I have enjoyed reading the messages on this message board, and am hoping you all may be able to help me. I am taking a graduation trip to Costa Rica with my dad in early May. We would like to spend 3-4 days on a Pacific coast beach just to relax and enjoy the views. Can anyone suggest a beach to visit? Also, if you could recommend places to stay in the $80-$100 range it would be most appreciated.

One final question: Is it worthwhile to rent a car if we will be goint to three or four different places north of San Jose, or are the roads just too bad?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi! We stayed in Samara for 2 nights and I wish we could have stayed longer. It is uncrowded and beautiful. The water was very calm while we were there. I also highly recommend renting bikes or walking the 7km to Carrillo, which is the next beach over.
Here is my blog about our trip - you can just go to the Samara/Carrillo posts if you want (there are pictures).
Carrillo does not have hotels/restaurants/bars on the beach, so if you go, it is best to take a snack and water with you.
We did not like our hotel very much, but there are plenty of reasonable ones in the area. This one looked really cool:
http://samarabeach.com/samaratreehouseinn/index.html
(and there are others listed on the left).

There are public buses from San Jose to Samara and back. Just be sure to take the direct bus or there are lots of annoying stops.

Pura Vida,
Dawn

Thanks for the suggestions!

And although it's a bit Americanized, we like Flamingo Beach Resort and have booked 3 nights for ourselves for $79 per night poolside in July. Good deal, gorgeous beach, nice area to explore. . .

Hi there- We love Playa Grande, just north of Tamarindo and we also really enjoyed Nosara. Both have beuatiful beaches. Nosara has a cute little town. P. Grande is a little more remote, but a fairly short drive into Tamarindo. I think Tamarindo looks really nice, my sister had a wonderful vacation there. I know some on this board don't care for it. I don't think the roads are THAT bad, but just be prepared for the worst and then it won't seem too bad Seriously though, it's not that awful and May is just the start of the rainy season so if you're in the northern Pacific area, even near Manuel Antonio (which is beautiful and fun also) you can drive. We usually go in May because of lower prices and the weather has been wonderful. Have a great trip!

Drive to Manuel Antonio, Costa Verde can be a good buy, and if you like to see more of Costa Rica South Pacific beaches drive to Dominical, Bahia Ballena, road is in bad shape, but is a wonderfull drive!!

Come back to San Jose By San Isidro del General.

Good luck

Thank you all for your help!