Hello Mary!

I hope you’re doing well! 🙂

Yes! El Silencio del Campo qualifies for complimentary round-trip transportation with Arenal Mundo Aventura’s canopy tours, as well as La Fortuna-based tours run by Desafio Adventure Company, Canoa Aventura, and Pure Trek, in case you’re considering any discounts we offer for tours run by those companies.

Pura vida!

Hey Mary!

No trouble at all! 🙂

For tour transportation to/from El Silencio del Campo, this hotel does fall within Sky Adventures’ normal pick-up/drop-off zone in La Fortuna. This being said, Sky Adventures is a tour operator that does not automatically include round-trip transportation to/from any hotels in any of their tour rates (some tour operators in Costa Rica automatically include round-trip transportation in their rates and others do not; our related blog post https://costaricatravelblog.com/costa-rica-tour-transportation-hotel-pick-ups-drop-offs/ offers more information about this if you’re interested in further reading). Sky Adventures charges an extra fee (you’ll see this noted as the optional “Transportation Option” on their tour listing pages on our website) to any/all travelers who want them to provide round-trip transportation with their tours. Sky Adventures’ prices vary by hotel location, but since El Silencio del Campo falls within their normal transportation zone, their regular, flat rate, round-trip transportation cost of $17 per person to/from La Fortuna hotels applies.

For comparing this to taxi rates, Sky Adventures’ transport service may or may not be the least expensive option. Here’s why…

Taxis called to hotels in the Arenal area typically depart from the main taxi stop in downtown La Fortuna. When a driver needs to drive from downtown La Fortuna out to a hotel to pick-up a traveler, then drive that traveler to a new destination (such as Sky Adventures’ Arenal park), the driver begins counting the charge from downtown La Fortuna. The current going rate between downtown La Fortuna and Sky Adventures’ Arenal Park is 18,000-20,000 colones (the equivalent of about $32-35 USD). This is a one-way cost, which means round-trip transport would run about $64-70 (most taxis seat 4 passengers). Since Sky Adventures’ round-trip transport service would cost your group of 3 travelers $51, this would normally be the least expensive option. The reason why I say above that Sky Adventures’ transport service may or may not be the least expensive option is because you may get lucky and pay less for a taxi. When you call a taxi to El Silencio del Campo the day you wish to visit Sky Adventures, if there happens to be one in the area at that moment, you’ll pay less for the service because the distance the taxi driver needs to travel to pick you up will be shorter than the distance from downtown La Fortuna. Since there’s no way to predict whether a taxi will be in the area when travelers call one, I usually recommend that travelers just pay Sky Adventures’ round-trip transportation cost. Doing so avoids the problem of a taxi not being available (or showing up late) the day you need to get to Sky Adventures. On the flip side, one advantage to using a taxi is that it skips you needing to wait for the driver to perform other travelers’ hotel pick-ups/drop-offs on the way to/from Sky Adventures (assuming there are other people using Sky Adventures’ transport service at the same time as you). Another advantage is that, after finishing your tour at Sky Adventures’ Arenal park, a taxi can take you wherever you want to go (to a hiking trail, to another attraction in the area, or to downtown La Fortuna, for example). In contrast, Sky Adventures will bring you back to your hotel.

Pura vida! 🙂

Hello Sharon!

Great question! In general, official taxis in La Fortuna operate between the hours of 6:00am and 10:00pm. Like in other cities around Costa Rica, the official taxis in La Fortuna are red in color. To help distinguish them from other red vehicles, including unofficial taxis that happen to use red cars, look for the yellow triangle on the door that displays the taxi’s code. The photo gallery at the top of our related blog post here https://costaricatravelblog.com/costa-rica-transportation/ shows an image of what the triangle/code on taxis looks like. Though Uber’s presence is growing in Costa Rica, we recommend sticking with licensed official taxis.

One quick question… is there a particular reason you’re planning on staying in El Castillo? I ask only because if you’re planning to be active (it sounds like you plan to participate in a few tours), and if you won’t have a rental car to drive yourselves between El Castillo and town (or wherever you wish to go), transportation fees through taxis and/or tour operators will add up quickly. In case you’re interested in further reading on this topic, here’s a link to one of our related blog posts that should provide you with some new and helpful information: https://costaricatravelblog.com/costa-rica-tour-transportation-hotel-pick-ups-drop-offs/

Pura vida! 🙂