CR honeymoon itinerary
 

hi! my fiance and i are excitedly planning our honeymoon tp costa rica this august. we'll be going for 12 days or so and would like to make no more than three "stops." here are some stops we're considering:

monteverde or santa elena
arenal
manuel antonio
guanacaste
tortuguero

any suggestions for which three to choose (or others that we should consider)?
also, we're thinking instead of staying right by manuel antonio, we'll stay in dominical and drive to manuel antonio. is that a bad idea?
thanks a lot for your advice.
cindy

What are your interests?

oh yeah, i guess that would help. we'd like to do some active stuff -- we like to hike, maybe some kayaking or rafting (nothing too strenuous) -- some beach relaxing, and definitely see some monkeys. we would like to spend a couple of nights in the lap of luxury but for the rest of the time are happy with basic accommodations as long as they're clean. we plan to rent a 4x4 for at least part of the trip.
thanks!

go to santa elena instead of montecerde- much less crowded.
for luxury stay at costa verde in manuel antonio:

http://costa.rica.typepad.com/manuel...ome/index.html

How about Mal Pais? We just spent part of our honeymoon there and it was amazing!

I have been to Costa Rica two years in a row. Had to go back to see more after the first trip!

I would recommend going from the Caribbean side, up into the Arenal and Monteverde area and then down to the Pacific side.

You said you want no more than three stops so I would do Tortuguero, Santa Elena/Monteverde area and then Manuel
Antonio. You can get an awesome view of the Arenal Volcano from El Mirador Lodge at Santa Elena on a clear day or night, all depends on the clouds, just like at Arenal or La Fortuna. I think there's probably more to do in the Santa Elana/Monteverde area than in Arenal area. Depends on how active you want to be.

Tortuguero is a tiny little town with not much going on except turtle watching at night. Awesome wildlife sighgtings, though. To the best of my knowledge, it's only accessible by boat. Are you driving your whole trip? If so, you'll need a safe place to leave your rental car when you take the boat to Tortuguero. We left our car at our hotel when we went to
Tortuguero, just for the day.

Haven't been to Dominical yet but hoping to go soon!

Have a fabulous trip!