costa rica is back for my 50th! need fast help.
 

Hi all. Plan to vist CR for a week (or more) in July. We plan to rent an all inclusive villa in Ocotal for part of this.
We are both 50 and have 2 kids, 10 and 12.
Do we stay here for the full time or are there other places to visit that are nearby? The cloud forest, Arenal? We will most likely fly into Liberia - the logistics are killing me.
We want ocean, animals, etc. MA is too far away. If we did the Arenal area, how far is that and how do we handle the 2 newspapers.
thanks for your help.

It's about 3 hours from Liberia to Arenal: http://www.yourtravelmap.com/costarica/travelmap/
But, there's active geothermal stuff about an hour away from Liberia (Rincon de la Vieja), and there's a lot to do in the area you will be in.
Newspapers?

Yes. And monkeys.

Newspapers? I, too, am stumped.

sorry-multitasking!!
so is there enough to do in the ocotal area? we were looking at rincon de la vieja for a day excursion. i seem to read so much more in the arenal or ma area.
also, mid july-how is that there? i hear it is lovely bc it is green and lush. it does not rain there as much as the arenal area.
so we will see monkeys and sloths?
thanks all

do we stay in ocotal for a week or are there other spots/lodges/etc. that we could do for a few days?

where is carolina lodge? is it nearby?

I personally wouldn't stay in one area for that long. Costa Rica is so beautiful and diverse. I'd attempt to at least see two different areas. It's a shame you're not going to MA because the wildlife spotting there is so easy and the beach inside the national park is beautiful. Sounds like what you are looking for. I definitely would not attempt to read two newspapers! :)

We saw many monkeys; for sloths, you will need a guide, or a lot of luck. We did not go to this area in July, so can't comment.

La Carolina is wonderful, but we didn't see as much wildlife here. One of our favorites, and they love kids!

The Arenal area is great with tons to do; wildlife isn't nearly as prevalent there though as in MA and the Osa. We have had some nice sightings on the Cano Negro tour and the Penas Blancas river float. One day we hired a guide to take us out hiking by the lake and surprisingly saw howlers, toucans, an anteater, and even a peccary. If you decided to stay there, your best chance to see wildlife would be somewhere away from town like the Lost Iguana or the Arenal Observatory Lodge. The Proyecto Asis animal rescue center is nice if you want to get up close. We were able to feed macaws, monkeys, a sloth, etc. there. In MA, we saw more monkeys and sloths than we could count, but in other areas you have to search a little more.

Volcanogirl, am concerned that there will be too much driving (distance) with ARenal and MA. I am not sure of distance between La Carolina and Ocotal but they both recommend that you fly into same airport. Does anyone know how long the drive would be. Would La Carolina and the Villa not be 2 different areas?
Do like MA and Tulemar but don't want to stay there for a week and not sure what else to mix that with. Where is the Osa region?
I have done so much research and feel like a ping pong ball. I am open for other recommendations too.
Cattail, don't they go on hikes with you so you can see animals? I read your report yesterday and got so excited.
I am terrified of zipline but want to do it for my 50th.

Things in Costa Rica take a while to get to. We've just gotten used to that over the years. A three hour drive is pretty common in CR, or five hours. We've also taken Sansa or Nature Air to get to places that aren't easy to drive to like the Osa or Tortuguero. If you don't want to do a lot of traveling then the Osa would not be good for you. It's down South, and it looks like you're really focusing on the Guanacaste area up North. That area isn't known for being lush or having a lot of wildlife, but it sounds like you've found some good spots.

Yes, guides were readily available, just that we don't always choose to use them. We were fortunate to see a lot of wildlife at Rincon, even without a guide. I would advise a guide, however, if you want to increase your chances of seeing creatures. Glad you liked the report!