CR in Feb Tamarindo or?
 

We are hoping to go to CR in February for a month and rent a house. We want to veg out but do a bit of sightseeing too; rain forest etc.Should we spend the whole time in Tamarindo or should we spend half the time there and half the time somewhere else like Quepos? Should we rent a car from San Jose or fly to Liberia and rent from there? Any help would be greatly appeciated. Thanks.

You would miss quite a bit if you were to spend the whole month in just one very small area. That is a beautiful place but Costa Rica has many many different faces. The rainforests, cloud forests, dry forests, lots and lots of birds and animals. Drive an hour and you are in a totally different environment. The northern area is very different from the southern. The Pacific coast is very different from the Caribbean coast. And then there is the Central Valley which is different from everything else also. Tamarindo and Manuel Antonio, although both on the Pacific Coast, are very different. There are rivers to raft, mountains to climb, volcanos to watch erupt.
Ultimately, the choice is yours on what you want to get out of your visit there. Just keep in mind that it may look like a small country on the map but getting to the various places takes a lot longer than it looks. Day trips are going to be limited from Tamarindo. Driving from San Jose to Tamarindo is about 5-6hrs to give you an example. You would want to be sure to be were you are going before dark. To see a lot of Costa Rica you would have to drive to the different areas and spend the night. You mentioned Quepos. Nearby Manuel Antonio is where most of the nicer stuff is and there is lots to do in that area. It would at least give you a different look at the country even though it is still on the Pacific Coast.
If you are going to fly in and out of the country from Liberia you could easily rent a car in that area. The same is true from San Jose. If you are thinking of flying from San Jose to Liberia on a smaller in country flight you could just fly directly into Tamarindo instead. Your biggest obstacle for in country flights would be your luggage. The small Costa Rican airlines only allow 25lbs per person of luggage weight. They will sometimes let you get by with a little more and charge you a small fee per lb. At other times they might want to ship your luggage on a separate flight. I had a terrible time trying to get from Puerto Jimenez to San Jose this past Feb because my backpack weighed about 32lbs. It was mostly my husbands camera gear that he left me when he left the country a week earlier.
This has probably created more questions than it has answered but they are all things you need to think about when making your decisions.

Many thanks Suzie
Your reply was most helpful and has encouraged us to think again.Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated. It sounds like you really know your way around Costa Rica.

I just got back from a week in Manuel Antonio and my advice is to go there and stay around there for as long as possible. I believe that it is probably the most beautiful place on earth. There is plenty to do close by and i think the people who rush around trying to cram in as much as possible probably don't really remember any of it.So my advice is enjoy the scenery the food and the people and you will love Manuel Antonio!

Interested in last thread. Would love to hear more about activities in Manuel Antonio. did you try the canopy tour at Rioparaiso?

JR:
Thanks for your advice. That is exactly what we have decided to do.

Hi about Tamarindo, it is little more expensive than Playas del coco or Hermosa or Ocotal . from Liberia airport, you are 20 minutes away..I suggest fly to Liberia and rent a car from here, than visit volcano-river with crocodiles- etc renting a house in coco in february should cost you about 600-800$ for a month from guancaste to Quepos it will take about 6-8 hours to travel . if any other questions, please do not hesitate to ask,
Mychelle

Hi MrsG,
There are house rentals down on the Osa Peninsula that you might be interested in. People here have stayed at Casa Bambu and really enjoyed it. It is located in the Cabo Matapalo area which is my personal favorite area. The wildlife is amazing and the peacefulness is something I spend a whole year waiting for after I come back. Ten years of traveling down there has made me appreciate being where Costa Rica is in its most natural state. The tourists are coming but haven't ruined it yet.