Friends of mine would like to go to Costa Rica for 10 days on their honeymoon. I am trying to help them out since i have been there before. I have two of the 3 spots determined (Arenal and the Peace Lodge) but I am trying to determine where on the Pacific coast they should go. I have ruled out Manuel Antonio and was thinking somewhere in Guanacaste, Taramindo, or somewhere on the Nicoya Peninsula. Any ideas out there?

Sueno Del Mar is very romantic and has a very nice honeymoon cabina on the beach in Tamarindo, which as you know has a lot of activity.
The cabina is all hardwoods with ocean view and outdoor shower. I've heard the breakfast (included) is the best in town (although we arrived too late to eat) and the beach on site is very private.
For more upscale but not much to do but relax, Punta Islita is great, and for 'top of the line' Flor Blanca in Mal Pais is fabulous. It's owned by the same people as Sueno Del Mar.
Your a good friend for doing this for them!

I suggest the upstairs villa at Sugar Beach.

I have heard that taramindo was very touristy. Is this true? Is that region worth going to?

What a nice friend to help with planning. Don't forget these people are on their honeymoon not an average CR vacation.
We spent some of our honeymoon at Punta Islita. Very popular with honeymooners and after a stay I see why. They have a jungle beach package with some value for the amount of luxury honeymooners want.
Why have you ruled out MA?
Why does Arenal get the nod?
How old are these people and what are their interests? -Isolation or are they the casino type?

Thanks for the response - I recently went ( 1 month ago) to Costa Rica on my Honeymoon and Stayed at Villas Caletas near Jaco and really enjoyed it (along with Tabacon and peace lodge). However, i traveled to manuel Antonio and toured some of the hotels i heard so much about here (Makanda, si como no, etc) and did not really think they were worth the price. Then i went to the park and got a guide and really wasnt all that impressed (sorry!). So I am steering them away from MA and have them try the Nicoya Peninsula - I am actually his Best man, and he is 28 and she is 34 years old. I had also heard Punta Islita (friends of mine went there on their honeymoon) is remote with no activities around. However they will have a car. The only ones you can get is through the hotel. And when i went i found the best activity deals outside the hotels i stayed at. Just my opinions! They dont have to be right! Any other honeymoon spots on the Nicoya Peninsula? Where did you get that jungle package? Through the hotel?

I am sorry i did not fully answer your question though - They want some isolation but also do some zip lines and maybe have some rafting trips. So they do like activity but also come back have some "alone" time! LOL!

I don't think they can do any rafting trips from Guanacaste, but they can from Peace Lodge, and there is the Cano Negro river trip from Arenal...
Yes Tamarindo is 'touristy' but Cala Luna and Sueno Del Mar are far enough from town that they can get their quiet 'alone' time, but close enough to get out to other restaurants, do a little shopping and tours.
Flor Blanca in Mal Pais is luxury and quiet, but close enough to make day trips to Montezuma for the falls and looking around town, and tours to Cabo Blanco Nature reserve.

I second Ally's suggestion for Florblanca. Totally worth the high price tag, especially for a honeymoon. They should let the hotel know that they are on their honeymoon and specify Villa no. 1 which is ocean front or some other low number (2,3 or 4) which have partial ocean views.

I would pick Malpais any time over Tamarindo.

Yea- I would agree that MA is pricey and the park is little and well traveled- when I visited our vacation was almost over and while we really enjoyed our stay the riches south beckoned. I could not wait to return and continue down the coast. I would further agree that Punta Islita is very isolated and not the place to go if you want tons of action. The few people at PI who had cars did not use them much but the hotel rents its own suv for local day trips. The tours offered by the hotel were similar to the rest of the country but they were also private,which was great for us. They were most definitely the only game "in town" and most people fly in and fly out. - We really enjoyed our stay and would recommend the hotel to honeymooners wanting luxury decompression time before continuing on to tour the country.
The jungle/beach package is through the hotel and includes all flights, food, and lodging for 7 days(3 days PI 3days Bosque de Paz). The reason I think it is a good deal is because it includes your food, which is quite expensive yet excellent with a level of privacy hard to find in CR.
We continued on to Arenal and while we liked the area, saw the volcano erupt every night and day we stayed too long at the Tabacon. The crowds took away from the enjoyment of the springs and were we not staying at the hotel would have gone elsewhere for a soak. Not to mention the aweful food- I swear i am not that picky but give me value for the money! We ate in town nightly but saw tons of Lava on the road home- Montano de Feg whatever has great viewing despite being on the road.
We traveled through Jaco on the way to MA and, well, were glad we were continuing on. MA we did a canopy tours and butterfly gardens and ran around the park for a few days. We never got a guide but we hoofed all over every inch of the place, saw tons of wildlife, and hung on the beaches of which there are several choices. We met up with other travelers some of which were quite knowledgeable on the rainforest and learned more about ants than i thought possible. As I said we enjoyed our stay and think the choices of activities, restaurants, and beaches as well as ease of access were good for a honeymoon couple unless they want more jungle.
I have not heard nice things about Tamarindo in terms of the crowds and crime but lots of people seem to like and people who know better than me seem to like Hotel Sugar beach.
For a honeymoon spot I would further recommend Bosque del Cabo on the Osa- as you see my tastes like isolation.

Good friend! nobody helped me plan and I needed it.