Hi!
I am trying to decide whether or not Monteverde and/or Arenal/La Fortuna are worth spending my time on during my upcoming trip. I have three weeks and my plan had been to go from San Jose to Monteverde, then the jeep-boat combo to Arenal/La Fortuna, and then the shuttle to Tortuguero, then on down the Caribbean coast, crossing into Panama (so I was thinking 10 days to 2 weeks in Costa Rica, and one week to 10 days in Panama, seeing how I felt when 'on the ground'). However, reading comments in the forum here has made me rethink my plans. I had identified Monteverde based on a friend's enthusiasm, and Arenal as a point kind of between Monteverde and Tortuguero and, yeah, I like hot springs, so why not.
I won't be driving on this trip, but was thinking of shuttles rather than public transport to speed things along.
Thanks for the insight! I have found the forums here really useful as a supplement to my LP guidebook.
Considering your destination is Panama on the caribe side, the "worth it" is all in the eye of the beholder, and their interest.
Monteverde is a unique biosphere as a Cloudforest, but, there is not a lot of wildlife to the naked eye, compared to say Tortuguero and Cahuita. It is also very hard to reach, and you need 2 nights there.
Arenal, though not active, is a nice area, and if you were to nix Monteverde, then do a day trip to either Tenerio/Rio Celeste with a tour, or, Cano Negro...
Otherwise, there is a easy week to spend between Tortuguero, Cahuita and Pt Viejo Manzanillo/Ganduca.
We absolutely loved Arenal! We did a zip line/river rafting combo, hot springs, hanging bridges day hike, and a night hike. We stayed at the Arenal Manoa Resort and thought it was a perfect stay!
If you want the companies we went through, let me know. I'd highly recommend them all!
We also hired private transportation and enjoyed that option as well. His prices were very reasonable and we enjoyed being able to have a cold one or two while someone else did the driving. Just ask and I'll give you his contact information!
Enjoy your adventure!
Cheers!
Thanks for the insight. Although I'm not at all into adventure activities (and am scared of heights!) I reckon I shall stick with the original plan.
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