10 hours to do Puntarenas to Arenal Private tour suggestions

[sbkluvs2travel]

We are a family group of 11 looking to go to Arenal Volcano, go Zipline, enjoy Thermal baths, and enjoy the scenery. Princess offers a day trip but does not inlcude Ziplining. We thought maybe a private tour would be better. If we leave Puntarenas by 8:30 am do we have enough time to do all or some of the above and be back on board by 6:30pm? Some of the family get car sick so we thought perhaps a mini bus would be a better idea.

Should we risk doing it on our own? We do speak Spanish. We will be there on Dec. 30, 08. Thank you.

[SANNC]

I would say if you want to go to Arenal, stick with the ship's tour. Best case scenario is about 6.5 hours total driving time and you're talking about travelling during the busiest week of the year in Costa Rica. There are not alot of choices for alternate routes in Costa Rica and one accident can often cause quite a delay, so I would not try it on your own.