If you have the budget for it you might look at Arenas del Mar in the Manuel Antonio area.
Dominical has a less expensive ecolodge (Hacienda Baru) which has a zip line, and is near the horseback riding offered by Don Lulo.

hotelvillacaletas.com around your flights for a couple of
days a little over 1 hour from airport. www.tabacon.com at arenal.net for a couple of days FREE best hot springs if you stay there. I always fly in out SJO way cheaper spirit.com jetblue.com aa.com my top 3.servicecarrental.com for cheap xport odysseytourscr.com good drivers but more $. skytrek.com best zip but zip possible from either place. hotel deals bookit.com directrooms.com sidestep,com.

Have fun!

Manuel Antonio has everything you are looking for. We are staying at Arenas del Mar in January. We also looked at Gaia, but opted for Arenas del Mar since it is on the beach (or close to it) as opposed to being up in the cliffs. Also, Arenas del Mar gets great reviews on this forum, and I rarely hear anyone say anything about Gaia.

The Lost Iguana and Nayara are both good resorts in the Arenal area. Take a look and see if they fit your style. Silencio del Campo is another popular spot.

Check out the water conditions for Tamarindo before you go; there was a lot of talk about the water being polluted there - not sure if it's under control now or not. Manuel Antonio mentioned above is very nice and has a lot of hotel and restaurant choices. Tulemar Bungalows is a popular spot.

Thank you so much for the feedback! I love the Arenal Nayara Hotel & Gardens and also Villa Caletas Beachfront hotel( bett(1.5 hr drive is good)! I can't get a reservation at Nayara until day 2 of our trip so I may stay at Villa Calestas the first 2 days and the next 3 at Nayara. I just need to find the quickest way to get from Villa Calestas (Puntarenas) to Arenal and then Arenal to SJO the last day. I think it is a 3 hr dr back to SJO. I will skip Tamarindo. Not enough time. I also like Arenas del Mar.

Nayara can arrange transportation for you if you want them too.

would I be better off going to Manuel Antonio 1st and then going to Arenal and flying to each or drive? Not sure how expensive it is or how often flights leave from SJO to MA and MA to Arenal and then Arenal to SJO. Or is the drive worth it with the sights?

krystin,

Do you know that Villas Calletas "Beachfront" is up on a cliff and a 10-15 minute drive down to the private beach? The beach is very secluded & scenic but it is not a sandy beach or great for swimming. It is also not too close to Manuel Antonio.
It a great hotel if you are there for the relaxing spa & pool or the sunset.

I would stay at Arenas del Mar if it made more sense and/or I needed a flight out of MA to Arenal. I didn't realize the beach was that far away. It's just looks like a beautiful hotel.

You can check Sansa and Nature Air for flight info. For most places in CR, you have to fly back to SJO first. It took us about 5 hours for the drive between Arenal and MA if that helps. It's about 3 hours to Arenal from SJO via car.

Is the drive beautiful and worth it? I can only assume it is because I don't see many people talking about flying between the cities. Thanks again for the great advise! I love this site!

Krystin,

Flights between cities are via San Jose. Sansa and Nature air operate out of different airports near San Jose. This is not really a problem unless you are switching airlines or taking the last flight of the day. You seem to be limiting yourself to the very small number of favorite hotels and resorts mentioned above. Use a search engine to find "Arenal Hotels" or "Manuel Antonio Hotels" and then look up the likely hotels on their own websites and READ the reviews on Trip Advisor for factual information. (Some of us suspect that there are both fake raves and pans on TA. These fakes distort the ratings, so read for facts--and look at the photos.) Ask here for the personal experiences of people who have actually stayed there. It is my impression that Costa Rican hotel websites are often much more enticing than the actual hotel. Also make sure that you understand the nature of Costa Rican beaches and their difference compared to eastern Caribbean beaches. Snorkeling off the beach is not rewarding. Tulemar Bungalows (mentioned above) and Buena Vista Villas (next door) share a nice limited-access beach in Manuel Antonio and offers access to lots of tours and all the restaurants of Manuel Antonio.

I think the drive is pretty - green with some rolling hills. There's a bridge at the Rio Tarcoles where you can stop and see some huge crocs down below. That's a popular place to stop. I'm sure you know, but never leave anything in your car unattended. The only places we've flown are places that are sort of hard to reach like the Osa and Tortuguero.

I agree with kinkazote regarding the research advice. However, since you are going in "Prime time", you may want to see what is available and make your plans around that. Places book up fast. Do you want to lay on the beach? Then I would suggest Manuel Anotonio as the most accessible. To fly from Arenal, you would need to go through San Jose area airports and it will take a day with dept. times, checkins, late flight possibilities etc.
Do what most tourists do. Arenal & Manuel Antonio to get a taste.
The drive from Arenal to MA will be about 5hours and it is a nice way to see some countryside. (I suggest daylight driving only) If you want a private driver, there are many recomendations on this board but again, the good ones book up early.

