For my trip to Costa Rica, should I go to Monteverde Cloud forest or Arenal Volcano?

Question

I'm planning a 10 days. During this trip I want to "plant myself" in two different locations. Half of the time will be at Manuel Antonio beach and reserve. The other half, I'm torn between staying around Monteverde Cloud Forest or around Arenal Volcano (in Fortuna). Which of the two would be more suitable for half of my vacation (5 days). Are there more things to do in one place vs the other? Would one of the two be better for a day-trip? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

PS: I like to hike, bike and take photographs of beautiful scenery.

Answer 1

Either would be good, but I agree you could easily do at least a day in both even if you were camped in one.  The volcano and the hot springs are neat and worth a day.  It depends what you want to do.  From La Fortuna (Arenal) there are tours of Cano ***** and canyoning and rafting.  There is great fishing and wind surfing on Arenal lake.  Monteverde is a lot cooler and more a place to hike.  Both have good birding but there are better guides in Monteverde.

Answer 2

for you the best is the volcanoe, it has a beautiful scenery and maybe some rides on bike

Answer 3

The cloud forest is very pretty, but how many times to you get to see an active Volcano.  When I was there we visited the hot springs below the volcano.  There is nothing like resting in a hot spring below an active volcano with the lava flowing down towards you.

Answer 4

Personally I'd do 4-5 days at  MA, 4-5 at Monteverde, and reserve a day or two for the volcano. Like the other person says,  its a small country and it doesn't take too long to travel. I wouldn't hang around Arenal for 5 days unless I wanted to hang out at the hot springs and stuff.  You could also see Volcan Poas, which takes a day, its not spewing lava but they let you walk up the edge of the smoking crater, and during the dry season you might get a great view and even see the ocean.

Answer 5

Costa Rica is pretty small, so the truth is you can stay in Monteverde and EASILY do a 1/2 day or day trip to the Arenal Volcano. You really can fit it all in! You probably can fit in even more. The reason I recommend Monte Verde, is because it's always beautiful and there is always so much to see. Arenal can be a c**p shoot. I've gone there one time when it was clear and it was a beautiful site to see, but it can spend days at a time where it's cloudy and you really can't see much of the volcano. Good luck!