Manuel Antonio or Nicoya Peninsula (Playa Flamingo)
 

Hello Fellow Travelers!
We will be heading to the lovely Costa Rica on Sept. 7, 2012 - Sept. 17th. I am having a terrible time deciding where to go for the first 6 nights of our trip! We will arrive SJO at 1:30 pm on 9/7. We are both photographers, love local life (but like to have nightlife and drinks on the beach), looking for solitude when I want to shoot the beaches. Want to see lots of wildlife (but can do that with driving to those locations), indiginous customs, local crafts and & beautiful beaches and waters. I am extremely adventurous (will be driving to see the sites often), love island designed accommodations with great views and intimacy. Tourist "traps" are not my cup of tea. We really enjoy getting to know the locals.
We have reservations on the 13th - 17th at Arenal.
Could any of my fellow travelers please help me decide on which would be best between the two locations?
Thanks for all comments!
Laura

If you don't want to go to a touristed area, I wouldn't go to Manuel Antonio - very pretty but lots and lots of tourists there, and I think it has the potential to be very rainy in September.

Have you looked at the Caribbean coast? Cahuita, Manzanillo, Puerto Viejo - it's has more of a Caribbean vibe mixed with indigenous culture. You can do tours to the Yorkin/Bribri reserves, plus excellent wildlife viewing at the national park and reserves.

Sept. and Oct. are great months for this part of the country with little rain. Banana Azul and Korrigan Lodge are often mentioned on this forum.

I would not attempt to drive here first day, but would overnight somewhere around Alajuela. With your flight arriving at 1:30 pm you would not hit the road until 3:00 - 3:30 at the very earliest and darkness falls around 5:30. You don't want to drive at night, even on a main highway. You could spend a couple nights in this region and visit Poas Volcano, coffee plantation, etc.

Agree with VG, if you don't want a touristy area, avoid Manuel Antonio, one of the most highly visited destinations in the country.

Just got back from CR. Agree with volcanogirl; don't go to Manuel Antonio if you don't want to be among tourist, but definitely have to visit the MA National Park if you want to see Monkeys, Sloths,etc. Don't know about the Carribean Coast as we did not visit, but San Jose if a pit, just like Tijuana. Not a safe place to walk around. Arenal is beautiful, lots of places to eat, but no matter where you go, everything is really expensive. Sodas/Gatorade are about $2.00 a bottle and the only Diet drink that we saw was Coke Light. Nicoya Peninsula is not as touristy, but the towns are pretty spread apart. Unlike here,roads there are narrower and sometimes you will be stuck behind a truck going up a one lane mountain road and there's no chance of passing for miles.

Leave your jewels, make sure you have copies of your passports as that's all you need to carry with you as the original can be kept in the safe at the hotel. You'll need Colones if you are renting a car (for toll). You can exchange that at the airport. Exit tax is $28.00 CASH. Check with your bank if your ATM card will work in CR.

Country is beautiful, people are polite. You'll have fun.