I tend to skip Tortuguero and in this case I intend to go to Monteverde (1
night) straight from San Jose, followed by Arenal (2 nights), followed by
Flamong North Pacific (4 nights), followed by Manuel Antonio (3 nights), and
finally San Jose again for 2 nights.


"Nick and Judy" wrote in message
t...
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