CR first time advice
 

There are so many places to see and things to do. I have about 10 days maybe more in Jan-06 to go to CR. I've read about Arenal, Central Valley, Monteverde, the Pacific coast; South and North Guanacaste, Manuel Antonio etc. Way too much to see and do, So please advise on the most beautiful places and how many days you suggest for each. I could stay longer if I thought it was worth it. Also any comments on Xandari in Alajuela and Makanda Villa's in Manuel Antonio?
Thanks,
Poogie

There is really no way anyone can make these decisions for you. Too many unknowns. For example, do you enjoy adventurous activities? Do you prefer low-key, casual laying about? Are you interested in sightseeing in the jungle, hiking through the rainforest, sunbathing, cultural life, nightclubbing, restaurants? Are you young and energetic, old and tired, older and energetic, traveling with a friend, with kids, with your parents? How old are they? What do they like?

See what I mean?

We were in CR last June. I'd higly recommend the Arenal Region - great hiking near the volcano, wonderful hot springs, ziplining in the jungle canopy, for a fabulous adventure rappel down water falls!
The van ride is a little long for younger kids, may want to consider flying in.

Manuel Antonio is wonderful. Manuel Antonio is a beautiful place - nice beaches, varieties of surf, nice hiking trails to see wildlife, jungle comes right up to the beach, monkies and iguanas in the trees. Take water and food, there will be others at the beach. You may also want to think about a zipline canopy tour, too.

Stayed at El Parador, very nice, but not on the beach. We loved it there. Flying in to Quepos would be best in my opinion since you are traveling with a youngster.

Pura Vida!

Were in our late 30's, and we are energetic and looking for adventure and exotic locations with a lot of natural beauty. We enjoy hiking, sight seeing, the beach, not into night clubs anymore. I am also trying to figure out which coastal area would be more interesting, the North part of Guanacaste or the South? Or do we skip that area for Manuel Antonio? How do those areas compare? What's the best Canopy Tour area?

I suggest that you sellect 3 places for a 10 day trip. In my opinion, Arenal should be one of them.
Other options are Monteverde, Osa, Manuel Antonio, Guanacaste, Caribe, and others. The choice should be based on what you want to see and what you want to do.

You'll have a great choice no matter which you pick.

We really loved Osa. We went last Christmas. Do a search for my trip report. There's alot of active stuff to do there and you feel like you are way off the beaten path. The horseback ride to San Josecito was a day I'll never forget. We stayed there five nights and it was not too much.

We also went to Arenal, but did not see the volcano due to fog. The hike on the lava fields was fun, and my DH and kids enjoyed the ziplines. We were there 2 nights and found it was enough.

so we had a total of 9 nights in CR. Remember you lose a little time because of overnights in San Jose. We also really liked the Poas Volcano, but we were lucky because it cleared when we were there and we had a fabulous view of the crater.