Well, I'm down to planning our final night. We are confirmed at Tabacon for three nights, Peace Lodge for two nights and Bosque del Cabo had availabilty for the three nights we wanted, I'm just waiting to hear back with the confirmation now that I told them we wanted the cabina for sure.

After BDC we are planning on taking the later Sansa flight from Puerto Jimenez so will be back in San Jose mid afternoon the day before our flight back home. We have a 9:50 am flight home the next morning. I am looking for hotel recommendations fairly close to the airport, as well as ideas as to how to spend that last afternoon and evening. We won't have a car, but I guess that doesn't much matter.

And speaking of cars, I saw tricolor car rentals mentioned in another post, so I got a quote from them for the first portion of our trip (From San Jose to Arenal and La Paz) and their quote seems really good compared to other national companies I was getting online. $264 for 6 days for a Terios, including taxes and insurance. Does anyone have any experience with them as far as their reliability and service? And do you pick up/drop off your vehicle right at the airport?

Once again, thanks in advance for the help!

Well I will chime in with my usual suggestion - Orquideas Inn. About 15-20 minutes from the airport, very reasonably priced, nice grounds, great restaurant and a great staff. Not to mention the great bar. For myself, I usually get there mid-afternoon and just laze around the place, the pool is nice, and just slowly get back to the civilizatiion routine.

When are you going?

Thanks tully. I'll check that out. It would be great to lounge at a pool and just relax the last afternoon. I assume they have transportation from the airport?

We are going from 4/27 through 5/6. I can't wait! It's our first trip to CR.

That sounds like a great car rental price although I don't know that car model. I'll check it out as well.

I'm also thinking of staying at Peace Lodge for the first 2 nights of the trip -- thinking we could drive there straight from the airport, even though we arrive at night. Do you think that's a bad idea?

We're arriving May 14-22, just bought tix tonight and I have no idea what I'm doing. The driving sounds a bit intimidating and we're traveling with a 7 yr old boy. I will look at your itinerary on a map to see if its doable for us. We all like to snorkel and they love to hike -- trying to find something that will work for all of us.

Shell yes they have transfers, you can set them up when you make reservations. For 1-4 people I believe it's only $10. The Marilyn Monrroe bar is a great place to just hang out, always meet such interesting people there. They also have some short trails behind the property. I'm going to many of the same places (BdC, Peace Lodge, Orquideas) but sounds like I'll miss you, I'll be in CR May 4th-18th.

fishee I'd be a little hesitant driving to Peace Lodge that late. The road is pretty narrow for most of the way and very twisty. If you're planning on spending a lot of time just right at the Peace Lodge grounds, I'd forego the car and pick it up after you leave there.

thanks for the advice tully, we'll stay in town that first night.

Our plane leaves San Jose at 2 pm -- is it too risk to try to drive back into the city early in the morning and get to the airport by noon?

I would strongly recommend Finca Rosa Blanca the last night; it is a charming, beautiful place up in the hills. You can take a short hike through their coffee plantation and relax by the pool. At night have an excellent communal meal and swap stories with your fellow travellers. This was our first night in CR and we loved it!

We also used Tricolor for a Nissan X-Trail. The car was in pretty good shape and pickup and dropoff went smoothly. They picked us up at Pavas and drove us to their office in San Jose, where we also dropped it off when we were done. Their San Jose office is very conveneient for dropoff as it is right at the entrance to town from the highway.

fishee - it depends, where are you coming from?

I think we might try to be at almondcoral bungalows or something like that? I thought it was on the Carib side and that maybe the snorkeling would be better on that side. They haven't returned my email yet.

The only drawback is that the beach at A&C is not swimmable--Lots of big warning signs posted, which is a bit unusual. There are lots of beaches with bad rips, and not usually posted warnings, so I'm assuming there have been problems there. About 10 min. down the beach (Punta Uva, I think) is a nice area for swimming. Aguas Claras cottages also a nice place to stay, good swimming right there. Playa Chiquita I think. .

fishee -- when will you be in PV? I will be there with my 10 year old daughter May 20-24, maybe we can meet up!