Currently our trip plans are this:
March 12th arrive 8:45PM stay Santo Tomas
13th: Manuel Antonia La Mansion
14th La Mansion
15th La Masnion
16th Jaco Villa Caletas
17th Villa Caletas
18th Arenal Tabacon
19th Arenal Tabacon
20th Peace Lodge
21st Leave 2:30

We are thinking of changing to
12th Stay SJO Santo Tomas
13th Fly to Nicoya Penisula stay in Bosque del cabo
14th Bosque del Cabo
15th Fly back to SJO and drive to SJO stay at either La Mansion or Makanda
16th Makanda or La Mansion
17th Makanda or La Mansion
18th Arenal Tabacom
19th Arenal Tabacon
20 Peace Lodge
21 Leave at 2:45

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. Is this to much? We are going to rent a 4x4. Have no problem driving in other countries.

Meant to say on the 13th we fly to Osa Penisula

Hello,
Sorry, but have to say. Come to Manuel Antonio, but do not stay at La Mansion. I and my boyfriend stayed there for 3 weeks (pre paid unfortunately). We thought it was really a rip off. The first complaint I had is we had a very long trip in, and when I got to our room, I plopped down on the bed, and almost broke my legs, there is a mattress with no box spring, but the tubes on the metal bed come up almost as high as the mattress, making it very uncomfortable to sit on the bed, let alone plop down.
There are no amenities onsite, there is a swim up bar, but unfortunately the same guy who runs the front desk,does room service, etc. has to juggle his time between the pool, reception (which is a floor down and at teh other end of the hotel from the pool), and other duties, making for very long waits between rounds. Also we had a sectional couch in our suite, with half the legs broken, in 3 weeks, they never got it so we could sit wherever we wanted, I don't know, call me crazy but for that kind of money I expect something in return, and this is not it. Aside from that its way off the beaten path, and parking is almost non existent. On the few occasions there were other guests, we all had to play shuffle cars to allow each other to leave.
Makanda has services, a resteraunt, a bar with staff, I believe a spa, large pool with jacuzzi, and I think its cheaper than La Mansion.

Bosque del Cabo (Osa Peninsula) is one of my favorite places in CR but for such a short time, it seems like a lot of time and money. We were there for 5 days last year and it took us all of those days to do all of their trails plus one trip away from the property. It is beautiful there.
Manuel Antonio offers a lot to see and do. Both places you are looking at have had wonderful reviews.
Villa Caletas has one of the prettiest sunset viewing areas I have ever seen. You will see sunsets from other places.
All of the places you are thinking about are very nice. Tabacon gets some so so reviews on their dinners but the cost of the room includes entrance to the hot springs which are a must do in that area. An alternative would be Arenal Paraiso. El Novillo is a good place to watch the lava and have dinner.
I think you would be happy no matter which itinerary you choose.

Thanks for the info about La Mansion - it looked nice on its website (pool looked nice, cave bar looked interesting)-haven't been able to find many reviews on it. Maybe we will try the Makanda seems to be a lot of positive reviews on this board. I think we are goig to skip Jaco and go to the Osa Penisula based on Suzie2's raving about Bosque del cabo maybe we will stay 3 nights their and do only 2 in Manuel Antonio - does this make more sense? In terms of money bosque del cabo is winding up about the same as the hotels in manuel antonio - due to the fact it includes meals. We do have the extra cost of flying in - but them we don't have to rent a car those days. Also it seems like you don't have to do tours there as they sound like they have great trails, or even the tours they offer are more reasonable. So I figured the cost wasn't going to be that much more - and I keep hearing such positive comments I wanted to figure a way to work it in.

oh well seems bosque del cabo is booked, as well as lapos rios, and aquilla de osa. Any other suggestions in the area, drakes bay, puerto jiminez? If not looks like we are sticking with the fist plan and go to Jaco. Also Makanda only has villas avail. - too expensive. Looks like it will be Si como no, la mansion, el parador or Tulemar.

no problem, Makanda is right next door, so do yourself a favor and walk up to La Mansion and see for yourself. As for the cave bar, can you say 5 dollar beers (and its the same beer every other place has for a buck), and 15 dollar drinks. It wasnt' done when we were there, but we got the tour. We live here, and heard what the prices are, and are not that curious to go back. We were truly disappointed in our stay in this hotel, we enjoyed our stays at much cheaper hotels here much, much more,and got more for our dollar, but really wanted to treat ourselves the time we stayed at La Mansion.

