We are thinking of getting a driver to take us from our hotel in San Jose to Monteverde. Then taking jeep/boat/jeep to LaFortuna and THEN renting a care for the rest of our 8 days in CR. If we were to do that, is it easy to get around in Monteverde/Santa Elena without having a car? We want to do the zip lines, go to the cheese factory, CASEM, cloud forest....wasn't sure how far apart things really are or if there are taxis

Pretty easy as I recall. You will need the occasional taxi, but most tours include some sort of transport. The town itself has a small center and then spreads out.
Cheers

Plenty of taxis available but it is nice to have your own transportation to come and go as you please. CASEM and the cheese factory are only minutes apart(1/4 mi.) and the cloud forest is about another 10 minutes down the road.There are zip lines in Santa Elena proper(Orig. canopy tour,Sky Trek) and then Selvatura which is about 10 minutes away towards the Santa Elena reserve.The distance between the town of Santa Elena and the cloud forest reserve is about 15-20 minutes.Lots of things to do and lots of good places to eat so enjoy!

We just used taxis there. It usually cost around $5-8 depending on where we went. For our tours like ziplining, they came and picked us up and dropped us back off like inca mentioned. It's pretty easy to get around.

We did a trip very similar to what you describe. Had a driver pick us up at the airport and drive us to Monteverde and then took jeep/boat/jeep to Arenal.

We only had two nights in MV, but I wish we could've stayed longer. We had no car and didn't really miss it. We ziplined with Selvatura and they picked us up. Same with the night hike and Santa Elena morning hike. Used taxis a few times and they were cheap.

Where are you staying? That might make a difference.

Not sure where we are staying yet. Possibly Arcoiris in Santa Elena.

You might also check Monteverde Rustic Lodge. The owner Jose is great and answered all my questions via email before our arrival. He also arranged almost all of our activities and transport to Arenal.

I don't think you will need a car with either Arco Iros or Rustic Lodge accommodations.

We stayed in a cabin at Arco Iris for 4 nights, loved it. It's in town, but the grounds are so extensive and private that you don't feel like there's anything nearby. White faced capuchins were jumping around in the trees outside the breakfast area - our first sightings on our first trip, so good memories there.

We had a car, but most tours will provide transportation for you. The staff at Arco Iris was very prompt in answering our questions.

Seems like it's about 20 minutes out to MV reserve, maybe a little further in the other direction to Selvatura and the Santa Elena Reserve.

thanks everyone for your replies. I think we have decided to rent a car even though a 4WD for four is rather expensive. Thanks for the recommendation of ArcoIris also.