We went to Costa Rica the first week of August and since we used Fodors we figured we would report back! We had a FANTASTIC trip!
We flew into Liberia and went straight to Arenal. our plane was delayed so we got in at night which was a bit unsettling but we made the drive just fine. We rented a car to use the whole time which we liked since we could kind of go do our own thing and explore a bit. We stayed at Arenal Lodge which was great. the drive up to it was a bit intense but the view was amazing we could see the volcano and the lake really well so we loved that! While in Arenal we did the Eco-T hot springs, la fortuna waterfall, and the hanging bridges. The hot springs were great. very relaxing and it was so gorgeous! The waterfall was really fun to swim in and play even though it was cold. we felt very secure leaving our things on the side since everyone else there was a tourist. the hanging bridges was fun but we did not see a lot of animals or anything so I do not know if it was worth the money. We ate at the Volcano Lodge which was excellent! we could have eaten there everyday. Next we went off to Mal Pais.
We drove down to Mal Pais and stayed at the Tropico Latino. It was an excellent hotel. The beds were very big but we found ours to be very loud when we moved and caused some issues sleeping. We loved the town though. they had some cute shops as well as a lot of good restaurants. I could see how it might be dusty but we loved the little town. The waves were big and rough at times but we were able to relax there. The hotel is right on the water so it was nice to just walk down there and still be able to walk around town. we like the Liberal cafe and the Pizzaria Playa Carmen which was right on the beach! We did the canopy tour canopy del pacifico. We really enjoyed that even though 2 of the people in our group were scared. They workers were very cute so our girls (19 and 21) really enjoyed that part!!!! We also did the snorkeling tour to Isla tortuga from montezuma which was very fun. The food was very good and it was a fun trip for everyone. There were some little kids on the trip too and they seemed to do ok they just had trouble snorkeling so the mom's spent a lot of time in the boat with them. The workers were great it was fun! From here we drove north to Sugar Beach.
At sugar beach we stayed at Hotel sugar beach. We had car trouble and ended up once again traveling at night but it took asking some directions to find it but it was worth it! The beach is very secluded with very nice accomadations. It is hard to get anywhere from here so this would be a perfect place to go to just stay there and relax but not the best for activities. It has its own beach with calm waves and we loved it! they have a lot of wildlife around like crabs, iguanas, and lizard/geckos. so we enjoyed seeing the animals except the birds that hang around the restaurant. The restaurant was good. we loved the breakfast that came with the room. It was good we ate there the whole time we were in town. We drove back to the airport from there. Overall we loved it. the driving was not a bad deal. We went with payless which worked for us except we had car trouble and had to sit on the side of the road for a bit waiting so we might have gone with a bigger company like alamo or hertz but it was not so bad. We really liked the people and everything about the place. the 19 year old daughter wants to move there now! Overall it is a great place to go!