First time Costa Rica, a bit confused
 

Hi all, we are looking to go to Costa Rica mid February for about 10 nights. We are older with some health issues so not looking for "adventure" vacation but do very much want to see birds and beasts and cloud forest and rain forest, moderate physical activity. And we also want to spend half the time blissed out by the ocean (either coast ok). The part I am confused about is that the guide book says that driving between areas is difficult/roads not good. It also suggested catching a connecting flight the day you arrive can be tricky as well. Can anyone suggest a beach/nature preserve combo that makes sense distance/location wise (I admit I am still struggling to keep the different regions/national parks straight). Probably looking at 4 or 5 star lodges, Eco lodges would be great as well. All advice gratefully accepted. Thanks

Take a look at Tulemar Bungalows for your time by the ocean. It's in Manuel Antonio; they have a great national park full of monkeys and other wildlife that's really easy to see. Mostly flat easy walking. If you hire a guide, you'll see more. We've used Manuel Antonio Expeditions, and they were great. I'd also take a look at the Arenal area - for Eco Lodges, we like the Arenal Observatory Lodge; it's set away from town out by the lake, and they have a free guided hike every morning. Lots of great birds, coatis, etc. We've also stayed at Nayara, The Springs Resort and Spa, and the Lost Iguana and enjoyed all of them; these are a little more upscale. If you want to see the cloud forest and the chance to see quetzals, go to Monteverde. A lot of the roads are not in good shape, and there's not much in the way of signage. We usually hire a private driver through our hotels when we book them. If you want someplace off the grid, Bosque del Cabo on the Osa Peninsula has amazing wildlife; you can fly there on Sansa airlines. With ten days, you can do two locations, possibly three. You may need to stay near the airport for a first or last night depending on your flight times.

Thanks Volcano Girl, we were looking at The Springs when I read your reply (: Is it possible to visit Monteverde as a day trip from one of the other locals, or do we need to stay there?

The Springs Resort and Spa is amazing. We stayed there on a Groupon deal and loved it. No, Monteverde doesn't make a good day trip. It's a bit of a pain to get there. When we went the road wasn't even paved, but I've read that they recently paved it. It's hilly and bumpy, and if I went for the day I wouldn't want to turn around and come back. Most accommodations in Monteverde are kind of basic. We stayed at a spot called Fonda Vela and liked it - junior suites are pretty big with nice views and a bathtub, and they have a restaurant on site.

Another option for Cloud Forest is San Gerardo de Dota. I stayed at Savegre Lodge but there are others. Road there is paved . But also not a day trip.

We've stayed at Savegre Lodge too and enjoyed it, but there's more to do in Monteverde.

The road to San Gerardo de Dota is a lot better than getting to Monteverde. Savegre now has the spa/sauna, and onsite trails and tour operations. San Gerardo de Dota is the best place for cloud forest birding. Dantica is another lodge that gets good reviews.

I wouldn't struggle with the roads to Monteverde just to do a Coffee tour, Doka Estate is easy to do from San Jose.

I think most first timers should go to Arenal (AOL for a few nights, then possibly Fortuna) and Manuel Antonio. It is easy enough to self drive or book a transfer to those two places from San Jose, no need to do a connecting flight.

m, have you been to Monteverde since they paved the road? We haven't but it seems like that would make it a lot easier.

We did a day trip up from the port at Punta Arenas. It was still a windy road. I was kind of underwhelmed. Coffee tour, hanging bridge, didn't see much even with a guide.

Did they pave the route around the back side of Lake Arenal? Because that one was a nightmare.

We saw quite a bit when we were there - saw a porcupine and a fox on our night hike, two things we've never seen before. Also saw a quetzal in the parking lot of the Reserve and another one while ziplining. We saw howler monkeys as well which I guess is a rarity, and we saw a toucan at our hotel. Ziplining was fun too. We like Savegre and saw a lot of quetzals there, but I think Monteverde is more beautiful.

IIRC howlers are also at AOL. To be fair to Monteverde, we didn't go very deep into the reserve, just "Sky Adventures Monteverde Park".
Also a coffee farm somewhere along the way. Plus it was a sunny day.

Yes we saw howlers at AOL on our free guided hike. Found them again in the garden area later on, had to follow their bellows!

I think we've got a plan
 

Thanks to both of you for your great advice. We booked 5 nights at Manuel Antonio and 4 at Arenal (do you think it would be worth it to add a night) We're not going to make the air reservations until we know what's going on with this new virus variant. For medical reasons we've decided to leave it there for two weeks (hubby needs to get back for weekly shots) so perhaps if we are lucky we can come back another year and see Monteverde and Guanacaste. Thanks for all the wonderful advice. I'm sure I'll have more questions as the trip gets nearer

When we went to CR a couple of years ago, we stayed in Arenal for 4 nights, and it was great, but we absolutely could have stayed another night - we didn't see or do everything that we would have liked to in the area. So if you have the time, I wouldn't hesitate to add a 5th night to the Arenal area.

Manuel Antonio and the Arenal area is a great combo; that's what we did for our first trip. We usually stay four nights in the Arenal area, but we've been several times, and there's tons to do. You can definitely fill another day there if you'd like to.

Some things we've enjoyed in the Arenal area are the Hanging Bridges, hiking at AOL, the Cano Negro boat tour to see wildlife with Desafio, the locally owned Bogarin Trail to see sloths (do the guided tour), rafting with Rios Tropicales, the natural hot springs like Eco Termales or Tabacon (fancy) - if you stay somewhere with springs, this isn't necessary, a cooking class with Costa Rica Cooking, the Penas Blancas safari float with Desafio, tubing at the Springs Resort and Spa, ziplining at Sky Trek (pretty adventurous so may not be what you're looking for), the Proyecto Asis animal rescue center, and the La Fortuna Waterfall (lots of steps down and back up, not really a hike). Maybe take a look at some of these and see what you think.