My daughter and I will spend her spring break (last week in March) in Costa Rica, our first time. Friends currently living there will be traveling for 2 weeks, going to Arenal, Manuel Antonio and Osa. I've been up late nights reading all the great Fodors trip reports and advice and I want to see it all! Daughter is not so compulsive, and would also love a day or 2 on the beach (her college is in snowy Ohio). Is this too crazy: arrive San Jose at noon Saturday and go to Manuel Antonio (meet friends), on Tuesday go to Osa, on Thursday go to Arenal (on our own), Friday Cano Negro and Eco Termales, Saturday Skytrek canopy tour and return to San Jose for early Sunday flight???

For me it would be too crazy. You're going to spend so much time traveling that you won't get much time to enjoy things. It will be pretty late when you get to MA - it gets dark around 5:30, also the park is closed on Mondays. You'll only have one full day in the Osa, one full day in Arenal, etc. It's just too much moving around and travel time. I'm a go, go, go vacationer but this would be too much for me. I'd save the Osa for another trip.

Per VG too much cramming

www.jintetesdeosa.com

make more time for Osa or skip it...

I agree with Volcanogirl that you have too much planned. I would cut out the Osa for another time. There is so much on the Osa peninsula that you'll want at least three or four days there.

Your daughter will be able to enjoy the beach at Manuel Antonio. Just be very careful as the sun is extremely strong there. I remember a woman who didn't use enough sunscreen and she was in agony after falling asleep on her lounge chair and waking up looking like a cooked lobster. (No, it wasn't me thank goodness.)

Thank you all for your advice. I didn't think anyone would say, Yes, you can do it all. So eliminate Osa? Which looks so lush, so beautiful, and appealingly off the beaten track. Or eliminate Arenal? Because it has less wildlife to see? Will the water level be low and the Cano Negro boat trip less interesting than at other times of the year? Or eliminate Manuel Antonio? The descriptions of it being touristy turn me off. Are the beaches really great? Are there beaches anywhere else for my daughter?

There are beaches on the Osa, but to me they aren't as pretty as the ones in MA. I thought you should keep MA because you said your daughter would love a day or two on the beach. It's very Americanized there - is that going to turn you off? The Osa is pretty wild and undeveloped. Both places have wildlife - in the Osa it will be in its wild state, and in MA, it will be monkeys that know how to open a bag of potato chips that aren't necessarily afraid of people. It's very easy to get around MA and less so on the Osa. Arenal is our favorite spot because it just offers so many great activities like the volcano, Cano Negro, and the hot springs, also ziplines that are extremely high and long. You need to pick just two spots, whichever you think is best for you. What do your friends think since they know the areas and know your likes and dislikes?

Thanks again, volcanogirl. I appreciate your knowledge of the area and your patience with a newbie. Yes, the Americanization of MA does sound much less appealing to me than the wildness of Osa, but I do want my daughter to have a good beach experience. Our friends haven't been to these places yet; they will be traveling to all 3 from March 15-30, 4-5 days at each, and they are flexible about where to go when. I guess we should suggest that they go to Osa without us, meet us in MA, and then we could travel together to Arenal. If the national park in MA is closed on Monday, is one day (Sunday) enough time to "see" the park including some beach time? Because maybe we should leave MA on Tuesday, if that suits our friends, and have 3 full days (Wed-Fri) in Arenal. Also, to get to MA, is there a bus that leaves from the airport in San Jose? Or do we have to go into San Jose to get a bus?

EastBayer,
Manuel Antonio and Arenal are great choices for first-timers to CR. You could hardly do better. Although MA is a popular destination, it is with good reason. And touristy in Costa Rica doesn't mean touristy like we are used to here in the states.
While there are Americans that run most of the businesses and you won't be immersed in Costa Rican culture as you would if you were in some little outpost in the backcountry, you'll still have the beauty of Costa Rica right there at your feet, great beaches, and plenty of Ticos (Costa Rican people) to smile at you.

I think it is fair to say that almost ALL of the beach locations are popular for North American tourists as well as people from other countries.

Even the Osa these days is pretty much an American operation with regard to hotels and it has plenty of tourists from all over the world as well. What the Osa offers is fabulous wildlife viewing and lots of forest to explore. The beaches aren't as picturesque as those at Manuel Antonio.

I can see this is tearing you a bit (it does all of us when it comes to making decisions). Just rest assured that it is ALL wonderful. You won't get there and regret any choice you have made. It is hardly possible!

The park at Manuel Antonio offers some really nice wildlife viewing as well. Be sure and go in with a guide for most viewing opportunities!

Have a great time. My daughter and I did this trip together in March of 2003 and it was a memory of a lifetime for both of us. We still talk about it!

Interbus leaves from the SJO airport. Select San Jose Rio Segundo (Alajuela) on their website. This will go to Manuel Antonio so need to go into San Jose. I'm not sure about the public buses from Alajuela (airport).

One day is enough to see MA park. We hired a guide, and we saw a lot of wildlife. I'd wear my bathing suit under my clothes because the beach inside the park is gorgeous. I know you are worried about MA being touristy, and it is more touristy than the other areas we visited, but it's not tacky. Unless a college girl is really into nature and wildlife, I would think she would be inclined to like MA a little more, especially if she likes nice beaches. For someone who is really into hiking and loves seeing wildlife in a more natural state, the Osa would be a good bet. In some areas we visited, we were greeted by "hola" and in MA for the most part we were greeted with "hey guys, what's up?" I think they just appeal to different travel styles.

In MA you have loads of restaurants to choose from, most with beautiful sunset views. In the Osa, I sat on the front porch of my cabin one day and watched an entire troop of capuchins, followed by a troop of howlers, followed by a troop of spider monkeys swing right by my cabin, and I was the only one who saw it. In MA, there were 15 people crowded around a monkey taking its picture - just different experiences. People like both, and it really just depends on what appeals most to you guys. We agonized with all these decisions too. That's why we keep going back!

You can also consider some of the areas on the way to the Osa.South of Dominical you pass through Uvita and then come to the small town of Ojochal.Most of the area beaches are nice with Playa Ventanas being the best.It has about 600 meters of sandy beach with 2 caves that the water flows through and can be explored on lo tides.There are several great restaurants in the area.Exotica in Ojochal is wonderful,but you better have a reservation for dinner,which is unbelievable for a place on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere!Probably the best lasagna I have ever had.Villa Gaia is a nice little hotel with great trails
and restaurant.You can arrange tours from the hotel.One thing we really enjoyed was meeting Jaime who runs what else,Jaime tours.He is a great guy who runs a 1-man operation.He owns a small boat and offers tours and Fishing.We went to his tree house and even went to his mothers place.The house and lawn were immaculate and the grass looked like it had been trimmed with a pair of tweezers!Hope you have a wonderful trip.

It all sounds great. After talking to my daughter--and my husband, who has decided to come, too! we will take your collective advice and go to Manuel Antonio and Arenal. And start thinking about a second trip to the Osa!! Again, I can't thank you all enough. With your help, I feel as if I've gone very quickly from zero to 60 in terms of making an informed decision. Hope to see some of you in CR some day.

East, that's exactly what we did - Arenal and MA for first trip and then Osa on our second trip.