My girlfriend and I are going to CR in march and we were going to visit the Nicoya Penn and Montezuma but now I think I would rather visit Manuel Antonio because of the beaches and the canopy tours.

I am looking for a place to stay and i always hear people mention Si Como No, La Mariposa and Makanda. These places all look nice but I am looking for something under $100. Anyone have any suggestions or places they have stayed that are more budget. Thanks!

John

Next to Si Como No, there is a nice hotel called Villas Nicolas (I think that is correct). While staying at Si Como No, we met people from next door who thought the villas were quite nice. They had come over to Si Como No for the afternoon. I think you can use both places. Also, I think the villas might be a little bit less money. This is a beautiful area. Good choice. Check these villas out. Nice view to the ocean from the back side of the properties (and hopefully your balcony)

I just checked their web site: http://www.villasnicolas.com. The place looks perfect. Thanks for the info!

I stayed at Villas Nicolas in July 2002 and loved it! Our room had a full kitchen and oceanview balcony with rockers and a hammock for $75/night. The location is terrific (the bus stops next door at Si Como No) and it's within easy walking distance of Karola's and Cafe Milagro - two great places to eat.

I've stayed at Villas Nicolas too, and also loved it. But, if you want an ocean view, ask for room 7-UP or higher.

Wow! I'm reserved at Si Como No in a deluxe room for $190 a night in the Green season ($160+30 for 1 child)w/o tax. No kitchen but breakfast included. I see at the Villas Nicholas website a condo with kitchen would cost us about $110 w/o tax. Now I'm wondering whether Si Como No is worth the extra $80 a night.

I don't know if it will be worth it to you or not. We thought Si Como No was quite beautiful and we loved staying there. We got our room for $140 (there were two of us) per night in July. . .but we only stayed 2 nights. We usually try to stay at less expensive places most of the time, but go for an occasional splurge. I think you will like it. We thought the food was outstanding and the rooms were very comfortable. Watch out for that mini-bar, though. It is the most "well stocked" I've ever seen, and quite expensive! Have fun!

I've researched some budget lodgings in Manuel Antonio, and I've just made reservations. We're going on March 5th, and I was surprised to be able to get a room, but it worked out.

The hotels we were looking at are:

Hotel La Colina (www.lacolina.com)
Hotel Verde Mar (www.maqbeach.com/verdemar.html)
Hotel Del Mar (www.hoteldelmar-costarica.com)
Hotel Espadilla (www.espadilla.com)
Mimos Hotel (www.mimoshotel.com)

The average price of rooms at these hotels is $70 US plus tax, but the range is $49 to $90.

We chose La Colina, even though it's not on the beach like Del Mar, Verde Mar and Espadilla. The ones on the beaches cost the same (or more, depending on the room type at La Colina or Mimos), but they had no amenities, such as a safe, A/C and cable TV or a pool (yes, I still sometimes would rather sit in a pool than go to the beach).

It just seemed like La Colina and Mimos were better values.

We considered other hotels, including Tulemar, Karahe, Hotel California, Si Como No, Makanda, Parador and Plinio. We would have stayed at one of these places if we absolutely had to, but they cost way more ($125-$200) than we wanted to pay.

I remember thinking that Vela Bar was a decent budget hotel, but I don't remember why we didn't choose it.