I'm about to put down a deposit on my trip to Costa Rica and am now panicing about the itinerary and whether it's the best plan for my 16 year old son and myself.

We are spending the first 4 nights(February) in MA - at the new Arenas Del Mar and then the last 4 nights in Osa. I'm concerned that the 2 places are too similar and perhaps I should do Arenal instead of MA.

I chose MA over Areanl because we both like the beach, but now I'm concerned that there won't be enough different kinds of things to do in MA that won't overlap with Osa and that will interest and excite my son.

I know my son would like to be around other kids, and am concerned that he will feel too isolated at the hotel in MA. I don't know how spread out things are and how isolated the hotels are from each other. I'm concerned that he'll go stir crazy.

Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

The hotels in MA are not really very spread out; most of them are clustered along one main road on the hill. What are you planning to do in MA, and what are you planning to do in the Osa? For me, the main things that set Arenal apart are the active volcano, the natural hot springs, and the Cano Negro tour. We looked at all the activities available in each area before we decided to book. I'd look at what you have planned for each area, and if you think it's too similar, switch to Arenal.

If you want beach time you'll probably want to include MA as Osa (depending on where you stay) may not offer the best beaches. For instance, Bosque del Cabo where you've probably read raves about, isn't going to be convenient.

Remember, Osa will be much more remote so be prepared for rainforest as opposed to shopping, restaurants, nightlife.

On the other hand, in Arenal in addition to activites Volcanogirl mentioned there are the hanging bridges, waterfalls, horseback riding, canopy tours (ziplining), Venado Caves, etc.

I would do Arenal & MA or Arenal & the Osa but probably not MA & Osa (just from personal experience). It's hard to say of your son may feel isolated or not if you stay at MA or the Osa, a lot just depends on other guests, although the Osa is more isolated as a place in general.

One slight hesitation I have is that some of the hotels you've mentioned, in here & on other posts, albeit luxe, may be a little more focused on couples/honeymooners instead of families, so that may (or may not) be an issue in regards to your son. Just a thought!

As far as the Osa (well, and other places too), I think a lot depends on your son and how much into nature & wildlife he is. If he needs tv, video games etc, it may be sort of isolated to him; if he's really into nature & such, then he'd just love the Osa, it all depends. I know when I was at Bosque del Cabo one year, there was a mom and her 15 year old son and she just couldn't keep up with him! He would be up at 5am and just go all day, checking out every little flower, plant, bird, animal etc - he was just in sensory overload and it was just too cute.

Eilee,
I took my 15 year old neice to Costa Rica in Feb. We went to Manuel Antonio and Arenal. Again, it depends on your son but my neice had such a wonderful time, she never felt bored and she even practiced her spanish a bit.
I think that you are worrying to much about your son. It's really a perfect vacation for a 16 year old boy.
I do think Tully has a good point about the places you are staying but in reality we didn't run into a lot of kids in general at any of the places we stayed.
Have fun, your son will never forget this trip.

When we were at Bosque del Cabo, there was a family with two teenage boys - they were having a blast going surfing, deepsea fishing, waterfall repelling, hiking, etc. but they were really into nature. I think tully hit the nail on the head - what is your son interested in? There's no guarantee that he'll find kids his own age to hang out with, so I'd look at booking specific activities that interest him.

Thanks for all of your input.

In Osa, we are staying at La Paloma. I'm sure my son will love it -as he loves wildlife and nature. We will do the Corcovado tour and I'm not sure what else. He loves scuba and snorkeling, but read that the Cano island trip is not really worth the time. I'm not sure what else we would do for two more days there. Unfortunately the activities seem pretty limited. He will love the night Bug tour I'm sure. Other thoughts would be appreciated here.

IN MA - I was thinking of a tour in then park and possibly the Mangrove tour. I would love ideas of things more "exciting" however - can anyone recommend horseback riding, rafting, etc.? I was thinking of MA over Arenal because we both like time on the beach, but my son would only like beach time if other kids were around.

In MA will there be places along the beach where he can meet up with other kids and "hang" -or are the hotel beaches separate from each other? In other words,at the hotel itself (Arenas Del mar), will there be places he can wander to for more "action" or are they so isolated that we'd be limited to the scene at the hotel? IF that's the case, can you recommend another hotel that may be more suited for teens?

Lastly, I know there are lots of things at Arenal, but I'm concerned it might be too late to switch. I also really would like to have some beach time - I just also want some "adventurous" activities for my son - and not just a repeat of what we'd do at La Paloma. Does MA have some similar cool adventures as Areanl does?

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond to my many questions. I have to decide today what to do!

I haven't yet been to MA, but I've been to Arenal and to Osa. I would not skip Arenal at all. To me that's the adventure area. With or without the other kids, Arenal has so much to do and the atmosphere there is just "fun", if you ask me. You have the Cano Negro tour, zip lines, horseback riding, and you can do the Venando Caves, Hanging Bridges etc... You're bound to see other kids around, but even if not, I don't think he'll miss them much because you will have so much to do.

As far as MA vs Osa, my gut is telling me you'd prefer MA. I'm not sure why though. I know there will be more to do that is not directly related to hiking and nature. You will have the opportunity to see more people in MA and get out more. Osa is beautiful and has that undiscovered appeal, but you may feel isolated. For example if you went to Bosque del Cabo, you may get lucky and be there with families with kids your son's age or you may not. But you won't have the opportunity to venture out to see much of anything else unless you go on excursions, but it's not the kind of place you can just head out and see what's around the area and meet people.

By the way, I think the Arenas Del Mar looks great! If you go there, I'll be looking forward to hearing about it!

I think if you choose Arenal and either MA or Osa, you really can't go wrong though, but I agree with the others that I wouldn't pick MA and Osa.

eilee, I keep seeing you reference the fact that your son may not have anyone to hang out with and that he wants to be with other teens - have you thought about having him bring his best friend along? When I was a kid, and my older siblings had grown up, my folks let me bring a friend along - my parents got a chance to relax, and I always had a friend to hang out, go out in the waves with, etc.