Booked ticket at the bus terminal from the shopping Mall in Monteverde. The bus is leaving to La Irma  at 4:20 AM. if you are on the route of the bus they will pick you up from the hotel but you need to let them know in advance . Price is 1050 colones per person (approx. 2$). 

After 2h, the Bus drops you off on the PanAmericana. Cross the 'street' as you need to get the bus in the other direction. 

Here you can take any bus going towards Rivas (Just make sure it does not pass Nicoya). You can either get another bus to Penas Blancas and from there one to Rivas or get into a Tica or Transnica bus which will bring you directly to Rivas. If you want to save some time and have some money to spend might be better to get one of these buses. We took the Transnica (as it came first) it was 20$ per person.  This option also saves you some time at the boarder as they arrange everything for you.

 Exit Tax from CR is 7$ (there will be a lady  trying to convince you to go with her to sort everything faster. This is just a lie, it will cost you 8$ and then again it won't really save you any time. you can pay your tax inside at a machine. You need a credit card for it. 
You then get back in the bus and they will collect all your passports plus a 13$ tax for entering Nicaragua. 
Drive a bit and once again, get off the bus with all your stuff and you need to pass through a sort of control like at the airport they get your luggage trough a security machine. Once done the bus will be waiting outside.
Keep an eye on your stuff until they finish cleaning & disinfecting the bus.  There will be loads of locals trying to sell you everything and to try to convince you to exchange, money, ignore them. We did buy a coconut as it was super cheap :).
And guess what, you go in the bus and then again off the bus waiting for your passport. Someone from the customs office will come at the bus and bring you back the passport. 

This takes about 1h altogether. Avoid getting there on weekends as there might be longer queues.

From there the bus goes further to Rivas where they drop you off or continues to Granada if that's where you want to go. (this particular one was going till Honduras)  

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The Taxis leave twice a day (no matter the company)

• 08:00/08:30 AM
• 02:00/02:30 PM

Total Time is normally 3.5h divided  

• Taxi from Arenal (they might pick you up) till Boat 1.5h
• Boat trip 40 min
• Taxi from Boat to Monteverde 30 min (the road is super pretty, but with a lot of turns)

​Price:

• we paid: 20$ per person
• ​Anywhere Costa Rica: 25$ per person 

The views are very nice and the trip seemed quite short. 
​The TAXI drops you in front of your hostel/hotel.
​We stayed at the Swiss Hotel Miramontes which I highly recommend.  

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We were very lucky with the weather, except some drops that fell at some point it was dry, that helps a lot with the hike. We read some people needed 4-5h, I guess it depends on mainly 2 things, how fit you are and the weather. 

We needed in total 2h for the hike up and going down to the lagoon plus 1h going back to the Arenal Observatory Lodge. The hike is challenging, but doable and I don't think a guide is  needed. 

TAKE with you:
- hiking shoes 
- i would suggest short pants (but i saw people recommend long pants)
- sun cream 
- ​bathing suit (both for the lagoon and the waterfall)
​- water 

one the way back look who came our way :)

Back to the entry point, we had to hurry a bit as we were running out of time. We paid the entrance at the waterfall, and started going down the 942 stairs (we did not count them though). The view is spectacular. 

at the end of a very exhausting day getting into the cold water of the waterfall was a blessing. make sure you don't get to close to it though ;)

we did it! :) and on the road again

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Follow the way back to San Jose (HERE the details from the road to Tortuguero).
- Boat Tortuguero - La Pavona (11:00)
- Bus La Pavona - Cariari - take a seat and wait they don't have real arrival hours, it depends on when it comes from Cariari based on the departure hours 
- Cariari - San Jose - there are several buses (as before you need to walk to the new bus station)

Once in San Jose. 
The bus will drop you at the bus station Caribeños and you need to take the bus further from Atlántico del Norte (address:  Avenida 9 and Calle 12). You can walk it if during the day ​

The direct buses to Arenal (La Fortuna) leave early 6:30, 8:30, and 11:30am. Trip takes 4h. Make sure you are in the bus that goes via Ciudad Quesada (San Carlos)

Alternatively  you can take a bus to Ciudad Quesada (San Carlos). The trip takes about 2.5 h and we paid (November 2015) 1780 colones, 3.3$. There are several buses throughout the day until 7:30 PM. In Ciudad Quesada just wait for the first bus to La Fortuna, trip takes 1h and we paid 1350 colones, 2.5$. We managed to get the password of the shop that sells fruits, give it a try maybe the share it with you. 

