We are planning a trip to CR in April and are going thru a travel agency. Our tentative itinerary is to fly into Liberia, and stay at Arenal Kioro Suites. Day 2 Arenal Hanging Bridges tour thru Desafio, Day 3 free, Day 4 Cano Negro & Rio Frio Boat ride thru Adventuras Arenal. Transfer to Tamarindo and stay at Diara Hotel for days 5 -7, leaving for home on Day 8. Nothing planned for these days except relaxing beach time. Is this a good way to spend our 6 full days for a first time trip? Is there anything else we should try to see? I don't want to spend a lot of time travelling around as we only have 6 days. And, is April a good time to visit, weather wise? Should we forget Tamarindo and stay in the Manual Antonio area instead? Thanks for all help!

I love Manuel Antonio - the beach inside the park is beautiful, and you have really easy access to wildlife like monkeys and sloths. Lots of good open air restaurants too with beautiful views. Have not been to Tamarindo. It's nickname is Tamagringo - lots of surfers. If you decide to go to MA, Tulemar Bungalows is our favorite spot, and they have their own beach. Manuel Antonio Expeditions is good for tours. If you go to MA, you would want to fly out of SJO vs. Liberia.

The Arenal area is our favorite. The Cano Negro tour is great for seeing wildlife; it's a neat boat tour where you can see monkeys, caimans, and lots of water birds. Kind of an all day trip. Nice to pair it with an evening at the natural hot springs when you get back - Tabacon is nice if you like fancy or Eco Termales if you want smaller and charming. The Hanging Bridges are nice; Desafio is an excellent company - we've used them lots of times, and they've always been wonderful, good guides. For your free day, you could go to the waterfall - very pretty, and you can swim in the crystal clear river if you want to. Lots of great adventure activities in the area too like ziplining at Sky Trek or rafting with Rios Tropicales.

April is a good time to go; traditional rainy season tends to start around May.