cr_11

Me and my husband will be travelling to CR for the 1st time. We need advice from those who have been there. We'll be landing at SJ airport.
We are thinking of 3 days at the beach n 4 days on mountains.
Which places would be good for the beach? for mountain/volcano view?
We don't want to spend too much time on road to go from beach to mountains. Any place which is easy access to both ?
We would like to stay in a hotel located in national parks .
I personally would prefer to be in 1 hotel ,but i think it wouldn't be possible,the travel distance would increase ?
I am scared of heights and want a zipline which is easy to do!
Any other suggestions are welcome too.
Thank you

volcanogirl

Check out the Arenal Observatory Lodge if you want to be very close to the volcano. The disadvantage is that it's further from town. We also really love the Lost Iguana - great volcano views there and a little more upscale property. In Manuel Antonio, check out Tulemar Bungalows and see what you think.

Arenalbotanical

Osa peninsula covers it all but volcano viewing.. Land in SJ, fly to Drake.Fly back to SJ.
The volcano view is nearly irrelevant. My farm has volcano views.......when it's in the mood.
7 days here is nothing. I recommend six weeks in May,June or July.

Cattail

I dunno; my husband and I were wowed by picture-perfect volcano views at Arenal Observatory Lodge a few years ago. Not much activity, but we were awed just the same, and the amount of nature at the lodge is extraordinary. A volcano view is very much hit or miss though - last year we only caught a short glimpse of the volcano.

volcanogirl

We were very wowed by the volcano as well. The first time we saw it we were driving into town, and we literally both did say, "Wow!" Of course the clouds come and go, but we think it's amazing. Wish that lava would kick back in though.

qwovadis

hotelvillacaletas.com nice hotel on coast good beach

a bit over an hour from the airport my fav.

tabacon.com nice hotel lava view best free hot springs

if you stay there.

AOL ok more rustic sort of an ecocamp remote bad road and food

for me last I will notbe returning.

Have fun lovecostarica.com travelexperta.com good folks

if you need help.

cr_11

ok thanks ,tulemar bunglows look good. I will check out the other sites too.

But i am still looking for 1 place where both will be close by the volcano n beach..so that the schedule could be flexible with some activities n just relaxation, rather than a fixed time table.

sylvia3

You aren't going to get a hotel next to a beach and a volcano, or even 1 hour's drive back and forth. The volcanoes range down the center of the country, basically. There will be driving involved, no matter what, if you want to see both, so the time will need to be divided between beach and volcano destinations to avoid hours of every day spent traveling to and fro.

mad

If you end up considering tulemar bungalows, check out villa mot mot. you can find it on vrbo.com. we stayed there last year and it was really nice and well priced compared to the other ones.

volcanogirl

Most people do the Arenal area and Manuel Antonio for a first trip. It's about 5 hours between the two. Each of them is about 3 hours from SJO but in opposite directions.