Choosing tours
 

Hi all,
My husband and I are joining 8 other people on a trip to Costa Rica at the end of February. We are staying at a VRBO house to accommodate all of us. They have a lot of tour options, but I feel like most of them are just "spend your money here" options. So, I need some "expert" advice. Normally, I just pick out the top ten things I want to see and go like crazy, but this time I have realized that we won't be able to see all of Costa Rica in 7 days, especially since we are staying the entire time right outside of the Manuel Antonio park.

So, what should we NOT miss.
Which waterfalls that they have listed should we NOT miss ... or give a miss to: Portal, Playa Linda, Dominical, UVita, Pavon, Nauyaca, Eco Chontales, Campesinos ?? I feel like a couple of these places are just beaches and not really waterfalls.

We want to do a guided tour of Manuel Antonio so we know what to see/look for.
I want [?] to do a zip line or canopy tour although I'm pretty nervous about it. Everyone says it's breathtaking.
We want to do a half day deep sea fishing trip [I'm just along to take pictures! LOL]
Someone said we should do a night sloth tour [but what I'm seeing says mostly we'll see spiders and snakes ... not my favorites at any time of the day or night!]
I like birds and the beach...
the girls want to do a little shopping.
Also, we are "close" to Panama ... should we try to go for a day or save that for another trip.
We are planning to rent 2 vehicles for the trip down/back from San Jose airport. Anything we should see along the way?
The chef at our house is off on Sunday. Any suggestions for where to eat dinner on Sunday near Quepos?
I'm sorry to have so many questions. I just want to see a lot and I'm not really in "control" of this trip.
Appreciate ANY/ALL help you can provide.
THANK YOU!!!! :)

We used Manuel Antonio Expeditions for a guided tour of the park, and they were excellent. We also used them for the Damas mangrove tour. I wouldn't bother doing a night time sloth tour. Sloths are active during the day. We stayed at Tulemar Bunaglows and saw them right on the property. We also saw them on our guided tour of MA national park. Lots of monkeys inside the park as well. We loved our Villa Vanilla spice tour; at the end we got little drinks and desserts made with the chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, etc. that they grow on the property. You won't be close to Panama, not even possible to do that as a day trip. I'd give that a pass. The beach inside the national park is pretty.

Thank you for your insights! Appreciate it! Do you have any hints or ideas about waterfalls not to miss or best zip lining?

Ziplining is really popular in the Arenal and Monteverde areas because they have the elevation. Sky Trek at Sky Adventures is where most people go. https://skyadventures.travel/ This is about five hours away from you. You could check El Santuario Canopy Adventure Tour. We've never used them, but they came up in a google search. https://elsantuariocanopyadventure.com/

Be sure to tell us about the best waterfall. :blush:

Take a look at Vacation Buggy Tours. It gets rave reviews.

There is a reserve south of MA called Hacienda Baru with zip lines, beach and several trails that can be done independently or with a guide. If you are interested in birds see if you can book a guided tour with Pedro Porras, he is exceptional.