to bring with us? We will be there January 27-February 6.

Shorts, Ts, capris for women, one pair of long pants and one long-sleeved shirt, a jacket for Monteverde which can get cool, running shoes, water shoes, bathing suit, socks, insect repellent, and binoculars. We always pack a rain poncho, but doesn't look like you'll be there in rainy season.

We visited Costa Rica last February/March and did the zip line with Canopy Safari, based in Quepos near Manuel Antonio. We felt very safe with them. I was 68 and a "scaredy cat" who almost abcked out at the last minute. My husband, more of a thrill seeker, was 86! There were others in our group in their late 60s & early 70s, as well as families with kids. They took wonderful care of all of us. Everyone had a great time. If it sounds like fun to you, don't let anyone talk you out ot it!

linnie, good for you!

Garrigues and Dean is a good bird book if you need one. Hope I'm spelling it right. Stiles and Skutch is also popular but to me, too huge to lug around. There are also laminated wildlife id cards that you can buy.

Thanks Linnie for the good old fashioned pep talk!

To those who have zip lined: which of the three locations ( arenal, monteverde and manuel antonio) would be best for us?

Since I can't seem to make up my mind whether or not to travel with a private driver from Monteverde to Manuel Antonio and MA to San Jose airport, I have decided to wait until we assess our Interbus trip from San Jose to Arenal. Is this not a good idea? Will either or both get all booked quickly?

I would plan your zip line for Arenal if the weather is good. That way if your subsequent locations get bad weather, you won't miss out.

Arenal zips have great volcano and lake views - that gets my vote. Monteverde can be windy and chilly. We've done it in both, and I'm team Arenal.

Well the zip line is very good option! But if you need transportation, just send me an E-mail, I have some option for you! rusbell.md@gmail.com

I have been in touch with the following drivers: Leo Rodriguez, Danny Jiminez, Carlos Bogarin,
Wilson Rojas and two drivers suggested by the Lost Iguana Hotel. Each driver has a different rate from Monteverde to Manuel Antonio ranging from $200 - $250 and from Manuel Antonio to San Jose Airport $150 - $180. One issue is that the "driver" who I might want to hire is not necessarily the driver I will receive. I am a bit confused as to what I should do.

The above note from Costarica1989: are you a driver or company?

Another question : Since our anniversary is on January 29th and we will be at Lost Iguana I am looking for suggestions on how to plan a special day for the two of us.

I would spend some of the time with a nice soak at Eco Termales. Small, not crowded. We had lunch there before hand and enjoyed it. Then hung out in the pools.

I'd do a zipline during the day or Cano Negro tour if you'd rather and then do the hot springs at night. Both of those tours are memorable and would be a fun way to spend the day. Memorable too!

I was 67 when we did the zipline in Arenal. It's great. Felt very taken care of and safe. We used shared shuttles for the exact trip you are doing. They were always early, very professional and we felt a good bargain. We booked it all ahead online. The van-boat-van worked well for us. Stayed in Santa Elena and walked/bused to the park. Very easy. We liked being in the small town for choices for meals.

Its been a long time since we were in Costa Rica. Stayed at a timeshare in San Jose & booked tours through the TS. Flew to Manuel Antonio-sure wished it was more than 1 night-oh well.
Make sure to tell your hotels it is your anniversary & wifes birthday. My husband & I spent a month in SE Asia Sept/October & every place we stayed had an anniversary cake or wine.
I always contact my travel nurse & take azithromycin-just in case.
Happy Anniversary & have loads of fun

I just received confirmation that Wilson Rojas will drive us from Monteverde to Manuel Antonio and from Manuel Antonio to the San Jose airport. We are now set regarding our complete travel itinerary.

A question ( from my wife) for the photographers out there: My wife has a NIkon D 90 camera and cannot carry every lens around and a tripod all day. Does anyone have a recommendation for which lenses would be most useful?

Definitely Monteverde and Arenal are two of the most beautiful in costa rica , they are the favorite for many lover who want to celebrate in Costa Rica

ally, I'm not knowledgeable enough to answer your lens question, but I'd definitely recommend getting some kind of waterproof bag to carry the camera in. We've had both binocs and camera get incredibly foggy due to moisture in the air. I always toss in some of those dessicant packages as well.

OK, I have D90. Mostly I have used 70-300; if you have 50 or wider prime take also that one. Tripod is not so useful as animals are above your head and are moving around. Be careful not to have your gear in same room as A/C. Of course, if you wan to take those razor sharp shots then you need to use tripod - there is not much light under the canopy.

A new question: do we need to take malaria pills if we are visiting the rainforest and monteverde? Also we were told to take vitamin B1 pills to ward off against mosquitos.

Any comments?

Malaria isn't common to any of the areas we've visited. We do apply mosquito repellent as needed. No shots were required for us, but our doctor did recommend a Hep. shot for anyone going to Central or South America so we got that.

With my Canon I've used the 18-55mm for landscape/scenery and the 70/300 IS for wildlife.

Great information everybody! I am planning my honeymoon and want to visit a couple of places. One will definitely be Aeranal but I am struggling with the second location. One of my friends said Quepos but I read your itinerary Allyboy and now need a recommendation from the Fodor community. Queros, Monteverde, or other? Also, I'm looking for hotel recommendations preferably sub $300/night in each location. We will be traveling August 3rd-11th. Thanks!

"T'was the week before Costa Rica ..."

All is definitely not quiet here as we start to put all the pieces together before we leave next Sunday. My wife is a bit frantic as we didn't start any type of malaria prevention, receive any hepatitis shots and the more she looks at the CDC website is convinced that we may be in danger of both Yellow Fever and Dengue! Definitely need to calm her down! We have been taking 500 MG of vitamin B1 ( apparently helps agains mosquito bites).

Any further advice on what we can or should do over this week ?

Any specific maps we should purchase for the areas we will be in?

My advice would be don't panic, and have fun. None of the areas you're visiting have a high risk for malaria. We've had several trips to CR and have never gotten sick ever. Just bring bug repellent. There was a recent outbreak of Dengue in the U.S. If you ever read the CDC info. for the U.S. it's just as scary. Have your wife look at a malaria map for Costa Rica. That might make her feel better. None of the areas we've ever been to have been very buggy except Tortuguero. We definitely needed the repellent there. You can't take anything to prevent Dengue anyway so no use worrying.

Just returned from an absolutely incredible ten day trip to Costa Rica!

It was a vacation filled with hiking, exploration, adventure, zip lining (yes we did all 15 in Monteverde), tons of wildlife sightings and sitting on the beach!

We traveled by Interbus, taxis, Hotel vans, private driver ( Wilson Rojas is special) and of course by foot. There were tours with larger groups ( Cano Negro) and personal guided tours at The Hanging Bridges ( Arenal), Cloud Forest , Bird Tour and Night tour (Monteverde) as well as Manuel Antonio Park. There were Quetzels, Toucans, Agoudis, Coatis, Monkeys ( Howlers, White Face and Squirrel), Crocodiles, Iguanas , Macaws and more birds that I can remember. And OH the sunsets and Arenal Volcano , Iguana Trees and of course the people.

I cannot thank all of you enough for helping me plan this vacation and I will be posting a trip report as soon as I can accept being welcomed back to a Blizzard back home!

Costa Rica is indeed a very special place and my wife and I were thrilled with our itinerary and choices!

You ROCK FODORITES!!!!!!

Sounds like an amazing time. So glad you had fun. What were your favorite things?

Oh, and happy anniversary!