If you could chose one location
 

I would like to know if you could choose one central location to be based in while staying in Costa Rica where would it be? I am planning my trip there and would like to stay in one place-instead of moving around the country. My main interests for the trip would be to do all my excursions i.e.- water rafting,volcano,wildlife, suspension bridges from in and out of one area. Thanks!

You don't mention beach, so that solves part of the problem! The volcano is about 4 hours from the nearest beach, and that would make for some long back and forth driving!

So I would say you can do pretty much all of that right out of the Arenal Volcano area at La Fortuna. You would enjoy (for wildlife viewing) the Cano Negro tour. Then there are the Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfalls, rafting the Sarapiqui (I think that is the river that is rafted up in that area), ziplines, horseback, and of course the firewords of Volcan Arenal.

I'll bet you've never heard "firewords", have you? :)

Your advice sounds good. Is the Manuel Antonio area even worth visting if I am based in the Arenal Volcano region?

It's about a 6 hour drive. I really believe that, for a first time visitor (which you may not be), a few days at Arenal and a few days at Manuel Antonio gives a huge variety of activites, as well as beach/jungle/volcano combination. But really, if you are set on staying put, Arenal sounds like the best bet for what you are wanting to do.

As you may have noticed from other posts recently, many people think Manuel Antonio is overrated--and crowded. There is, however, a reason for that. The park is excellent for wildlife viewing and such nice flat and wide trails right on the beach. Very nice beaches inside the park. But it is true, Arenal, Manuel Antonio, Monteverde, Tamardino are places one would want to stay away from if wanting to avoid "tourists areas". We truly enjoy the off the path places, but extra numbers of people don't spoil our enjoyment of these other areas, either.

Whatever you decide will be enjoyable. Good stuff all over the place. ;)

<<We truly enjoy the off the path places>>
Shillmac,
Would you mind sharing some of you favorite off-the-path beach locations?
thanks,
dina

Not 'completely off the beaten path' but a bit less touristy than the places noted by Shillmac above....

Rincon de la Vieja Mountain Lodge in the foothills of the Rincon de la Vieja volcano. Easy access [ 20 minute walk] to the National Park with boiling mud pots, hot springs and wonderful hiking trails through tropical dry / moist forest to beautiful waterfalls . From the Lodge you can do a zip line tour and horseback riding; and hiking, even right on the Lodge grounds, leads past giant trees, many wildflowers, and more butterflies than I 've ever seen elsewhere. Also quite a few mammals [monkeys, tamandua, coatis etc]

The area around San Gerardo de Dota in the Talamanca monutains south of San Jose. A pretty mountain valley at about 7200 feet with the rocky Rio Savegre tumbling down through it. Splendid cloud forest without the tourist trappings of Monteverde. Wonderful birds including probably the best chance in the country to get 'up close and personal' with the resplendent quetzal. We enjoy the Tico-owned Savegre Lodge but I've heard good things about nearby Trogon Lodge.

The area around Peurto Viejo de Sarapiqui in the Caribbean Lowlands. Lush tropical forest with multitudes of birds and good numbers of mammals [monkeys, sloths, agoutis etc], poison arrow frogs, butterflies and amazing insects. World class bird observation with parrots, trogons, motmots and tanagers in abundance. Opportunities to see wildlife from the Rio Sarapiqui and visit the amazingly rich La Selva Biological Station. We've enjoyed staying at La Quinta de Saraipqui and Selva Verde Lodges in this area.

cheers

Jerry

Thanks, Jerry. . .I'd have to mention the very same places. We love Manzanillo beach south of Puerto Viejo de Talamance also. Sort of an end of the road type of place.

Another place we experienced this past summer was La Carolina Lodge near Volcan Tenorio. If one doesn't mind roughing it a bit, it's a great stay. So different from what we've seen anywhere else in the country. But you said "beaches". . . .

Playa Penca (next to Playa Potrero) is a beautiful little beach. And we also enjoyed Playa Panama in July. Some of these beaches (many of them Blue Flag Beaches) are used primarily by the Ticos, and you won't see a lot of tourists there--just local families having an outing together. It's a fun way to spend a day!

dina4, LOL, any relation to Suzie2? Really now. . .!!

sorry, shillmac, I don't get it. I don't know who suzie2 is.
but thanks for the tips.

You're welcome! ;)

shillmac-what are firewords?

Arenal/La Fortuna. We liked Manuel Antonio, but mostly because (1) my kids had never really been able to spend a couple of days playing at a beach and (2) we saw lots of monkeys.

However, what I DREAM of is returning to the Celebrity Suite at the Lost Iguana outside of La Fortuna, drinking coffee on the patio while watching the sun rise and listening to the sounds of nature, hiking and zip lining during the day, eating dinner at El Novillo until I'm sick of it, and swimming in the hot pool at night.

We only visited Mal Pis(Incredible) but I think next time we will visit Arenal too.
Reading Shillmacs posts are very helpful. It sounds like Arenal would be a great place to do everything you mention. I have read alot about Manuel Antonio being very touristy and am glad we went to Mal Pais instead just because it was our honeymoon.
Arenal sounds great too!

LOL!

That would be "fireworks"! You know, as in volcano eruptions! Sorry. . .

Missypie,
What a description--you had me right there with you seeing that sunrise and sipping that coffee! Man, that sounds good! :)

From the description of your interests, I agree Arenal would be perfect for you.

We are beach lovers so for us, Arenal was great to see, but next time we would base ourselves by the coast. Actually, my husband and two teenage sons preferred Manuel Antonio. Plus, we met more locals in MA than we did in Arenal! As far as it being really touristy, well, hey, we're tourists too!!!!!! I just loved the beauty of Manuel Antonio! Like Shillmac said, "there is....a reason for that"! :)

Whatever you decide, you will love Costa Rica! We can't wait to return!!! :)

I am open to both areas either Arenal, Manuel Antonio or somewhere else. I too love the beach, but would like to know if any of the beach areas in M.A. has any quality snorkeling. I am from Southern California, so the only interest I have at a foreign beach is snorkeling.Why did you like M.A. that much better than the Arenal area. Was it only because of the beach- since it sounds like one can do the same activities from either locaion.

Hi,
No, snorkeling in Manuel Antonio isn't very good. I know there are areas there, but I think most people would agree it's not quality snorkeling! We loved MA because of the breathtaking views, the overall beauty and the beaches inside Manuel Antonio Park! Plus the boys liked being able to walk around the beach area and visit the small casino up on the hill!!! :)

Arenal is beautiful too, but in a different way! The boys couldn't walk around by themselves unless we were in town since it's mostly country roads. Plus, I guess it felt strange (for us) to be on vacation so close to the ocean, yet so far away!

We live by the water on the Northeast coast, and since it's usually cold, we love to travel to warm water destinations! It's just our preference. :)

Checking out the volcano was very cool and we were fortunate because we got to see the lava flow and after the first day, we had a clear view of the volcano from our hotel during the rest of our stay. What the area does have is the Sky Trek zipline which was definitely the highlight of the trip!

I loved both areas and the boys and hubby liked Arenal, but preferred MA. Of course, I'm sure they would have loved any CR ocean town! Next time, we'd like to visit the Osa Peninsula and northern Guanacaste!

It really sounds like Arenal would be perfect for you!!! We just got back from visiting San Diego and Santa Monica so I certainly understand your apprehension about staying in MA! You get to experience incredible scenery on a daily basis!!! Lucky you!!!!!!