I am traveling to Costa Rica from May 12 to May 20. I will be traveling alone. I want to take in the cultural aspects, the floral and fauna, the ecological cal environment, and I want to have a great time at night. I am not a go to bed – read a book and lights out before midnight person. With that said, I plan to visit San Jose (night life, cafes, restaurants); Arenal (hot springs /hiking); and Manuel Antonio NP (the flora fauna eco thing). Questions:

1. Should I stay in LaFortuna since it
is a town with some limited activity?
Wouldn’t Arenal be too quiet? Is
there anything to do at night in Arenal?

2. RE: Manuel Antonio…. I am confused how
it is associated with Quepos Beach.
Quepos sounds great since there appears
to be a lot of activity at night time.
Should I stay at a hotel on the beach,
and do some day trips to Manuel Antonio
NP?

I have a total of 7 full days in Costa Rica. I was thinking 2 days in La Fortuna, 3 days in Quepos and 2 days in San Jose. Too much? Too little time in each place? Any suggestions.

Thanks to all !

Hey,
I've never been to CR, but i'm planning a trip there for jan 07 - maybe i'm not the best person to give advice. When you are in Arenal, you should do the canyoning/rappelling through SkyTrek. I've heard it's a blast... then you can give me a full report when you get back from the trip

If you are not a go to bed before midnight kind of person then i would recommend staying in or near the city/town so you can experience some night life.

Hi,

I was there a few weeks ago. I'm not sure Arenal is actual a town, it's more of the "area" around the volcano. We stayed near La Fortuna and liked it alot.

The hot springs are fun for drinks and socializing at night (we went to Baldi's and would recommend it, not far outside of town), but they close at 10. There are a few bars, but I'm not sure what time they close. 2 days there would be fine.

SJ is the big city so has lots more night life. We didn't go to MA.

kaudrey is right, Arenal is the name of the mountain (volcano) that dominates the area, Fortuna is the main town. There are hotels, restaurants and bars in Fortuna. Many of the more well-known hotels are located further away near the mountain or hot springs.
Manuel Antonio is a national park located some distance from the town of Quepos. You will first enter Quepos from the north; it is a small seaport with a fishing fleet located there. As you drive from Quepos toward the park, you will pass many of the nicer hotels and residences.
You may be taking on a bit too much for just one week. Quepos is distant from SJ and the Arenal area. Maybe think about SJ - Arenal - Monteverde or Tamarindo?
About the 4th or 5th day you will be thinking of excuses to stay longer!
Good luck and have fun!

I'm usually a night owl at home, but I find myself exhausted and going to bed much earlier in CR. The monkeys and birds wake you up at the crack of dawn, and all the hiking, rappelling, horseback riding, etc. makes me tired. It's really cool to stay near the volcano. You might see the lava flow at night, and waking up to see it looming nearby is awesome. You can always ask the hotel staff where to go for nightlife, and La Fortuna is a short drive if you want to go out.

It only took us 4 hours to get to MA from Arenal, and I think you'd prefer it to Monteverde since that is such a quiet place. Quepos is the town outside of MA. There's some nightlife in both places -- again a short drive into Quepos. Do be careful in San Jose -- lots of problems there at night.

Sandy

It isn't diffidult to get to Manuel Antonio from San Jose if you fly. It is a half hour flight or less and not that expensive. We did a lot a few years ago on our first trip to Costa Rica and got exhausted doing day trips from San Jose to Arenal and the Sarapequi?(sp?0 area because the day trips can take two hours just to get out of San Jose. Take taxis in San Jose at night, they aren't expensive.