I need some help with decisions on a trip to Costa Rica. I am looking at staying on the Pacific Coast...Playa Flamingo..and taking a few days to explore Arenal. We have 2 kids 18 and 21 so we though a beach area with water sports, snorkling, etc would be a good fit. Any suggestion as to the best beach area with things to do? I also would love to go to Arenal and stay over a night or two to expolore Volcano, do canopy tour, and see the hot springs. If anyone has suggestions for our trip I would appreciate it.
I also was wondering if it is better to rent a 4x4 for the trip to and from Arenal or is it easier to take a private shuttle, driver, etc. I am open to hotel suggestions but I am also looking at some condo rentals. All of the beaches look sooooo beautiful...its hard to choose!

Would appreciate any input

On our last trip to Costa Rica, we took our 14 and 16 year old daughters and ended up with a great itinerary. We stayed near the airport at La Buena Vista in a Jr. suite--with balcony views of volcanoes, coffee and orange groves, then they set up a private tour for us, visiting La Paz Waterfall gardens (cloud forest, beautiful, but might have suffered earthquake damage recently) and Poas Volcano, with stops for strawberries at a roadside vender and detours to scenic overlooks. Then we caught a 20-minute flight from San Jose to the Nicoya Penninsula where we stayed in Montezuma. We didn't need a car, since Montezuma is a small town with everything within walking distance. Driving in CR can be time-consuming and a bit stressful, and we were glad to skip that, and just enjoy! Montezuma is a laid-back beach town with some great restaurants, cute gift shops and street artists selling their ware alongside local kids kicking their soccer balls in the streets at night. Kinda fun. We were able to hike to a waterfall, did a zip line, hung out on the beach with the resident monkeys and took a fantastic (and very reasonable)day trip to Tortuga Island, where we snorkeled, had grilled lunch under the palms and beach-combed on the uninhabited island. The shoreline is so pristine and stunning by boat! We split our time there between 3 nights at our wonderful Robinson-Crusoe-like 2-story, 3-bedroom unit at Amor De Mar (right by the waterfall and ocean)and the distinctly different but fabulous Ylang Ylang, where we stayed in a 2-story unit. The Ylang Ylang is tucked into the jungle, so very tropical and unique, with a gorgeous freeform pool, and wildlife galore. Gorgeous, rugged beach here and food at their own restaurant was very good, with a beautiful outdoor ocean-side setting. You might enjoy just being able to walk around, check out the town, hang at the beach, etc. There were lots of other things we could have done too, but just not enough time! We'll be back!

Arenal is a wonderful area; we stay at the Lost Iguana and adore it, but there are lots of good choices. I'd recommend doing the Cano Negro tour with Sunset Tours to see wildlife, zipline with Sky Trek, and go to Eco Termales for dinner and the natural hot springs. The Hanging Bridges is a very pretty hike if you have time for it.

We haven't been to Flamingo, but we've been to Manuel Antonio - very pretty beach inside the park, lots of wildlife (but kind of tamed by humans), and loads of good restaurant choices. It's really easy to get around here.

We always hire private drivers through our hotels, but you could check Interbus to see if they go to the places you're interested in.

Hi,
Are you guys planning on staying in Flamingo, because it's full of great condo options with snorkeling trips and sunset cruises that also offer snorkeling trips.

In Arenal I would highly recommend a hotel with hot springs. Simply beacus it's the thing to do and you have to pay for entrance fee which is between 30 - 70 bucks, it's nice when it's part of the hotel

You can definitely do Cano Negro tour - it's amazing. Plus, you can do the hanging bridges - an easy hike, but with veiws and just fun.
Here you can also do a great canopy tour, or sky tram.
Lost Iguana is a great choice with better volcano lava flowing show, but they dont' have hot springs.

It's easy to get from Airport-arenal-flamingo. I would recommend either taking interbus, but they do have a schedule, or hire a private driver. it can actually work out cheaper.

Hope this helps,
Marina K. Villatoro
http://travelexperta.com

If you are planning on Flamingo/Arenal split, do rent a vehicle. The road is just fine between the two, going through Tilaran.

We did a fun catamaran trip out of Flamingo to some offshore islands, went snorkeling (note: CR snorkeling is nothing like the Caribbean, just ok, not great) and kayaking. I think we went on the Lazy Lizard.

So many choices for Arenal - I would stay more than a night or two since you have canopy tours, thermal springs, hanging bridges, hiking in the national park, Cano Negro. There are enough choices there for 3 or 4 nights. Arenal is also one of the places where it's easier to have your own car as activities are pretty spread out.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice..It sure makes planning easier. I will plan to stay in arenal for longer period of time. I will check out the other beach locations. I just didn't know weather to be south or north pacific coast? Need adventure and a little R&R in the sun!