Thanks so much for all the wonderful advice in helping us sort out where we want to go on our first trip to CR. We just booked our flights to SJO out of DC/National on CO through Houston for only $375 each and have reserved this itinerary based on your good suggestions: 2 nights Peace Lodge; 3 nights Arenal/Lost Iguana; 7 nights MA/Buena Vista Villas; 1 night Grano de Oro. We're also renting a car to drive ourselves. Thanks again for your help!

Fantastic - now the waiting begins! :)

mm: We did a two week trip in November and stayed at the Lost Iguana and Buena Vista Villas (along with BdC) at the end of our trip. If you have any specific questions about these properties as your trip draws nearer, I would be happy to help if I can. We loved both (especially BVV).

Wow, I'd love to hear all about your trip! Did you post a trip report? We'd love to hear about your favorite restaurants, what the rooms are like, what to see/do, how you get around, etc. Thanks so much!

I did post a report... We hired a driver from San Jose to Arenal and were going to originally have him be available to get us around Arenal for the 3 nights we were there, but decided we didn't need that... Instead we walked to the Hanging Bridges and had the hotel arrange a transfer to town when we went to Ecothermales. We did not venture to many restaurants for that leg of the trip. Breakfast was included and our youngest was not feeling great, so we did poolside lunches, dinner in the Lost Iguana restaurant and dinner at Ecothermales (simple but very good).
We also did the Sky Trek (husband and older daughter) and Sky Tram - (myself and younger daughter - tram up and back, no zip line down) and really enjoyed that experience. The transfer was included in the price. We have lots of experience with zip lines and were very impressed with SkyTrek.

At the Buena Vista Villas, the hotel shuttle took us to a nearby grocery store and came back 30 minutes later (per our request) so that we could shop for snacks, a few lunch items, drinks, etc. We loved the breakfasts at BVV and had Thanksgiving dinner in the restaurant as well (Lobster). We also ate al El Avion. Good story and the kids enjoyed the big airplane in the middle - food was OK. I am having a hard time remembering the other names of the restaurants, but got the recommendations all from this board.

We took taxis in MA... very easy. Mostly arranged by the concierge at the BVV. He is stationed at the Villas pool and was VERY helpful. We walked home from Manuel Antonio park... quite the experience - up hill but "good for us" according to my husband, but not my 7 year old! While at the BVV we loved to pack our daypack with sunscreen handwipes, books, dry shorts, sunhats, etc. and head down to the private beach. (It is an easy walk down hill.) We would spend hours on the loungers with an umbrella. The beach side service is great.... drinks and snacks.. small tables brought over, etc. It is a great cove for kayaking and easy boogie boarding. Snorkeling equipment is available but we did not do it as the water was not that clear.
We made great memories boogie boarding in the surf as we heard and watched troops of Howler monkeys in the trees along the beach.

If you think of other questions let me know. What type of unit are you staying in at BVV?

Thanks so much! I'll go look at your report. We have a one-bedroom villa at BVV.

Do you think we need a car after all or should we hire a driver to take us from Peace Lodge to Lost Iguana to BVV and back to San Jose to leave?

It is such a personal choice about whether to rent a car, or hire a driver. After having been there, I would not hesitate to rent and drive. That option gives you a lot of freedom. Traveling with our two young kids, we did not want to think about directions at all, so we opted for a driver and it was a great choice for us.

You will love the one bedrrom villa. It is not huge, but so comfortable. We had a mama and baby sloth that lived in the tree off our veranda. We enjoyed them so much!