Where to Base Yourself in the Valley
Orosi town, up at Paraiso, or out on the lake. They give you three different weeks.
Orosi Town
In the town you can walk to the church, the springs, a bakery and somewhere to eat, which after a day of driving is worth more than it sounds. It is also the noisiest of the three options, in the ordinary way that a working town is noisy.
For a first visit this is the sensible base. Everything is close, and if the weather closes in there is somewhere to go that is not your room.
Paraiso
Up at the head of the valley you are closer to Cartago and the main roads, which suits people using the valley as one part of a longer trip rather than the whole of it.
The trade is that you are above the valley rather than in it, and you will drive down into the good bit every morning.
Out by the Lake
The lake side gives you the quiet and the views and takes away the walking-to-dinner. You will be driving for everything, including breakfast if your place does not do it.
This is the option for a group with a car and a plan, and it is where the larger houses tend to be. For two people without a car it would be a long and slightly grim week.
