I am trying to finalize our itinerary for our honeymoon in Costa Rica. We will be there mid-May for 11 days. Initially I planned to spend about 5 nights at the beach, 3 nights in Monteverde, 3 nights in Arenal. After reading many of the posts about Monteverde and Arenal though, I thought maybe I should switch things around. So this is what my tentative plan is right now:

5 Nights at the Harmony Hotel in Nosara, 4 Nights at Arenal Nayara (just opened in December I believe, so there weren't too many reviews on Trip Advisor, but most were pretty positive), and 2 nights at Peace Lodge. We are planning to rent a car for the whole trip.

We are do-it-ourself people rather than tour package, and we prefer small B&B's (although not the ones filled with lace and antiques) over big hotels and resorts. But since this is our honeymoon, I want the trip to be pretty relaxing and accommodations a little more pampering.

Here are my questions:
-Should we really skip Monteverde? I'm bascially cutting out Monteverde for Peace Lodge based on comments that Monteverde is hard to get to for just a few days, and the fact that Peace Lodge almost seemed to be a rite of passage for any Costa Rica trip. I couldn't tell from the pictures though if it is too fake and over the top though?

-Arenal Observatory Lodge - This place sounds cool, but I thought maybe we should save it for another trip?

-I did look at some of the B&B's around Arenal, but didn't find anything that really caught my eye - I wanted to see if anyone else had any recommendations?

- Or alternatively, if anyone does have any comments on Arenal Nayara? My other pick was the Lost Iguana, but Nayara seemed really nice, has individual bungalows.

-OR am I just rethinking this too much - trying too hard to make everything "perfect"??

-One last question - I sent Tri-color (based on comments here) a request for a quote via their website and have not heard back - is this the best way to rent from them?

Any comments on any of the above questions are greatly appreciated!

The Peace Lodge is a little bit fake, and we resisted going there on our first trip because of it, but I kept reading so many good reviews of it that we decided to go there on our second trip, and we loved it. If you want pampering accommodations, it really fits the bill. The rooms have fireplaces, beautiful views, waterfall showers, hummingbird feeders, nice beds - it's a great place for a couple of nights. Our favorite part of the property was the waterfall hike - 5 really beautiful waterfalls on the property. Poas Volcano isn't too far away. The boulders they use in construction looked fake to me, reminded me of what you would see at one of those miniature golf courses, but we still loved it there.

We also stayed at the Lost Iguana in Arenal and just loved it; I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again - really pretty grounds, jacuzzi tubs on the balconies, volcano views - it's a great spot. It's set a little outside of town, which we liked because it's quiet and relaxing. Also right next door to the Hanging Bridges, with a small pool and restaurant on site.

Cynthia Segura is the person at Tricolor who always responds. You might put her name in the subject line. They are usually very fast to respond (day or two).

I second Arenal, Mosara, and Peace Lodge. We really liked Arenal Observatory Lodge.

Hi, shillmac - does the lodge have a place where you can eat dinner and enjoy the view?

Hi Volcanogirl,
To tell you the truth, I'm not sure about the view from the restaurant as the volcano was clouded over every time we were at the hotel. We only saw it one night, in action, and that was from El Novillo.

The rooms all have great views. Even our little "just a bed" room in La Casona had a huge window. We just couldn't see anything when we were in there--except a couple of times the lower part of the volcano. That part was disappointing. We did have a beautiful view of the lake.

Thanks, shillmac; we'll probably stay at the Lost Iguana again, but I was thinking it might be fun to check out the view from the Observatory Lodge.

And we've never stayed at LI--should do that sometime. I just know that the birding is excellent at AOL--which, of course, appeals to me!

Drat, I just saw in another post that the AOL no longer allows non-guests to eat dinner there. It does look like a neat spot though.

Thank you both for your responses! I did book the peace lodge, although I switched to Hotel Luna Azul in Nosara because it got fantastic reviews on Trip Advisor and was half as much as Harmony Hotel. I am disappointed that we won't be able to have dinner at the AOL, but that will just give us more reason to go back! One last question for y'all - can we wait til we get there to book any excursions etc.? I would like to go to Eco Termales, and then probably Cano Negro, Hanging Bridges, and maybe a Zip-line, but don't want to lock ourselves into too much at this point. Thank you again for your help!

We went to Tabacon instead of EcoTermales, but I would book that ahead; those places fill up in advance. We just booked the Hanging Bridges, SkyTrek, and Cano Negro when we got there. Congratulations on your marriage!

Shillmac,
Although you did not stay at Lost Iguana, do you have any idea how birding there compares to birding at the AOL? Thanks

The Lost Iguana has some extensive grounds, and we saw some cool birds there - we had a beautiful yellow and blue bird - I believe it's called a euphonia right outside our window, as well as crested guans. Friends of ours saw a toucan, but we missed it. I liked the fact that the Hanging Bridges are right next door - lots of good opportunities there.