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I am going to Costa Rica May 7-14. I'll be in Arenal MAy 7 (5pm) to May 9 (morning or stay an xtra day and do Cano Negro tour?).

Should I book the hanging bridges, skytrek, and national park tours now, or can I do when I get there? (Staying at Cabinas el Castillo)

How do I get from those places to the next? Can I just flag down a taxi or make appointments beforehand?

How far apart are these places from each other? How do I know how much time to leave between each one?

What happens if I am late for a tour? Can I take the next? No refunds?

Thank you for any info, am getting stressed out trying to plan things.

P.S Should I book a night tour for 6PM, the day I arrive? I leave San Jose airport at 12:30PM to go to Arenal (Cabinas El castillo). Will I make it?

I was in La Fortuna, near Arenal, just this past January. We did a few tours and booked none of them in advance. We booked them all when we got there. You probably can book some through your hotel when you get there, too. Most of the tours offer transportation. They'll pick you up and drop you off at your hotel. We had a rental car so we didn't have to do that; it saved us a few bucks on the tour prices.

How are you getting to Arenal from the airport in Alajuela? And where is Cabinas El Castillo? Is it in La Fortuna? I ask because that ride takes about 2 - 2 1/2 hours, depending on traffic and weather. We left La Fortuna the morning of our flight home and made it to the airport in plenty of time. But it was an early Sunday morning (no traffic), and the weather was perfect.

As for the rest of your questions... sorry, I can't help you there. You'd have to check with the individual tour organizers about being late and getting refunds.

Your tour guides at Arenal will do what you want. They are usually attractive, and will augment your sex life for a fee, if that's what yo u're asking.

Soloebe

Relax! You're arriving at the very, very end of the tourist season. Things will be slow and laid back. You can flag a cab from just about anywhere. El Castillo is about 1/2 hour from La Fortuna by taxi. La Fortuna has most of the tourist amenities in the area.

As Freesia said, most of the tours will arrange to pick you up at your hotel if you are not in the immediate area. Also you will have to check about refunds and such but really, things are pretty relaxed here as far as that stuff goes. Just don't over-schedule stuff and you'll be fine.

You can book all the "good stuff", the bridges, national park tours etc. once you get here and get a feel for things.

If you need phone numbers or anything like that, that you cannot find on the internet, let me know and I'll see if I can dig them up. A lot of the tour companies up that way are my clients so I may have the info.