8 days for three destinations is awfully compressed, especially when you factor in travel to/from SJO as well as your destinations. I would cut out a destination. Or add 1-2 nights.

If you're really into wildlife, maybe consider the Sarapiqui area--better wildlife than any of the destinations you list.

Samara will be better for surfing and turtles (though turtles are never guaranteed) than Manuel Antonio, which is more touristy but does offer guaranteed monkeys and sloths.

"guaranteed monkeys and sloths": not necessarily. In two visits, I saw no sloths and only 1 monkey (in town, on an overhead wire).

If you get a guide and go in the afternoon, you will see monkeys and sloths in the park. Between 1-2:00 by Playa Manuel Antonio.

Go spend a few days at La Carolina lodge, visit Tenorio park and Rio Celeste. Then head to Witches Rock.

We saw more monkeys than we could count in Manuel Antonio in the park and even at our hotel. Several sloths as well - these were spotted by our guide; we probably would have walked right past them. Getting a guide will up your chances of seeing the wildlife. If you want to avoid tourist areas, MA probably isn't for you though. Of all the places we've been, it has felt the most touristed - not in a bad or tacky way, just that it's popular because of the beautiful beach inside the park and the fairly easy access to wildlife. Tulemar Bungalows is a popular place to stay.

With only 8 days, I'd lean towards doing only two locations. Like others mentioned, travel can eat up a lot of your time. Arenal is our favorite area; we stay on the edge of town at the Lost Iguana; it doesn't have a touristy feel to it. Great canopy tours here; Sky Trek has some of the longest, highest lines in the country with views of the lake and volcano. We also love the waterfall hike where you can swim, the natural hot springs like Tabacon and Eco Termales, the Proyecto Asis animal rescue center, rafting with Rios Tropicales, and the Cano Negro tour to see wildlife with Sunset Tours; the Penas Blancas river float is nice too - we saw monkeys and sloths there as well.

Monteverde has less development - we enjoyed the guided tour of the park to see quetzals and the night hike at Hidden Valley. The Original Canopy Tour was nice too. Selvatura is popular, although we haven't had a chance to try that one yet. Having been there, we haven't felt a huge desire to go back, although we're glad we went. The cloud forest is very pretty and seeing the quetzals was amazing.

I completely forgot to thank all of you for your helpful replies! I just revisited this forum and realized I'd (unintentionally) dropped out.

We just booked our flights (using miles, so had to jump on it), and we are now staying 9 nights, from Feb. 25 to March 6. I appreciate (and even agree with) the perspectives above suggesting that three places might be tight, but the problem is, we just can't decide what to drop! For now, we are proceeding with the plan to include Arenal, Monteverde and Samara. We plan on using private driver, with taxi-boat-taxi between Arenal and Monteverde, and therefore are looking at travel time as more sightseeing time rather than a chore (we hope).

I still welcome any input on whether we are planning too much for 9 nights/8 days!

Hmmmm -must have been tired last night - I see I repeated some of my first post...

To address some of the earlier suggestions:

Arenalbotanical - La Carolina looks intriguing, but might actually be a little more remote/rustic than we are looking for on this first trip to Costa Rica.

RAC - I don't quite have a handle on Sarapiqui, but will look into it a bit more.

VolcanoGirl - Given your experience with Arenal and Monteverde, do you think we should cut our nights in Monteverde to 2, rather than 3? Have you been to Samara, and if so, what are your thoughts?

One thought is to split our time Arenal x 3 nights, Monteverde x 2 nights, and Samara x 4 nights (just to relax toward the end of our trip).

Samara still sounds a little more like what we are looking for than Manuel Antonio, but is there another coastal destination where my husband can learn to surf, that is not also a party town?

I personally would be fine with just two nights in Monteverde. We stayed three but just did that so we could have down time. We could have easily done our stay there in two days - night hike, zipline, guided hike in the cloud forest. To me, there's not a ton of activities to do there; the cloud forest and quetzals are the big draw. We have not been to Samara yet. Sounds like you're getting a good feeling for what you'd like to see. You might look into the Dominical area; it's really popular on the boards.

Thanks, Volcano Girl! I've heard of Dominical - I'll look more closely. We'll think about cutting our time in Monteverde, as well. I appreciate your help.

Arenal volcano has pretty much become inactive. No lava flow in other words. I saw it about 10 years ago when it was still active but the top half was covered in clouds and you could not see anything. On another note a cloud forest is just another word for "Fog". Go see the "Poas" volcano. It is a very short ride from San Jose and you can still tell people what a volcano smells like. It is a beautiful turquoise colour too by the way. Make sure you arrive before 10:00am or it will be covered off and on by fog.

Just an FYI, as of May 20th, 2012 Costa Rica’s National Seismological Network has upgraded the color threat level to yellow of Turrialba Volcano, in the province of Cartago east of the capital. Now that would be something to see.

You're welcome, B - good luck with your planning!

You don't need 3 days at Arenal. Two is enough. And, unless you are really beach bunnies, 2-3 are enough at Samara was well: the town is tiny, but the beach is Nice, good places to eat, but not a whole lot other than that, some beginner surfing lessons - the beach is very calm mornings and all day, then around 4-6pm the tides change and waves are large enough for beginner surfers.

2 nights Arenal (Arenal Observatory Lodge-it's a hoot being so close to the volcano at a safe place, great infinity pool, hiking, etc.-although it is removed from town, it is fine for 2 days to just bunker in and enjoy what they have to offer)

2 nights Monteverde (choose your hotel wisely)

3 nights Samara (Las Brisas bungalows on the beach - they are not supremely "high" riding, but they are clean, have a very nice restaurant -will bring drinks, etc. to beach to you-and are adorable-easy walk to town, few blocks) there are several expat Italians in Samara, so good pizza and Ital food. No ATM or bank that I know of, bring cash.

TravelEssence - thanks for a different perspective! Most people seem to suggest more days, rather than fewer, in Arenal. I'll check out your lodging suggestions, and thanks for the tip on bringing cash to Samara.

The do have one ATM in Samara. As you're coming down the main road towards the beach, turn on the last road to the right. The ATM is about 50 yards on the right. We love Samara but not much going on in the area other than beach time.
I second a vote for Dominical. Neat small town, lots to do in the area. Close enough to do MA as a day trip, Mangrove tours, snorkling, waterfalls, zip lines, etc. We went there last year for 2 days and stayed 7.

KayeKaye - Do you think Dominical is appropriate for a beginner surfer (husband)? My son will be 9 at the time, and is more interested in being active and seeing animals than in lying around a beach (as am I). I had the impression there was more to do in Samara, such as snorkeling and wildlife tours, but I'm not so sure based on the feedback I'm hearing!

There is a lot to do in Arenal; we usually stay four nights there. I think three nights there would be about right for you.

Since we don't surf I really can't say whether Dominical is appropriate for beginner surfers. Maybe someone else will chime in.