laurakf

My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon for this December crossing over into January. Our tentative itinerary is as follows.
Day 1 - San Jose - Hotel Aranjuez
Days 2 & 3 - Manuel Antonio - La Colina
Days 4, 5 & 6 - Montezuma - El Jardin
Days 7 & 8 - Samara - LazDivas Casitas B&B
Days 9 & 10 - Tamarindo - Capitan Suizo
Days 11 & 12 - Monteverde - La Colina
Days 13, 14 & 15 - Arenal - Tabacon Spa
Days 16 & 17 - San Jose - Hotel Aranjuez

We are looking for a combination of things. We want to relax in clean, quality and sometimes interesting hotels. They don't always have to be top of the line. We've heard in Manuel Antonio that the hotel Mono Azul is good. As for our itinerary, we want to experience nature in national parks and on the beach, but we also want to relax in a romantic atmosphere some of the time. Could anyone give advice about whether our itinerary is sound? Thanks for any help.
L

JeanH

Even with two and a half weeks, I think you're trying to hit too many places. Although the distances look short on a map, you will be spending enormous amounts of time traveling. I'd think about adding another day in Manual Antonio and only stay at one or two places on the Nicoya peninsula.

laurakf

Okay, my fiance and I are having problems getting a room in Tamarindo. If we stay a day longer in Manuel Antonio, skip Tamarindo and stay in Samara a day longer also would that be good? Are we missing out on something great if we don't go to Tamarindo?
Also has anyone heard anything about LazDivaz Casitas?

karenf

Dear Laura, T agree with the above poster that you are trying to do too much. If you are renting a car the road friom Arenal to Monteverde is horrendous and driving in general may take you much longer. Tamarindo is a surfer town. The beach is wide, not the white sand of the Caribbean. Xmas is very crowded in Costa Rica. We were in Tamarindo over the holidays, shortly after Xmas a few years ago and it was crowded and the beach had horse poop on it. Not very appealing., On the other hand we got to see the turtle laying and that was a thrill, also went on a Rincon de Vieja tour. Have never heard of the place in Samara. That is a popular place also because the road is paved, supposed to be a good beach. Last year we were in Costa Rica for two weeks and went to Selva Verde, Arenal Monteverde and Manuel Antonio. We drove all over and it was plenty of driving. You might want to cut down the number of places.Have a great time

Iza

I agree with all previous posters that you are trying to do too much. If you can't get a room in Tamarindo, skip it. We like it a lot but you will be in so many other nice places it won't matter if you don't see Tamarindo.

I would say, spend 4 days instead of 2 in Manuel Antonio, 3 instead of 2 in Samara, and 2 instead of 3 in Arenal. Unfortunately, other than Capitan Suizo in Tamarindo (highly recommended), I am not familiar with any of the hotels you selected.