Hello. Can anyone tell me which is a better area to visit? We are a couple looking to explore, spend some beach time, do a day of surfing, a du of scuba diving, see lots of wildlife, and be able to have some local good food a few nights.
We are going first to arenal and then could either go down to uvita and then to drake bay or over to the southern nicoya. We have 9 nights and have to spend the last one in San Jose bc we fly out super early.
Also does anyone know of a good mid priced plac to stay in OSA and southern nicoya?
Thanks!!!

There is a place called Cabines Jardins in the town of Montezuma that looked good to me but I'm not sure the prices. Ylang Ylang is the pricier option there but they also offer some good discounts. We just stayed here for $140/night which included breakfast and dinner. The grounds are beautiful and a good amount of wildlife and nice beaches there. Haven't stayed in Mal Pais which may be better for surfing.

Since Osa is a little harder to reach and most places charge per person and include all meals it may seem a little spendier but well worth it. Definitely my favorite area in CR. You could spend a couple nights in the rainforest and then a couple nights in town and take some tours from there which could help keep costs down. For instance if you want to kayak or horseback you could do that and stay at Cabines Jimenez for a couple nights.

Thanks! Do you know how the beaches are around uvita? Are they comparable to those at the southern nicoya?

I was in the Uvita area at the end of May. Maybe because it was raining pretty heavily and steadily, but the beaches were not very inviting. They were pretty cloudy and foamy and just not something we wanted to jump in. That could've been a fluke -- I have read some positive reviews from others -- but I wouldn't go back there for the beaches and water.

Let me clarify -- the beaches around Uvita were very, very beautiful and jungly. It was the actual water that wasn't inviting.