5 day itinerary
 

Our family of 4 (sons 16,17)has only 5 nights in early April - We just couldn't get flights to stay longer - We are struggling with how much to run around - there is so much to see, but we don't want to make ourselves nuts - Top 2 choices are to just putter around Monteverde, Arenal and some beach for a night or 2 each, or to spend a day or 2 only on Monteverde and/or Arenal, then fly off to Lapa Rios for 3 days of staying put and blowing some real bucks - The plane and the luxury of the resort add lots of expense, but it sounds incredible - Any experiences or feedback is appreciated

Hey, check out my trip report, which was posted recently. We went to Monteverde, Arenal and Tamarindo for 2 nights, 1 night and 3 nights. Loved it! I listed all the tours we did and places we stayed, so hopefully that will help. :)

bynar,
For 5 nights, don't try to stay 3 locations. You'd spend way too much time getting from one place to another and not nearly enough time enjoying your stay at any of them. If you can fly into SJO and fly out of Liberia, an Arenal/Playa Hermosa combo would be good. Or any of the northern Pacific beaches. 2 nights/3 nights. If you have to depart out of San Jose, then you'd need to do 2 night Arenal, 2 nights beach, and return to SJO for the last night before departure (depending on departure time). Returning same day very risky! You could find some fun things to do in the airport area the afternoon before you leave. That would sort of give you a 3rd location! Good luck!

Another option (and a good one) is to arrive, fly on down to the Osa and spend your time there. 4 or 5 nights, depending again on your arrival departure times. Don't combine the Osa with another location. It is too wonderful to cut it any shorter than you have to, and is actually the ideal location for a 5 night trip to Costa Rica! Rainforest and beach all at your fingertips! Manuel Antonio would give you the same thing, but on a lesser scale. It, too, would be good for 5 nights.

Listen to Shillmac, she speaks the truth. Any more that two places in five days would be too hectic. Relax and enjoy your five days!

thank you all for confirming what I thought - also, lapa rios has been a bit tough to deal with - the problem remains, I want to see Arenal, Monteverde, and the beach - dcmalia's trip sounds great - we could just do 2 nights instead of 3 at the beach -

Hate to sound negative because I understand your enthusiasm--believe me, I do! I just think trying to "do" all three of these locations in 5 nights is a recipe for disappointment and regret that you didn't have time to fully experience any one of them.

ok - then which of the 3 do we skip - to go to costa rica and not see the volcano or the rain forest would be a sin - and if we just hit arenal and monteverde, it sounds like we can do without a rental car, if we take the bus to get there , and the van/horseback /boat combo to go from one to the other - i guess the beautiful beach will have to wait for the next trip - we should have planned sooner to get better flights and given us more time....with frequent flier miles you get lousy choices (but you can't beat the price) thanks again for your advice - byron

bynar - I don't see where you have mentioned your arrival and departure times? But this will impact the number of nights for each location.

I have to agree that 3 places in 5 nights is far too much traveling to be able to truly enjoy yourselves.

During our first trip to CR, I was already planning the 2nd trip before we left. I fell head over hills for Costa Rica. If you are like so many of us, you will too.

With your amount of time, I would consider Arenal/Monteverde.
Or maybe Manual Antonio/and somewhere outside SJ in the Central Valley (do a daytrip or two).
Or the Osa.

In the Osa you can have the best of both worlds - beach and rainforest. However if I had to skip something, it would be the beach. (This from an avid beach lover!)

You might consider Arenal and Manuel Antonio. You can get beach and rainforest in MA.

If you only have 5 nights, I'd do Arenal & a beach (Tamarindo or Manual Antonio). Skip Monteverde. It's really hard to get there, and once you do, it's just a dirt road with a cloud forest. I liked it, but I liked the volcano and hot springs SO MUCH MORE.

And we enjoyed both Arenal and Monteverde, but we liked Monteverde SO MUCH MORE. A matter of personal taste, interest, inclination.

I just reread the wonderful post of dcmalia, and we are going to go with Arenal and Monteverde - We can go with no rental car, relax the whole way, spend extra time hiking, in hot springs, getting massages, riding horses, taking pictures, and not just rushing around - We'll just have to plan a second trip with more time in the near future - Thanks for injecting sanity everyone - This talk forum is great for getting psyched about a travel adventure - I'm hooked - Byron

Well, that sounds like a great plan! You'll have a fantastic time no matter what you do. All of Costa Rica is magical.

And RufusTFirefly is totally right, it IS a matter of taste. I was conflicted whether to visit Arenal or Monteverde when I was planning our trip. I personally wanted to see the volcano but friends of ours said they loved Monteverde so much that if it was up to them, they'd have skipped Arenal. So - That's why we did both. And, as it happens, both my boyfriend and I agreed that WE happened to like Arenal more. But, honestly, they both are amazing. So have fun!

And if you do get a chance to see Arenal putting on its show at night, it is an unforgettable experience.

Yes, that's a part of the reason. We literally saw lava tumbeling down the sides of the cone. Then, late at night, after we got back from the hot springs, we saw the entire cone, with lava spurting out from the top and streaming down the sides of the mountain. I was glued to my binoculars on our patio... UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!

go to the iso penninsula for 3 days if you can. you'll be away from the crowds in tune with nature and very relaxed.

we loved lapa rios.