How To Decide Between La Fortuna / Arenal or Monteverde (or Why You Should Visit Both)

Lena!

What wonderful feedback! Thanks so much for reporting your experiences to us. We agree; Monteverde is wonderful! It’s such a special, unique part of Costa Rica.

Pura vida! 🙂

Hey Josh!

Great question! We document our pick for The Best River For White-Water Rafting in Costa Rica on our sister site, DIY Costa Rica.

Pura vida! 🙂

Hello Josie!

Great question! My answer here would depend on their interests, abilities, and preferences.

From a tourism standpoint, both offer a lot to do and see. Many elderly travelers enjoy slower activities or activities that require minimal effort. Easy walking tours, bird-watching tours, and nature/exhibit tours are usually of interest, and these can be experienced at both destinations.

Boat tours (think slow-moving safari-type tours, not white-water rafting tours) are another popular favorite among elderly travelers. These do not exist in Monteverde but are available around La Fortuna.

Something else worth considering is the experience of getting to and from the area. While both destinations (La Fortuna and Monteverde) sit about the same distance away from San Jose and Liberia (give or take a half-hour), the road conditions into and out of La Fortuna make for a more comfortable drive. In addition, given Monteverde’s high elevation, the region tends to be colder, which may be an advantage or a disadvantage to the elderly, depending on whether they’d prefer to avoid Costa Rica’s heat and humidity, or else avoid feeling chilled.

Pura vida! 🙂

Hello Jill!

Thanks so much for your inquiry! As for which destination is better for kids, most people will say La Fortuna because it offers so much to see and do. Truthfully, though, the destination that would be the best for your family to visit will depend on your family’s interests, needs, and wants, not those of other travelers. So, I’d suggest doing either or both of the following:

-Take a peek at our tour and activity suggestions for both regions. You may find that there are more activities of interest to you and/or your boys in one area over the other. Here are links to where you can view our tour/activity suggestions for the La Fortuna/Arenal and Monteverde areas:

La Fortuna/Arenal tours and activities
Monteverde tours and activities

-Check out the Costa Rica Destination Tool that’s available on our sister site, DIY Costa Rica. The tool filters 66 destinations by nearly 150 criteria in less than 1 minute to help you quickly and easily decide where to go in Costa Rica according to your unique preferences, wants, and needs. Since you’re trying to decide between La Fortuna and Monteverde, be sure to click on the “Northern Inlands” checkbox; doing so will limit the recommendation(s) you receive to that region of the country, and if you’re specific enough with your criteria selection, the tool will tell you whether it would be best to visit La Fortuna or Monteverde. 🙂

Pura vida!

Hi again Jill!

Sure thing! For drive times, please see our article here: Driving In Costa Rica: Distance And Duration Of Popular Routes (Ocotal isn’t included on the charts you’ll see in that article because it isn’t a popular destination, but it’s close to Playas del Coco, so you can use that instead.)

With respect to hot springs, these don’t exist in Monteverde because the Monteverde region doesn’t have volcanoes. So, if these are a must-have for you, La Fortuna would be the best place for you to visit! 🙂

Pura vida!

Hey Leslie!

Thank you so much! For drive times, please see our article here: Driving In Costa Rica: Distance And Duration Of Popular Routes

If you’re planning on driving yourself, you may also want to check out our blog posts:

Driving To La Fortuna Costa Rica: Photos, Road Conditions, Routes, Drive Times, And More!
Driving To Monteverde Costa Rica: Photos, Road Conditions, Routes, Drive Times, And More!

Pura vida! 🙂

Hey Preeti!

Welcome back! 🙂 Unfortunately, there aren’t any beaches located close to La Fortuna since the destination doesn’t near either of Costa Rica’s coasts. The closest beach (at 2.5 hours away) is Playa Puntarenas, but it isn’t a great beach. More beautiful beaches are located along the northern Pacific coast, the Nicoya Peninsula, the central Pacific coast, and the Caribbean coast, each of which is accessible from La Fortuna via a multi-hour drive. For more information about Costa Rica’s many beaches, don’t miss our blog post: 66 Costa Rica Beaches (In Photos) And Where To Find Them. For more specific help with respect to determining which particular beach town would be the best for you to visit, don’t miss our Costa Rica Destination Tool, which is available on our sister site, DIY Costa Rica. The tool filters 66 destinations by nearly 150 criteria in less than 1 minute to help you quickly and easily decide where to go in Costa Rica according to your unique preferences, wants, and needs. If you want to focus on a beach destination, be sure to click on the “Beach” checkbox (under the “Ecosystem” category); doing so will limit the recommendation(s) you receive to towns/communities at a beach.

Pura vida!