I'm planning a January trip to Costa Rica. We both love the beach...so a nice beach is important. We also like to hike and explore...so national parks are important. Manuel Antonio sounds like a match for our needs? Can anyone recommend hotels in the area? Does this area have a village with restaurants, shops etc.? Thanks in advance for your advice.

Matt, I just got back from C.R. in late July. I found the area of Manuel Antonio nice with a lot of nice beaches. My wife and I stayed in 'The Monkey House'. It was great! It was next door to Makanda, another very nice place. Monkey house is owned by an American couple that study primates. It is situated behind a wall and is very private with a shared private beach with Makanda. The restaurants are very nice and I found the residents,Tico's, wonderful. The monkeys travel through several times a day and the open air home, a house with only 2 1/2 walls, exotic. We also enjoyed eating and visiting Si Como No if you are looking for more of a resort feel. Its restaurant was very nice and the staff was gracious. There are not many shops in MA and only a few in Quepos. There is some great furniture in the area but I wouldn't expect the T-shirt shops and trinket stores like in Hawaii or Fishermans wharf. We had a great time exploring and watching nature. The beaches are great and you can pick the surf size by the location along the beach.

Thanks, Steve. Sounds great. Si Como No might be for us from the research I've done. Has anyone stayed on the Carribean side? I'm not finding as wide of range of accomadations as on the Pacific side.

I've not been to the Carribean side, but it's not as 'touristy' as the Pacific, so less accommodations/restaurants are available. Also, it's got a more of a rastafarion Reggae population as opposed to Costa Rica 'Tico' population.<BR>As for Manuel Antonio, I've stayed at Villas Nicolas which are nice condo's with kitchen which we loved. You cn stop at the grocery in Quepos and stock up on beverages, snacks, etc. We also stayed once at Costa Verde which we liked as well, although not as much as the condo. If you end up at Villa Nicolas, ask for room 7-up or higher for the best views. I also like the look of Hotel California, although I've not stayed there yet. There are several places to eat around Manuel Antonio, but our favorite was Karolas, which is walking distance from Villa Nicolas. Go to La Mariposa for sunset happy hour, just across the street from Karolas. Have a good trip!

Matt: I also highly recommend Villas Nicolas. We planned to stay 2 nights and ended up staying 4. As Ally said, there are several good restaurants within walking distance (try Cafe Milagro for breakfast and Karola's for dinner). The nice thing about Villas Nicolas is that you can cook if you get tired of eating out as most of the condos have full kitchens. We often took the bus to Quepos (for 35 cents) and shopped there for groceries and gifts. Villas Nicolas is literally next door to Si Como No (although I wasn't that impressed with their food). They have a lovely gift shop, although don't have anything shipped home. My friend purchased a small piece of art for $90 and discovered after we had returned home that they charged her charge card an additional $182 to ship it!