If I should find a good airfare into Liberia, is that a better option than flying into SJ?
SJ seems to be centrally located but many of the places that I've read on this forum seem to be a 4 or 5 hour drive from San Jose.

Do you have an itinerary planned for CR? Very honestly, it depends on your destination(s) in CR ... however if the fare is significantly less expensive in Liberia, that's something to be considered also.

Lisa

If you will be renting a car, it is much easier driving around the Liberia airport than the San Jose airport. Not nearly as much traffic.

I do not yet have an itinery. In fact, the more I read on this forum I think the more confused I am getting. So many names of parks, beaches, accomodations, towns, car rentals, my head is beginning to spin. Too much information and refutation. I wonder if other first timers feel the same way.

How long will you be there? For a week, a combination of Arenal and one of the Guanacaste beaches (or Manuel Antonio) is a good combination. Whatever you decide, it is really hard to make a mistake unless you try to do too much in too short a time! Relax--all the locations you read about on Fodor's are all very worthy of your time.

Webecca : Consider printing a map of CR and plotting your course. I, too, was confused in the early stages of planning. Once I put our options on a map, using game pieces, it became fun and the tangle unraveled.

Also, Fodors is excellent, but there remain other sources of info, such as Frommer's, Letsgo.com, and VirtualTourist.

There are online travel resources:
costarica-travelinfo.com; costa-rica-guide.com; costarica.com/home/travel;

Online newspapers such as InsideCostaRica.com; ticotimes.net may help you understand their perspectives.