A Week in Costa Rica
 

We are attending a July wedding in Jaco and would like to spend a week prior visiting different areas of CR. We are not surfers so do not need to stay in the Jaco area; any help determining where we should go - mountains, volcanos, etc. that are not too terribly far from Jaco would be appreciated.

Arenal Volcano and Manuel Antonio Nat. Pk are 2 good destination points to base yourself for a few days each and maybe add La Paz Waterfall Gardens or a rafting day on the Pacuare if you are so inclined.
If you want some cooler cloudforest Bosqe De Paz north of San Jose or San Gerardo de Dota, south would be a good choice.

T!hanks Earthtraveler; from previous posts I can tell you are Costa Rican savvy ---so, my husband wants to see some aztec ruins! Possible? and if so, where? We will be coming off three weeks in Africa so jungles/animals/etc are not really necessary on this trip. We'd like to see "old " Costa Rica if possible. Most threads are oriented towards the Manuel park and/or volcano. I guess the volcano - clouds would be more likely our choice - but if there is an old city and aztec ruins, I would love to hear more!
We are primarily going for a wedding and thought we should add some time for sightseeing but I hear it is extremely hot in July so I dont know if we should venture into jungles. We have travelled quite a bit but have never made it to CR and thought this would be an ideal time to explore the area; I am not sure how close everything is to Los Suenos.....I doubt if we would do buses; perhaps rent a car...We like nice places but do not need top dollar (we will be broke from Africa!) although we are not backpackers either...so any and all suggestions are very happily received. Hope I am making sense - but knowing nothing about CR I am making myself crazy trying to take advantage of the fact we get to go to CR afterall! (No kid activities need to be added either - they get left behind on this particular trip!) Thx. D.

No Aztec ruins. There is one minimal ancient ruin called Guyabo. The Maya did not come this south, I don't believe, either. There is a museum or 2 in San Jose with some pre colombian pieces.
Some of the towns have some older colonial buildings / churchs.

For me the flora, fauna, beaches and beautiful scenery is the draw of Costa Rica as well as the escape from the midwest winter.

Hey Earthtraveler thanks! So now I dont need to research ruins :) I am onto Mountains, beaches etc. Seems like Manuel is the place to spend before heading to the wedding o/s of Jaco. Do you have lodging recommendations? Thanks so much! D.

You mention the heat, but you can actually find some beautiful cool weather (if you are interested) in the San Gerardo de Dota area (Earthtraveler mentioned in any earlier post to your thread). Just like Colorado--cool and refreshing!

There are all sorts of experiences to be had. Manuel Antonio is great for beach. Guanacaste (north Pacific) as well. Another nice beach area is southern Nicoya Peninsula (Malpais and Montezuma area). Arenal Volcano area VERY hard to beat for 3-4 days: Cano Negro tour, the lava flow, Tabacon Hot Springs and it Grand Spa (which was recently named by Travel & Leisure mag as one of the Top Ten in the U.S. and Central America.

There is a LOT to choose from. As mentioned also, the area right around San Jose is fantastic for a few days of sightseeing--2 volcanos, Poas and Irazu, La Paz Waterfall Gardens, and rafting the Pacuare would be a great way to spend a day or two--the overnight package sounds excellent!
www.riotropicales.com

Enjoy your time there--it's beautiful!

Shillmac: thank you so much; I really have some reading to do now..but the options seem to work for us. I have always wanted to visit CR, but now that it is a reality, there are many more options than I ever dreamed to choose from - That is indeed a good thing! Thanks everyone for your valuable imput