Visited C.R. last year for eight days and did the northern route (Guanacaste, Arenal, San Jose. Planning a return trip in March but will only have one week. Feel we should see Manuel Antonio and Osa areas. Wondering if this is too much for one week and if we have to choose one area over the other, what's our best bet. Hiking, canopy tour, surfing, snorkelling, biking are musts. Any thoughts/suggestions most appreciated!

Hi Barb:<BR>Just out of curiousity, what did you think of the northern route? We are going to CR for our honeymoon and sounds like we are going the 3 places you visited. We are planning to go hiking, see hot springs, horse-back riding in Arenal. Snorkeling, maybe surfing, canopy tour while in Guanacaste area. Any must do's? Eat at any great places?

Hi Barb,<BR>How many days exactly do you have, keeping in mind that you'll probably need to spend a night near the airport before and after your trip? If you only have 5 days left for the rest of your trip, doing both would probably be too much. If you have 7 days it may be doable to see both. I have some experience in itinerary planning in Costa Rica. Feel free to email me.<BR><BR>

Hi Barb, last year we flew to Manuel Antonio for 3 nights (stayed at Si Como No) and then directly from Manuel Antonio to Puerto Jimenez and stayed 3 nights at Lapa Rios. Anything less than 3 nights at each destination will not give you a chance to see or do much, but 3 nights at each worked fine for us. If you do both, I would suggest that you do them in that order (MA first, then Osa). I think Manuel Antonio may be a disappointment after Osa Penninsula. On Osa you can definitely do hiking and probably surfing and snorkelling. Canopy tour and biking are probably best done from Manuel Antonio.<BR>Ally is right that you will probably have to spend the first and last nights near San Jose, although I read somewhere that the domestic airlines are changing their schedules to coordinate with international flights a little better, so check into that. And definitely, if you decide to see both Osa and MA in a week you will have to fly since driving would eat up most of your time.<BR>Have a great trip.

We did 3 nights Manual Antonio (actually at Villa Caletas 1 hours north) and 3 nights on Osa (Lapa Rios). It was just enough time at each place. We also stayed at Vista del Valle near the airport before and after. We left Saturday and came home the following Sunday. The timing was just right. You can read my trip report by typing "Lapa Rios Villa Caletas" in the text search box. Doing that will bring it right to the top.

As usual, you guys are amazing with the info!<BR>Kam,<BR>The north is as beautiful as it is varied. Very dry in Guanacaste to lush and green around Arenal. Great to experience the differences. Stayed in Tamarindo and there are alot of great eating places. Sueno del Mar is where we stayed - fabulous and intimate. Great surfing in Tamarindo. A little bit of snorkelling. Stayed at Hotel Tilawa at north end of Lake Arenal for two nights. It was highly recommended by Fodors but was a complete disappointment - very run down. I noticed it is no longer on this site which is good. Definitely check out the hot springs. Let me know if you have further questions. You'll get lots of useful info. from this site. <BR>Ally, thanks for the help. We have only seven days but I think our flight arrives early afternoon so we'll have to see what the Sansa/Nature Air sched's are and go from there. If we're stuck and only have five days, what area would you recommend the most if we have to choose. M.A. sounds amazing but I'm getting the impression it's very busy.

Iza, I knew I could count on your great experience! Thanks for the suggestions. Just wondering if you had to choose M.A. or Osa if you had your pick, which would it be. I'm sure the areas are quite different so it's a tough question. Appreciate your help. What areas are you focusing on for your next trip?

Craig, GREAT trip report! I guess the only problem now is that I'm more confused than when I started. We'll probably change our itinerary ten times but now I've got lots to ponder. Thanks again all!

Barb, you read my trip report so you know what my feelings were regarding Osa and Manuel Antonio. We liked Osa a lot, the hiking was great, the nature surrounding us everywhere was wonderful, but we were bothered by the humidity and the stormy weather made me feel uncomfortable. People who went to Osa during the dry season had much better experiences. <BR>It is hard to tell you which is better: in Manuel Antonio you will have a good selection of hotels and places to eat, the beaches are very pretty, but it is touristy and may be crowded at some times of the year. You will have all kinds of day trips and activities available to you from MA.<BR><BR>Osa Penninsula is very remote: you will be spending time and eating your meals in one lodge with no opportunity for trying different places. Most likely the lodge you will be staying at will have no radio, phone or TV (which we loved!) so all you will hear are nature sounds of the rainforest around you. You will not be able to do a canopy tour there and probably no biking, but hiking and, from what I understand, surfing are great. But you will be limited to whatever activities your lodge offers. When we were in Lapa Rios we met a couple from CA who stayed first and last nights at Xandari and then 5 days at Lapa Rios and they seemed very happy with their vacations (but they said they were looking mainly for quiet relaxation and nature experience). <BR>You may consider spending 2 nights in MA and 3 nights in Osa - if you take an early flight out of SJ you will have almost a full day in MA (the flight is only about 20 minutes). Just make sure you have a full day in MA on a day other than a Monday since the National Park is closed on Mondays.

Oh, forgot to answer your question about our next trip. I have been reading and looking at websites since we came back from Kauai, and for now I am considering some more "honeymooney" places - since we may be able to do a trip without our daughter this time - but I am actually looking at some more remote South Pacific destinations like Cook Islands or Fiji. Our next trip to Costa Rica is planned already to a certain extent (just not sure yet whether it will be next summer or the one after next): I want to rent a 4x4 for 2 weeks and starting in Tambor work our way up north through Nosara, Samara to Tamarindo (taking the road along the coast of Nicoya Penninsula to the extent possible).

Iza, thank you again for shedding alot of light on the subject. 2 nights and then 3 sounds like a good option, for now anyway. I should just stop researching and book the trip! Your next one sounds fabulous. Happy planning!

Wanted to jump in and second much of what Iza wrote. We didn't take her suggested route and did Osa first (Bosque del Cabo - wonderful)then MA in August 02. We were disappointed in the natural side of MA. Osa will blow you away with the amount of wildlife, plantlife, and secluded beaches. MA too busy for us. Downside to Osa for us was it was very humid and hot, but definetly worth it. We spent four nights at Bosque then three at MA (Tulemar - also very nice).

I too agree with Iza. Both MA and Osa have their good and bad points as she described, and if you can swing it, 2 nights MA and 3 in Osa would suit you fine, and give you a chance to see both areas.