Monteverde lies within the arbitrary boundaries that we have drawn up for this section, however real estate opportunities there are limited. Much of it is protected, and because it’s been a top tourist spot for some time, most of the remaining bits are spoken for. The area’s strong expatriate presence dates back to the 1950s

Apart from the larger San Carlos – or Ciudad Quesada, as it’s also known – La Fortuna is the biggest town in the area. As it’s a touristy place, it has a number of daily services catering to foreigners, such as English-speaking dentists and pharmacies.  La Fortuna is a pretty town consisting of a well-planned

Nuevo Arenal (which will herein be referred to simply as Arenal) is a relatively pretty town on the northern tip of the lake that was built with government funding after the original town got in the way of the planned lake. The center of the town lies just up the hill from the lake and