I second the canopy tour in Monteverde. It is fabulous. If I recall the
drive from Monteverde to the Tabacon Hot Springs(which is in Arenal or close
to it) took 2 hours. Thats not counting the time it took to get a new rental
car when I drove/slid the car off the road near the Botanical Gardens
opposite Lake Arenal! Just remember like the others have said: what is 30
miles on the map can take anywhere from 1-3 hours to drive depending on the
road. You may have to Skip Tortuguero, and just do Arenal, Monteverde and
the Pacific Coast.


"Doug McDonald" wrote in message
...
AA wrote:
OK.
I have already booked the airlines to COSTA RICA and a car (12 full days).
Also, based on
the responses I received from this newsgroup and many web sites: We
decided to visit the
following 6 areas :
1) San Jose
2) Tortuguero National Park area
3) Arenal
4) Monteverde
5) North Pacific Coast (Guanacaste)
6) Central Pacific (Jacó, Manuel Antonio).




I would suggest skipping Manuel Antonio ... it is so overused
that it is a dump. It would be a nice place if not so
overused.

You also want to visit at least one of the places with canopy
tours, typically they are on your way anyway, in the Monteverde area.

Doug McDonald