What hotel would you suggest in Manuel Antonio area? I don't mind spending a little more if is worth it. Sounds like we are going to rule out la mansion, makanda sounds great but the Villas are over $300 a night, si como no is turning out to be the most affordable of these nice hotels.

wow, you posted while I was writing the last response. I forgot to tell you our favorite hotel here is Casitas Eclipse. Very large rooms (our favorite is 105 lower), air that works, they have kitchenettes, large baths (no tubs), large showers, quiet and tranquil jungle settings, plus onsite spa, 3 large pools, excellecent staff, a good resteraunt, its not 5 star, but they dont' pretend to be, they give you a nice comfortable room with air that works well, they are close to everything, we really enjoy it there, and when we have more people visit than we can handle in our house, that is where we put our guests. I have never stayed at tuelmar or Parador, so will not comment. I have heard good things about tulemar, but never heard anything good or bad about parador. Other choices might be Costa Verde,again, I have not stayed there but am somewhat familiar with the lay out. Jaco is nice for a visit, but not so hot on staying there. Thats again, just my opinion. I live down the road, and seldom venture there as a destination. Our architect lives there, and that is usually the main draw for us. I always recommend 105 lower, so I am sure the owner will give me a hard time if you ask for it.

http://www.casitaseclipse.com/
thats the link to casitas eclipse, its hard to find on the search engines....if you decide to stay there email me directly, I may be able to save you some money......

I am afraid you will probably hear the same thing at these places but if you want to go to Drake Bay also look into La Paloma or Casa Corcovado. March is the highest of the high other than the christmas and semana santa times.

The Osa is definitely a must to see--SOMETIME, but only if you are going to be able to put 4-5 days into it. Manuel Antonio great. . .you are getting some good tips. Have stayed at Si Como No. . .very nice. Next door was another place called Villas Nicolais (or something like that--I'm sure the spelling is not right). We talked to people who thought it was very nice, and I have heard good reviews about it elsewhere. Jaco is the main beach that the Costa Ricans use because of its proximity to San Jose. We weren't impressed with it (not for that reason, but partly because it has quite a reputation for bad undertow/dangerous currents and not recommended for swimming). Tabacon Hot Springs--DO NOT MISS. I'd recommend Arenal Paraiso as a hotel. Food was good, hotel prices were reasonable. I, too, have heard that the food at Tabacon is not up to snuff. However, the Springs aren't cheap and they are included in the hotel price, as someone already mentioned.

I think you have a good plan between Manuel Antonio and Arenal with Peace Lodge a nice attraction. Not a good idea to try to do too much with your week. Travel eats up a pretty good chuck of your time. San Jose is not a place where you'd want to spend a lot of time, but the "Highlights of Costa Rica" tour is a very nice way to spend a day. Any tour company in town can book it for you, I think. I'm sure it picks up at the Hotel Santo Tomas. It takes you on a big loop north of San Jose and covers several provinces. Breakfast at a coffee plantation, Poas Volcano (truly wonderful), lunch at Selva Verde--also amazing,it is a beautiful biological area-- a stop at part of La Paz Waterfall Garden, a stop at a hummingbird road side place for an afternoon snack, the town of Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, a boat ride on the Sarapiqui River, and the drive back into San Jose through the Braulio Carillo National Park. Long day, but worth every penny.

Enjoy!