Costa Rica: Volcanoes, Beaches, and Forests in Two Weeks

Day 1 : The Drive/Lake Arenal

Access to La Fortuna (Alajuela) from Monteverde will take you along Lake Arenal, a man made hydroelectric reservoir. The lake has a some beautiful scenery, and can be easily accessed from a swim from the town of Nuevio Arenal - just take care, we did';t see any alligators, but the locals said there are some in the area. The town also has great German bakery, which is unbelieveably random, but was a welcome change in culinary style.

Day 2: Arenal National Park

Arenal itself is somewhat hard to miss as it completely dominates the view from any nearby area and occasionally lets ou a puff of smoke to let you it's still active. Much like in Rincon de la Vieja, you cannot actually climb the volcano, but there is a park at it's foothills that is worth exploring. Trails in the park will take you through various magma boulder fields, and in particular, the El Ceibo trail has a 400 year towering monster Ceibo tree that is on another level - the tree is so tall that you see the bottom of the foliage start at an elevation roughly twice as high as the rest of the forest canopy.

Day 3: Around the Volcano

The area around arenal is one of Costa Rica's most toristy destinations with various hotels centered around hotsprings and multiple day tours ranging from nature walks to horse back riding and river rafting. What you do here really depends mostly on your interests and budget, but personally, we really enjoyed the La Fortuna waterfall. The reserve contains a stunning orchid garden, and the waterfall is beautiful with a great pool at it's base. Just be aware that the walk down is 530 steps, meaning your way back up is the same.