We are often full, so reservations are recommended. All our Cabins have great views! 

write to paraiso@monteverdeinfo.cominfo.com  All standard cabins are fully booked from Dec. 22 till December 31 2002. A few Deluxe Cabins are still available.

other hotels with view of the lava:  Arenal Los Lagos  Tabacon Resort hot springs  Montana de Fuego  Volcano Lodge

Budget (no view of the lava): Cabinas Guacamaya       major Arenal eruption ...... update

Map of the Arenal area

One way it's 8 hours by bus, 5 hours with a normal car (maybe not passable in rainy season, write for updates), 4 hours with a 4x4, 5 hours by horseback, and 3 hours by a combination of 4x4, and boat.

Beside, there is a lot to do in Monteverde! We suggest to plan half a day to reach the forest, at least a day to visit, then half a day to go to your next destination. Click here for details:  How to go to/from Monteverde Cloud Forest?

Tours near the Arenal Volcano: Cano Negro wildlife refuge   Venado caves   rafting

  Transportation to & from Arenal Volcano

Subject: Costa Rica
Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 10:08:40 -0400
From: samantha....@....one.com
To: Monteverde info <info@monteverdeinfo.com>


Hey there! Great minds think alike--I was JUST getting ready to write 
to you this very moment. You must have sent ESP waves over to 
America!
I had computer problems when I got back, but now all is well with my 
computer! 

Oh man oh man oh man. We really enjoyed CR! What a wonderful 
country. It was so different from anything we've ever done before 
that it now seems like a dream! I go back to it over and over in my 
head, so I can have a virtual reality vacation any time I want! 

We met the neatest people--both living in the country and traveling 
through the country. We certainly met some neat people at your 
place--people from all walks of life. We stayed up and talked to a 
bunch of kids that were staying there the last night we were there. 

When we got to Arenal, everything went like clockwork. Arenal Paraiso 
was absolutely positively wonderful. It was BEAUTIFUL beyond belief, 
the grounds were unbelievable, and the people working there were also 
nice. (As a matter of fact we met NO people that weren't nice in all 
of Costa Rica. Most people went out of their way to help us and tell 
us about Costa Rica.) 
At Arenal we did the Cano Negro trip (good) and the Venado Caves (very 
exciting, loved it, but not for the claustrophobic or faint of heart), 
the Los Lagos Lava Trail, and Tabacon Hot Springs. 

The Tabacon springs felt really good after the horses! We really 
enjoyed hiking the lava trail at Los Lagos. That was most excellent! 
There's a hilarious sign there that I'm sure you've seen: "In danger 
of dead do not pass". That's the best sign I've ever seen. It was 
really neat being so close to the volcano, and we saw the rocks 
tumbling down right there! 

We just couldn't get over how nice the Paraiso cabinas were, though. 
Our little cabina was RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE VOLCANO. You were right 
on the money about seeing it from there. The first night we were 
there, we heard a tremendous explosion, some minor explosions, and we 
could also hear the rocks tumbling down the mountain. HOW EXCITING! 
We also saw it exploding, with the red hot rocks coming crashing down. 
We just couldn't stop watching it! The people at the hotel were 
excited too! We found out that that was the first time in THREE WEEKS 
that the volcano was visible. How lucky could we have gotten? The 
other days it was clouded over, but we could still see some glow and 
really heard a lot. We talked to people staying at the Observatory Lodge
(they obviously hadn't talked to you!) and they, of course, couldn't 
see the volcano like we could. We, on the other hand, could see it 
from: the restaurant, our porch, and our bed!

The trail behind the Arenal Paraiso was really pretty, with toucans 
and little parrots (I guess that's what they were) flying around, and 
howler monkeys hooting in the background. 

We really enjoyed our stay at the Pension Santa Elena. It was spacious, clean, and 
affordable! We also enjoyed being able to walk into "town" to eat at 
the sodas. Great food! 

It was also SO nice of you to let us use your e-mail account. Thanks 
so much for that. The people at home got a kick out of our e-mailing 
them with our adventures.

I must say that Sky Trek was one of the best things that we did. We 
saw so much, and it was so beautiful there. The people running it and 
the guides that went with us seemed to really enjoy what they were 
doing. They were so enthusiastic and showed us all kinds of critters 
and plants. I wanted to do it again!

Well I can't thank you ENOUGH for all of the help you were in planning 
and executing our vacation. We certainly hope to come back, and we 
really enjoyed staying with you. You were right on the money about 
all of your suggestions and I'm glad we listened to you and took your 
advice on everything.

Well, see you later (I hope!) and thank you thank you thank you!

read more feedback letters we received