Getting to Manuel Antonio
 

My husband and I have been considering Costa Rica for our vacation either March/April time frame. We only have about 6 days. I had no idea where in CR to go however after reading all the wonderful posts I keep seeing Manual Antonio and Arenal mentioned. My questions are, first is 6 days enough to appreciate either of these locations, are they located close to each other. I've checked CR maps on line and can't seem to find the them. My husband would rather fly into where ever we go and not have to do multiple flights, is this possible for these destinations? Thank you for your help.

You can certainly spend 3 nights in each location and have a great time. Depending on when your flight arrives or departs you may need to spend a night near the airport. Fly into SJO for an Arenal/Manuel Antonio combo. Arenal is about 3 1/2 hours from SJO, Manuel Antonio is about 5 hours from Arenal, and SJO is about 4 hours from Manuel Antonio. Check out your flight options and that will help you decide. March/April is very busy, I'd try to book asap. You can use Interbus instead of flying to get from place to place or rent a car, instead of flying.

If you wanted to, you could also hire private drivers to take you between the cities; we've always booked them when we've booked our hotels and have had good luck.

You'll have time for both or you could just do one and plan a return trip once you are more familiar.

Both the locations you are looking at have lots of things to do and see so you would easily be able to use up your time. Do you want beach and wildlife or volcano?

You can do both without a problem but as you are starting to realize there is a fair amount of travel time involved so that really cuts into your day trips and adventures.

Hiring a driver is somewhat spendy, but you can make a fun day of it. We plan shopping, things to see, where we will stop to eat, etc. and bring our driver along.

You'll want to get reservations in place if you are wanting to go in March or April.

Thank you for all of the helpful information. Perhaps we'll consider just one of the locations. I think this time around we're more looking for beach/wildlife with a horseback riding tour, etc. type thing. I'll start to look at hotels, etc. since there isn't much time left. Thank you again to all...

Arenal is my personal favorite, but for what you want to do, Manuel Antonio fits the bill.