Travel from Monteverde to Arenal in a small SUV or car is a slow and, somewhat, painful journey even during dry season. When I first started trip planning, I wasn't sure that I wanted to make the trip from Monteverde to Arenal. But, now that I've done it, I'm happy that I persevered. For some reason, my mental picture of this journey was far worse than the reality.

The Monteverde Arenal route is a little longer than the direct route of the crow. As the crow flies, it's about 15-km (10 mi) from Monteverde to Arenal but the road, by car, is considerably longer. It's over 130-km (85 mi) by road. This probably isn't a long trip in the U.S. but it sure is a different trip in the cloud forest mountains of Costa Rica.

If you rent a car or 4WD/SUV, you'll need to drive from La Fortuna to Tilaran; the road is in good condition. But, from Tilaran to Monteverde it is bumpy. I'm sure, at one point, that I was walking faster than my lil' rental (SUV) was driving. The dust was unpleasant but I needed a break from the bumps. Most people fly into San Jose and then head to Arenal and to Monteverde. I did the trip from Liberia so I went to Monteverde and then to Arenal. Either option works.

You'll definitely need a SUV during rainy season, if you want to make this trip, but during dry season it might be possible to make it in a car. My only concern with SUV rentals is that they are so heavily rented that the tires are in poor condition. Read the rental contract about tire coverage. I noticed that the rental car tires were in far better condition. So, I'm not sure that the marginally higher clearance of my small SUV was so much of an advantage, especially if I had to sit and wait for a tire repair in some small center in Costa Rica because the tires of the SUV didn't hold out. We still had to drive at angles across the big potholes in the road even in the SUV. I imagine that the car would have made it using the same strategy.

There are other transportation options for the Monteverde Arenal trip. You could use public transport. There's a bus from Monteverde to Arenal (La Fortuna). Depart at 7:00 a.m. in Monteverde and transfer in Tilaran at 12:30 p.m. which gets you into Arenal at about 3 p.m. It's an 8 or 9 hour trip.

You can head from La Fortuna at 8: 30 a.m. Transfer in La Fortuna at 12: 30 p.m. and arrive in Monteverde at 3:00 p.m. Each direction costs US$3. This is a bargain and makes Costa Rica a great budget destination.

There are other options that will get you from Monteverde to Arenal. A local Costa Rican outfitter can take you by taxi & boat & taxi and this trip is only three hours long for US$25. You can hire a driver to take your rental vehicle to Arenal or Monteverde for US$40.