We arrived in Arenal late and actually we had some issues with the room we booked at Hostel Backpackers La Fortuna a private room just to be informed when we got there almost at 11 PM that we don't have a room anymore. Reception did not even wait to find a solution. We were very disappointed and I just want to highlight how unprofessional the hostel was  

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During the high season when all the turtles are around the tour is 25$ per person as you need to get a sticker of 5$ that helps protecting the turtles. In low season, past November (you can still have the chance to see Green Turtles laying eggs) in the first week it is 20$ as you don;t have to pay the sticker anymore, We negotiated and paid in the end 15$ per person. 
The tour is done by night, the guides announce each other of where the turtles are. You can't take photos or film the turtles. The only light used is by the guide and it is a red infrared light. 

​We were lucky enough to still see one Green Turtle laying eggs, it's something amazing and totally worth the money and the trip till there. On the way back you go though an arranged trail where you have the chance to still spot some animals. Well we did not see much but let's call it luck we saw a lost tiny baby turtle on the way back. So the guide decided to bring it back to the sea. We were a bit confused as our guide in Corcovado explained us that it is important to leave nature do it's thing and not interfere and this one wanted to return the turtle to the sea and it was sooooooooo cute :) 

As next day we decided to leave to Arenal we only had a bit of free time in the morning so we went out to check the Park. The price is 10$ per person. Is a nice walk especially if you did not go to Corcovado Park. The only thing we actually saw (special/different) were traces of birth of baby turtles and some of them dead as they were not fast enough to run for the sea before the sunrise. 

At the end of the tour we stopped for another jugo con leche before taking the boat back. 
Off to Arenal ​

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We booked the flight with NatureAir (you also have as option Sansa)
Plane with 12 seats
Price: 390.00 USD for 3
Departure was at 10:25
Arrival in SJ: 11:15 AM

Just to give you an idea of the Airport, below:)

The views are absolutely amazing and you can take pictures with the pilots and all you want :)

All details can be found on http://www.tortuguerovillage.com/ I will list below our experience 

1. Airport to "Terminal Gran Caribe" ("Caribeños")
If you come with this flight you will need to grab a taxi. The price is arranged when you get in the taxi usually 20USD. You can pay in Colones or USD as you prefer. 

2. "Caribeños" - Cariari 
you need to buy a ticket from the ticket counter, price 1665 colones per person (3.1$). And queue for the bus arrival. They sell more tickets than seats, so it is important to get in line as fast as possible. Watch your belongings. We got on the direct bus to Cariari and not the connection via Guapiles although we were catching the 1PM bus. This is tricky and it depends on the traffic and weather I imagine. The bus drops you at the NEW bus station. 

3. Cariari - La Pavona
If you arrive at 3PM in Cariari, the official bus station to go to La Pavona is the OLD bus station. To get there from the NEW one: go out from the NEW station (which is on the right hand side of the road) and go towards the right if you are with the back to the bus (approx. 500 they say) and the bus staion will be on the left side of the road. The bus driver told us that they always pass by the NEW bus station in order to pick up the tourists. Now I hope that all drivers are as nice. ​

​Price 1100 colones/person (approx 2$). You can buy the ticket in the bus. 

Above is the bus scheduled as of October 2015. Even if timetable can change this gives you an idea on when the bus would leave. 
The bus trip was a total experience. They were not in a hurry at all. so we stopped for a coffee on the way, the bus driver invited us :)

The boat at La Pavona was waiting for us. We got our tickets (1600 colones -- approx 3$).
The river was at very low levels so it took us a while to get in Tortuguero. 

Stay tuned more will follow on our stay in Tortuguero and the trip to Arenal. 

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Puerto Jimenez is quite small and not really much you can do. The weather is hot and humid so ideally try to get a room with aircon. 

SLEEP
We did not book in advance, just went there and as we checked some places to sleep before we arrived and went to Cabinas Marcelina. 
We booked a 2 bed room and added an 3rd bed inside as it was cheaper than the triple room (online the triple room was 55$).
There is hot water, wifi & aircon available. I would say it is a good place to stay for the night.

FOOD & DRINKS
Restaurants, we checked Trip Adviser. Had dinner at Marisqueria Corcovado which is just next to the port. For the place I guess it was good,fish was fresh and service ok; if I compare it with other fish restaurants around Costa Rica I would say this one is average. 

We did not have lunch instead we got inside a bar had some Imperial beer (as I preferred it to the Pilzen) and we could 'order' some chicken wings from across the street. Watching Champions League and later one some Latino music on the background. 

We heard the place is quite nice from some friends that went some months ago in Costa Rica so we decided to leave Corcovado from here. This is an even smaller village than Puerto Jimenez. 

SLEEP
We stayed at Cabinas Casa Miriam. Clean and nice place.
We had WiFi and a ventilator, but in the end it was not that warm (I mean we slept with it open). 
the room had also a fridge inside. 

​As the next day we were going to the airport Dona Miriam arranged a taxi to collect us in the morning. We paid 10000 colones for the 3 of us.  

