We're four seniors (70's) taking a Caravan Tour in January . We'd like to spend maybe 3 days before and 4 days after the tour at interesting areas. We don't want to rent a car, will most likely take the interbus. The tour goes to the popular places west, north and east of San Jose, so where to go south or fairly close to San Jose. We'd like suggestions for a beach that is clean and safe and resorts, hotel, etc in that area. Maybe somewhere where we could walk to town. Manuel Antonio looks interesting. Any other suggestions?

I've gotten so much information from these forums for my other trips, so I appreciate your help.

www.tulemar.com Villa Mot Mot

at www.manuelantoniopark.com is great

they have teir own private beach...

www.arenasdelmar.com for more upscale

www.villasnicolas.com for more budget

MA is probably best for what you want...

www.ylangylangresort.com Montezuma my #2 choice

Have fun,

I would suggest looking at Samara, a quiet, kind of laid-back beach town with lots of lodging options and easy walk to town. Check here: www.samarabeach.com About 3 km away from Samara is Carrillo which is much smaller than Samara but has a picture postcard perfect beach.

You might also find this website interesting: www.nicoyapeninsula.com Lots of beaches and lots of options. Good accurate descriptions of each place and the area in general.

Thank you both. There are so many choices. How do I find Pat Hewitt? He was mentioned on a couple websites here as an agent.

Manuel Antonio would be a good choice. Although at most hotels you would have to walk up a steep hill to get back to your hotel, but bus and taxi's are cheap. The park is really beautiful there and you would have lots of great options for dining. There are a lot of hotels in that area too...what sort of price range are you looking for?

Interbus is a great option but with 4 people you can hire a private driver for around the same price and you might like having the choice of being able to make a couple special stops along the way.

Pat Hewitt's website is www.lovecostarica.com. Many of us, myself included, have used him to help arrange first trips to Costa Rica. Very knowledgeable, straight up guy. He posts here occasionally. . .

While Manuel Antonio is beautiful and closer to San Jose than many popular beach areas, it is not a good town for 'walking'. As 'hipvirgochick' says, the taxi's and bus are cheap, but if you don't know the town you would not know where to get on/off the bus. If you want more freedom I would agree totally with 'hsmithcr'
to take a good look at Samara! Perfect for what you are looking for , with the exception of being 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 hours from San Jose. (Depending on whether the new hwy is opened at that time.
Even closer to San Jose is Jaco. I may get in trouble from many on this forum for suggesting Jaco, because it does have a bad reputation for being a party/drug scene. But please trust me, you are only going to find that if you are looking for it! It's the same as any town you go to here or in the US. If you are looking for bad news, you'll find it in Jaco, easily, but I would not hesitate to suggest Jaco to my In-Laws (who are in their early 80's) as a good beach spot close to San Jose, and flat land that is easy to walk. Jaco does have a nice beach, great restaurants great hotels, great shopping and even casinos, if you like that. I stayed at a hotel on the beach that was very nice, excellent food and it had a small casino attached but it was still very quiet. I live in Costa Rica (in Nosara, 45 minutes south of Samara) so it was not a really a 'vacation' for me, as everyday is vacation...therefore I don't remember the name, but I will get back to you ASAP with the name of the hotel.

Okay, got it! Check out Hotel Cocal at:
http://www.hotelcocalandcasino.com/

Hi all, Just got back to this website and wish I had checked out Allylam's suggestion for Hotel Cocal. It really looks wonderful, but---we already made plans. We're going on the Caravan tour, which hits most of the highlights east, north and west of San Jose. So, we decided to spend a week south at Manuel Antonio. I know, everyone says that's too long, but after a tour, we like to take it easy and enjoy the locals, slow pace and the beach. Hope we find enough not to get bored (in Paradise)!

We have free miles and got our air reservations today. We're arriving a day early (10p.m.) We'll also be there the night before we fly out (8:30a.m.flight). We could use some suggestions for a place to stay both times. I checked out the Adventure Hotel, somewhere by the airport. Anyone stayed there? Can you get a bus from the airport into the city? We'll have half a day in San Jose before we check into the hotel, if we use the Adventure, what to see in the city. We'll probably be wheeling a suitcase.

We're staying a very small place just outside MA. My husband is a backpacker and loves to stay in hostels. I think this place is maybe one step up. I had to do some talking to convince him. He loves to talk with travelers. A lot of our trips have resulted from just meeting people and getting their suggestions. Namibia was one and we did a self drive and loved it.

I'll let you know about this hotel in MA when we return, and any suggestions for airport hotels or around there will be appreciated.

Howabout things to see south of MA and how far would that be?

Thanks for all your help.

There are lots of good suggestions on this site for hotels near the airport - since you won't have a car, the Hotel Villa Bonita in Alajuela is great and a short taxi ride from the airport. It's more like a B&B and if your husband likes hostels, he'll be happy here. Orquideas is very lovely as well but a bit further out of town. There is a bus that goes right by it - the bus to and from "Poas".

There are lots of good suggestions on this site for hotels near the airport - since you won't have a car, the Hotel Villa Bonita in Alajuela is great and a short taxi ride from the airport. It's more like a B&B and if your husband likes hostels, he'll be happy here. Orquideas is very lovely as well but a bit further out of town. There is a bus that goes right by it - the bus to and from "Poas".

FYI - Hotel Villa Bonita in Alajuela is now closed - the owners have moved to Turrialba to start a new project.

Yes, they are helping us build our house!

AND have just celebrated "Grand Opening" for a clothing store in their new building. I sure miss HVB, but they don't!