Arenas del Mar

Activities

• The highlight is obviously Manuel Antonio National Park - Costa Rica’s smallest, with lots to see if you know where to look. And Eduardo Valverde knows. He’s the hotel’s resident guide and naturalist, and extremely knowledgeable and personally fascinated (unlike so many guides operating in the park). He’ll find monkeys, 2 kinds of sloths, and the famous red-eyed tree frog - among a myriad of other species
  
  
• Arenas del Mar has its own 5-acre nature reserve where Eduardo guides walks which enable you to see yet more species not seen in the National Park: porcupines, snakes, owls, more frogs, and monkeys at close quarters. The reserve is planted with native species to reproduce the forest that was originally here, and give a habitat to indigenous animals
  
  
• Highly recommended is the 6am bird-watching tour around the hotel, when Eduardo manages to find an astonishing array of tanagers, robins, hummingbirds, flycatchers, woodpeckers, toucanets and hawks in his powerful scope. The night walk will convert even arachnophobes: you’ll see opossums, kinkajous, cats, snakes like boa constrictors, frogs and even - if you wish - tarantulas
  
  
• Take a hike to Villa Nueva waterfall - 2 beautiful falls that converge at the same spot. You need to be in good shape but it's great for wildlife and birds
  
  
• Take a trip to visit the local community: see schools and organic farms, have breakfast with the locals, milk a cow and generally get involved
  
  
• Thrill-seekers will want to try the canopy tour for a birds-eye view of the trees, and follow magical trails through the forest. Breakfast or lunch is included
  
  
• Kayak through mangrove swamps to see huge numbers of birds close up
  
  
• Learn to surf, right on the beach. The fantastic teachers won’t make you feel like an idiot
  
  
• Go white-water rafting for a day (you have a choice of rivers and grades)
  
  
• Horse-riding through the jungle to waterfalls can also be organised