My boyfriend and I are very active 40 and 50 year olds in good shape looking to spend ten days exploring CR. Looking to go end of July and first week of Aug. Have read a ton in fodors and like pals peninsula and arena/ montevetde area. Any help w lodging and itinerary ideas as well as guide suggestions would be great. Planning on renting a car. I will be 8 weeks out of ACL knee surgery and am doing great but can only do day hikes. We want to fish too! Thanks all!!

We love the Lost Iguana in the Arenal area. It's out by the lake so would be good for you if you want to go fishing. In Monteverde, we like Fonda Vela - close to the reserve and a good restaurant on site, nice gardens. I'm not following you on the pals peninsula - not familiar with that.

servicecarrental.com mapache.com best for me for rental

arenal.net

tabacon.com best hot springs

hotelmountainparadise.com

lostiguanaresort.com

my top 3 based on budget

then tamarindosportfishing.com

hotelcapitansuizo.com or tamarindodiria.com

Have fun,

Thanks lady! You rock. I also meant the osa peninsula. Oops! Damn smart phones.

Ah, gotcha. We love Bosque del Cabo on the Osa, but it can be expensive. If it's in your budget, it's worth it. It's a beautiful area with amazing wildlife.

In Monteverde (Santa Elena) we liked Arco Iris Lodge, nice cabins, very convenient since it's in town, but huge grounds that are beautifully landscaped, walk to restaurants, right next to a hidden jewel - MV Orchid Garden. You need a car to get out to the reserves, we hiked both MV and Santa Elena Reserves.

Make sure to go to the hummingbird gallery next to MV reserve. Always hire a guide for your hikes. They will show you all sorts of plants/birds that you would never spot on your own.