Thanks, We will drive. I thought that we might stay at Villa Calestas 1st for 2 days because it is only 1.5 miles from SJO airport and then Arenal Nayara Hotel and Gardens said they would get us transporation to their hotel for the next 3 nights. I know that the beach is a little ways off but I am torn between Villa Caletas near Jaco and Arenas del Mar in Manuel Antonio. I think the drive is much shorter. It's hard to pick? any thoughts?

I have actually stayed at Arenas del Mar, for the record. You can find my trip report here on Fodors as well as on TA. It's everything it's cracked up to be, and the best combination of view and beach access are the top floor of the lower section's units, which won't require a shuttle trip. As I've mentioned previously, though, the balcony privacy screens also screen your view (you need to stand to see over them).

Thank for the all the helpful information.
I was wondering if we should rent a car for the trip or just use transfers and taxi's.

Hi,

I just recently stated in Arenal last May and it was amazing. It did rain alot, but still awesome. I do recommend traveling to Arenal. They have a great zipline and hike to the volcano that you should do. I agree with the other comments posted. You should spend a few days in Arenal and then travel to another part of Costa Rica. I only stayed in Arenal, however, next time I would stay only a few days and then drive elsewhere. Driving through Costa Rica is always amazing! I wanted to mention, if you want to eat good food near Arenal, definately eat with the Locals

I went to Arenal for my honeymoon and stayed at Tabacon Grand Spa. The hotel itself is a little pricey for what you get, but the free unlimited access to the most amazing hot springs I think this earth has to offer makes it worth every penny. The hotel is very nice, but it is pricey (especially the food). The hot springs is a short shuttle ride away (shuttles come very often) or a nice short walk away. A truly special place! We went ziplining at Sky Trek near Tabacon and they picked us up at the hotel. It was amazing! The views are spectacular and the ziplines are much more fun then the ones I did in Maui.
We then headed to Manuel Antonio. It is a far drive, but we had the best driver and he stopped at some amazing places that we would have never known were interesting without him. That drive was one of the highlights of our trip. We stayed at Hotel Makanda by the Sea and it was by far the most beautiful hotel I have ever seen.
I had never used a travel agency before, but ended up using Costa Rica Online Travel and worked with Sylvia Mattio. She did such a great job planning our trip and the pricing was very transparent. I priced out the same trip on my own and realized she was saving me lots of money. The car service they booked for us was perfect. It was nice not having to stress about driving and it was nice that we both got to enjoy the amazing scenery. Enjoy your trip and let me know if you want more information!

A new voice in your conversation...I live here in Costa Rica and have helped many friends and strangers with their planning. For the kind of trip you're doing, basically two destinations, good private transport companies and taxis are the way to go, in my opinion. Their drivers are professionals who make the trip interesting with stories and descriptions of places along the way, plus you travel pretty much stress-free. Shared shuttles between hotels have set schedules; for a few more dollars a private transfer will leave on your schedule, within reason, and be more flexible with photo, restroom and food stops along the way. Once at your destination, activity companies, i.e., ziplines, horesback riding, etc., usually provide service to and from your hotel at no additional cost.

k, we use private drivers and taxis. You can book a private driver through your hotel when you reserve it. We've had flight arrive late, so we get there after dark; we've also had incredibly dense fog, pouring rain, etc. so there have been many times we've been glad to have a driver. Taxis can add up though in Arenal since things are spread out there; things are pretty close together in Manuel Antonio - we were able to walk to several restaurants there.

Make that "flights" - sorry.

It really sounds like taking taxi's and transfers are the way to go. I like the fact that we don't have to worry about where to go and how to get somewhere. I also like the fact that someone can explain what we are looking at. Thanks for all your help!
I am still trying to figure out if we should just drive 1.5 hr on arrival (12:30pm) to Villa Caletas in Puntarenas near Jaco or suck it up and drive 3.5 hrs to Manual Antonio and stay at Arenas del Mar. We have 2 days until we have to drive to Arenal Nayara Hotel & Gardens. Thoughts??

I've always heard nice things about VC hotel, but the Jaco area itself has a bit of a bad reputation. I'd check out the reviews on tripadvisor and see which one appeals to you the most.

Volcanogirl - I am sort of reading the same thing. I think I will switch to MA - Arenas del Mar. Thanks!

Last minute for Feb? Have you checked availability?

k, I hope you have a great trip!