I believe part of it may be the views - the CV II and bldg B in CV have fantastic views, especially the top 4 units. Not sure about the views from the bungalows as they are in a different area of the complex (it's quite spread out) and I never walked over there.

Starting on page 3 you can see the Costa Verde grounds and lots of views from bldg B (and I mean lots, I couldn't stop taking pics) :) In some pics you can see CV II and some I took from CV II. So this'll give you a good idea of the views.

http://pls.photosite.com/CostaRica/

tully

wow, those are great pictures! Your room had a stunning view -- so you were in CV II where there are no kids? Do you remember your room number/name?

Thanks, I was in Bldg B (in B7) the one that does allow kids.

Didn't mean to scare you with the flipping over on the raft story - but it was class 5 - and not just in a couple passes. Not for the very old or very young. But, the way they described the class II & III sounded like a lovely day down a nice flowing river - one of the guides was a girl from Oregon (I too lived in Oregon), I told her we used to take tire tubes down the rivers and she said the Class II would be perfect for tire tubes - that tells me you'd be just fine. And the canyons / rivers around MA are just something you can NOT miss - like I said, after living here 5 years, I was simply amazed! Talk to the folks on that web site - talk with the owner Arturo and he'll be staight with you - really good guy.
Oh and Costa Verde also has a great restaurant, I can't remember ever going there when I didn't see a monkey from my table while I ate. Have fun!

My sister really likes the look of Almonds and Corals but that's on the Caribbean side, isn't it? Is there a second destination on that side we should check out?

I don't see how we could do both MA and Almonds and Corals in 8 nights. We should choose a side, shouldn't we? Caribbean or Pacific?

I've stayed at both Costa Verde and Almonds and Corals, and liked both very much, but if forced to vote on someone's first visit, I'd say MA.

MA - especially with kids.

Well, yes you should probably choose a side and MA is probably your best choice given the activities available there and the wildlife to be seen in the park.

That said, if you have a full 8 nights-- besides any nights you may need to spend after arriving or before departing--you COULD do both sides. It sounds like something we would attempt! :)

You could easily spend 4 nights Manuel Antonio (in my opinion that is PLENTY of time there; 3 nights suits me), drive back to San Jose, spend a night there, then head down to Manzanillo (Almonds & Corals) for 3 nights.

For me 8 nights either place would be WAY too long. So yes, it is do-able, and you'd still have good amounts of time in both places.

You COULD even drive all the way (about 7 hours) in one day and not overnight in SJO, but it would be a long day. Pretty drive all the way, but long day. Did you say you're traveling with children?

One 7 yr old boy will be with us -- he's traveled more than I have and is low-maintenance and very athletic.

We're arriving into SJO in the evening on the 14th so unfortunately we lose that night. Could we do this?

14 arrive in SJO 8 pm, spend night.
15 drive to MA 6-11 am, stay at Costa Verde (hike in Park)
16 MA -- canopy tour
17 MA -- rafting
18 MA/ leave 10 am drive to A&C by 7 pm
19 A & C (canopy tour)
20 A & C (hiking, maybe zipline)
21 A & C - leave 3 pm, spend night SJO
22 plane departs 2:15 pm.

What do you think? Or could we stay the last night at A & C and leave by 6 am and get to the airport by noon?

This schedule looks a little hectic due to that long drive. It would help if we didn't have to spend that first night in SJO.

Yes, you can do this. I have one suggestion.

Go to Almonds & Corals first. It will take you longer to get back to SJO from there than it will from Manuel Antonio. By going there first, you can squeeze out an extra night at one or the other destination. You can stay your last night in Manuel Antonio, leave by 7:00 and be back in SJO several hours before your flight time. You'll have a little cushion built in.

Of course, that doesn't mean that something couldn't happen on the road delaying you that morning; however many people opt to return from MA early in the a.m. rather than staying a night near the airport.

Just a thought.

Another thing--sorry.

You need to be in Puerto Viejo/Manzanillo by 5:00 p.m, 6:00 at the latest. Not a good road to drive after dark.

If you leave one place (whichever you go to first) by 8:00, drive to SJO, have lunch, then you should be able to arrive the other place easily by 5:00.

Especially if you reverse the 2 locations, you certainly wouldn't want to be driving into Manuel Antonio after dark either--there are several one lane bridges to negotiate.

Thanks, sounds like reversing the locations will help. We're only going to do this if my sister is set on Almonds & Coral. I've heard driving at night is dangerous so we'll try to be off the road by 6:30 pm?

If I can find a nice looking place on the other side near MA, she may forget all about A&C but she doesn't sound excited about Arenal.

Any suggestions about another destination on the Pacific?

Malpais, Montezuma area. . .

Is Osa Peninsuala too far from SJO?

I'm thinking we could fly there the morning after we arrive, stay at Bosque Del Cabo a few nights, then rent a car and drive to MN, stay at Costa Verde a few nights.

The cabanas over the water at Bosque Del Cabo look beautiful -- would there be enough activities here if we didn't have a car? If we can't rent a car from Osa, could we fly to MN and then rent a car when we arrive at MN?

Sis is warming up to Arenal so if Osa isn't possible for a 8 night trip, we might stay are Arenal Observatory Lodge (any suggested alternatives ?)

O.K. -- I've convinced the others that Arenal would be sufficiently different from the Big Island.

So, we have first three nights at Costa Verde in Manuel Antonio and now want to figure out which place to check out for Arenal.

I'm considering Lost Iguana but I'm not crazy about the bright room decor and it looks a lot like a hotel room. Are there bungalow type lodgings in this area? Also considering Arenal Observatory Lodge and El Silencio?

Lost Iguana is pretty much a hotel room and the decor is simple, but the view of the volcano from your balcony and bed makes up for it. There are 2 rockers out on the balcony of the standard room that you can sit in and watch the volcano at night or you can just lay in bed and watch it. Other than during the night, how much time do you plan spending inside your hotel room anyway? There are also trails on the grounds and one of them leads to the hanging bridges, which you can get a discount for if you buy the tickets at the hotel. Although, the hotel room wasn't spectacular, like our Peace Lodge room was, we still enjoyed staying there.

How does this look? 3 adults/1 child.

First night: stay in SJO
3 nights at MA (Costa Verde)
3 nights Arenal (Silencio Del Campo)
1 night Peace Lodge in La Paz
last day: leave for SJO at 10 am.

Should we stay at Peace Lodge for 2 nights and cut Arenal short? Is there enough to do there?

We're interested in hiking, canopy tours, waterfall rapeling, rafting. Brother in law would also like to relax a bit.

Should I reverse the order and do Arenal, MA, and then La Paz?

If you get to PL fairly early in the day from Arenal, you'll have the entire afternoon to enjoy the property and a night of luxe living! That will be okay. I wouldn't cut Arenal short--too much to do there! :)

thanks shillmac, this will save us a bit of money too since Peace Lodge is incredibly expensive!

So the drive from SJO to MA is 3 hours and the drive from MA to Arenal is 3 hours? How about the drive from Arenal to La Paz?

Do you think it's worth splurging on Tabacon at Arenal? I'm concerned there will still be construction going on at Silencio Del Campo and they haven't returned my emails anyway.

JMO but I'd pass on Tabacon and pick somwhere else. There are many in the area that all the rooms have volcano views from room/patio, from what I've heard there are very few rooms at Tabacon that have views. Again, jmo, but I'd pick some place like Lost Iguana or Arenal Paraiso.