Costa Rica Itinerary - Help
 

We are planning a trip to Costa Rica (May 30-June 6). We seemed to have narrowed down our itinerary
- 1st Night in San Jose
- Travel to Arenal/Monterverde/Cano Negro (4 nights) - visit the Butterfly Farm at Alajuela on the way. We initially wanted to stay in Arenal but somehow like the Hotel Belmar in Monteverde and wanted to make this as our base in Arenal but looks like the distances are too much and would very much appreciate insights
- Travel to Tamarindo Guanacaste (2 nights)
- Travel back to San Jose for an early morning flight back

Will appreciate suggestions for the itinerary as well as Hotel Recommendations in the Arenal area.

Thanks!

I have never been to Tamarindo, so can't comment. In Arenal, we stayed at Arenal Observatory Lodge and enjoyed it very much. It is way out in the sticks, so a car is more convenient.

Seems like a really bad idea to head to Tamarindo only to then have to drive all the way back to San Jose. If you need a beach, somewhere in the Central Pacific would be better.

Monteverde and Arenal are separate destinations--you can't use one as a base to explore the other.

I would probably pass on Cano Negro right now--you'd be going at the very tail end of dry season/beginning of rainy season so wildlife (and boat navigability) would be minimal.

I'd just spend all four nights in the Arenal area and skip Monteverde with such a short time frame. We've stayed at the Lost Iguana, Nayara, Arenal Observatory Lodge, and The Springs Resort and Spa (Groupon) and have enjoyed all of them. Silencio del Campo is really popular as well. There's tons to do in that area. Agree with RAC that you don't want to use one as a base for the other; they're hours apart and the road is pretty long and bumpy between them. We love Cano Negro - that's always one of our favorite things to do. Are you staying your last night close to the airport or planning to drive back that morning?

Thanks for all your suggestions. Realize that it is probably a 3 hour ride to Tamarindo from Arenal and the idea was purely driven by the need to have a beach experience. Any suggestions for beaches closer? We are staying over in San Jose close to the airport before flying back in the morning the next day

There aren't really any beach areas close to the Arenal area. Manuel Antonio is popular but, it's about 3 hours or so from San Jose and about 4.5 hours from Arenal.