Here is a tentative itinerary for a trip I plan to take with my husband the first week of May. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Please critique at will!

Day 1 Arrive SJO noon. Make arrangement in advance for bus transportation to Arenal Volcano.

Days 1-3 Stay at either Arenal Paraiso or Montana de Fuego for two nights.

Days 3-5 Take bus-ferry-bus to Monteverde Cloud Forest. Stay two nights at El Sapo Dorado.

Days 5-8 Take bus transport to Manuel Antonio National Park. Stay at either Hotel Si Como No, Villas Nicholas or Hotel Mariposa (suggestions?) Unfortunately, Makanda is out of our price range.

Day 8 Depart by either bus or flight to SJO. Should we plan to stay by the airport or could we stay at La Paz that evening? I can't tell from maps how far that is from SJO airport.

Day 9 Flight leaves at 1:00 p.m.

La Paz (Peace Lodge) is about 45min-1hr (depending on how fast you go) from the airport. It is a pretty ride down the mountain and you would most likely not run into anything that would delay you.
I recommend Paraiso over Montana de Fuego if possible.

We stayed at Arenal Paraiso in January. I recommend it highly.

Hello Cthie,
When you say bus transportation, are you talking about the Interbus or the public buses? Do you know what the costs are? We are planning a similar trip in August and haven't decided yet on what kind of transportation we would use. I don't think we would fly because of costs (there are 4 of us) so we are thinking of renting a car or using the buses.

I am thinking about Interbus or something similar and not public transport, which from what I've read, can be uncomfortable and take a lot of time. I have not yet found specific information on the bus schedules or costs. I think you may be able to price itineraries on the Interbus Web site.

I've heard renting a car can be stressful because of the lack of road signs and poor road conditions. My husband and I are in a dispute about it--he wants to rent a car instead of taking a bus!