Thanks. I guess I bettter start figuring out exactly where I am staying and book my nights. I checked out the water tube. I think my son would love it!

I was in CR in January with my 9 year old for two weeks - we flew in and out of Liberia - rented a SUV and drove all over. For a one week stay, you'll have to narrow it down to two places. We spent two nights at Rincon de la Veija at Hotel Guachipelin - a 45 minute drive from Liberia - and quite a fun drive! They offer this awesome adventure pass. Our first day in CR and we did four tours! We started with white water tubing, then did a canyon canopy tour. After a break for lunch we went on horseback ride to a waterfall where we went swimming and ended our evening at the Simbiosis Volcanic Mud Springs & Spa. All for $80 adult - I don't recall the child rate. The next day we hiked at Rincon de la Veija. Many options and trails - even hiking to the crater on top. We hired a private guide.

http://www.guachipelin.com/

Arenal is fantastic and there is so much to do. If you like adventure, you have to try the canyoning. We used Pure Trek. This is a great destination to white water raft too. We stayed at Los Logos and really liked it there. The grounds are beautiful; they have their own canopy tour on site, and complimentary tours of their butterfly, frog and crocodile farms. They also have their own hot springs and pools with water slides. Great views of the volcano too!

We did a beach near Liberia to be close to the airport. There are so many lovely beaches, many very remote. We loved Conchal Beach and Flamingo Beach. It's a long day trip, but you can take a tour that includes the adventure pass to Rincon de la Veija from many of the Guanacaste beaches.

Enjoy!

Thanks for all the info. Day pass definitely looks worth it. I still am trying to decide whether to do 3 at Arenal with a day pass to Tabacon hot springs along with other trips in the area or do 4 nights. Then what to do with remaining nights. Either go to MA and beaches, playa hermosa or papaguayo area or this adventure tour day pass sounds fun too. So hard to decide....

We also went to Manuel Antonio, and while I highly recommend it, don't forget to consider the time it will take to get from Arenal to Manuel Antonio and then to Liberia. While the distance between these places is not far in terms of miles, the roads are very, very, very slow. Since you are only there for one week, you might not want to spend that much time on the road. Have you given any thought to how you are going to get around? Driving can be tricky with few signs and the road conditions not always the best. I 'm a single mom and drove all over the country and loved every bumpy minute of it...even getting lost between Monteverde and Arenal was an adventure - but that's just me. Many people would never even consider driving on their own. You can use shuttles between destinations or hire a private driver.

We will be renting a SUV so we can explore on our own and can get to restaurants, shops, etc...

still trying to decide: we will probably not go back to CR for quite some time so in your opinion:
--arenal and papagayo or
--arenal and MA?

Thanks for all your replies!

I think we will go with MA. Since we are arriving Liberia around noon, thinking of making the drive to MA first for 2 nights-see the area, and then stay for 4 night in Arenal. Hope this works out to be a good plan.

Between MA and Arenal, be sure to stop at the Tarcoles bridge to see the huge crocs down below. Don't leave anything in your car unattended though.

Thanks. Kids will love that

We drove from Arenal to MA back in 2009 and it took almost 8 hours. Be sure to add an extra hour or two to any time chart you find online.

Nords, why did it take you guys so long? Normal time is more like 5 hours.

i actually decided not to squeeze MA in this time. My final plan is:
LIR straight to Arenal for 3 nights (Los lagos)-trips to cano negro, volcano, springs, etc...
then 1 night to Rincon (I am hoping Rio Celeste can be done on the way)
all day adventure pass and then to Tamarindo for 2 nights

I thought about just staying in tamarindo for the 3 nights, but hotel (capt suizo) is twice as much and I will not be there most of the day to enjoy-might as well just drive and stay at rincon so we don't have to wake up super early