FOOD & DRINKS
We had lunch at Margarita's Marisqueria which is from the port on the road up, very easy to find it. The service was not the best, quite slow I would say, but the food was great. I think it was one of the best rice I had. As we ate quite late we did not have dinner anymore but went for a fresh jugo con leche as so popular in LAC.   

BANKS
there are no Banks in Drake so make sure to take out money before your arrival here 

Enjoy your time in Corcovado, is one of the few place with such amazing nature.
You can read more on how to get to Puerto Jimenez HERE and about the trip in Corcovado HERE

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We checked the information on http://www.corcovadoguide.com/. We contacted them via e-mail for more information and they have put us in contact with a private tour company ​Tamandua Eco Tour .  We had Alvaro (who is the founder) as a guide. I absolutely recommend him. He is knowledgeable, very well prepared and makes a lot of jokes.

His WhatsApp: 0050687050046 
Facebook:  Tamandua Eco Tour 

! You do need a guide, as of end of 2014 this is compulsory for who wants to go into the park. you can pick him and he will arrange everything else needed for the trip. There are only a limited amount of people allowed in the Park/night (35-40) so you would need to book in advance. 


​Costs: 
- guide/per person/day: 50$
- transportation to the entry point: 45 $
- sleep: one night in Sirena Rangers Station 
- admission park*: 95.92$ for 3 persons 
- night in park*: 16$ for 3 persons 
* you need to pay this via bank transfer, you will receive the reservation as in the picture on your right,  



as we exited from a different cost we also paid
- 30$ for 2 backpacks to be carried by car to Drake (optional)
- 25$ per person for the Boat from the ranger station to Drake. 

as less as possible but don't forget:
- water (we had 1L but maybe get 2L if you can carry it)
- sun cream
- hat (cap)
- mosquito repellent 
- some food (we had some bread and cheese and ham to make sandwiches)
- photo gear 
- comfortable walking shoes (waterproof if possible)
- head-lantern (you can do it also with the flashlight from the phone)

We met Alvaro the night before the trip to pay all the remaining parts (except the boat) and discuss a bit how the days will be. You have to leave at a certain hour in the morning as the trip depends on the flux & re-flux (you have to cross some rivers).
The trip is not easy and for girls if possible highly recommend not to go when you have your period (First question I got from the guide :S). 

- we had to leave at around 4AM, your guide will give you the details. 
- with a 4x4 we drove till Carate.
- from Carate there are about 3 km to La Leona Rangers station

- at La Leona is the last place to use a toilet before Sirena so take advantage 
- from La Leona to Sirena you have 17km left & 2 rivers to cross.
- before the first river we took a break to have breakfast  
- half way to Sirena there was a spot you could take a swim in the Pacific and relax, the water was calmer and next to the rain-forest there was a river you could wash the salt off. Here we also took our lunch. 
- it gets harder with the sun getting stronger and without water our guide cut us some coconuts for hydration 
​- Rio Claro is about 1km away from Sirena, it can get deep enough at high tide and there is a possibility to see bull sharks & crocodiles.  
​- around 4PM we arrived at Sirena

! Water is expensive here, be prepared to bay for 2L 5000 colones 
! WiFi is available at the Station

- we went to sleep quite early, and woke up again at 4ish to search the Tapir
- we did not find him at first, but spotted some Tucans, a baby crocodile and other birds
- later on, around 12 PM we found him eating and then he took a long nap 
- boat picked us up close to Sirena at around 2PM and brought us to Drake

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You can either fly to Drake Bay or to Puerto Jimenez with one of the 2 local airlines.
- NatureAir
- Sansa 
Or you can catch a bus
- to Golfito with Tracopacr 3 buses per day with 7 380 colones (+ a boat that is 6$ per person)
- to Puerto Jimenez in shuttle bus 89$ leaves at 5AM

You can get the shuttle bus at 7:30 AM which is 79$ or when we've been (nov 2015) you could get Tracopacr for less money, now at the time of writing I could not find the trip anymore, maybe still worth to check. 

We came from Panama so here you find all the details. You can read more on getting Costa Rica to and crossing the boarder HERE

At the border you can catch a public bus to GOLFITO, they leave once full. Ticket price was 3$ and it takes about 1h.

​In Golfito you should get a boat to PUERTO JIMENEZ. The price of the ticket was 6$ per person in a fast boat and it takes about 30 minutes. 

You can find the schedule below. Valid in November 2015.   ​

As we had some time to spare, we had breakfast very close to the port and took advantage to take some money out. 

When we arrived in Puerto Jimenez you can take a taxi that is waiting for you in the port (I don't remember exactly how much we paid, but it was cheap) or you can walk for a bit, it's a small village so if you don't have heavy luggage can be a good option.

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