My fiance and I are going to Costa Rica for a very quick honeymoon April 1st - 6th.<BR>We would like to go to a beautiful and secluded area, definately not a busy city. We both love the beach and would also love to check out the rainforest. Any ideas? Recommendations on where to stay?

Check Villa Baula in Playa Grande, just a bit north of Tamarindo. Beautiful place, beach, family style restaurant, etc. by itself on the beach but close enough (10-15mi) to town.<BR>Good luck, you'll have fun!

I would recommend Manuel Antonio area (we liked Si Como No but others also commented favorably on El Parador and Makanda). That area is probably the best in Costa Rica for combination of beach and rainforest adventure. It is also easy to get to from San Jose so it would work for your limited time schedule. You may also like Villas Caletas about 2 hours north of Manuel Antonio. We have not stayed there ourselves but heard good things about it.

I agree - Manuel Antonio is a great place for beach, rainforest, wildlife viewing, relaxing, etc. I know it can get very crowded in the high season, although when we were there in August it was not crowded at all. There are also lots of hotels to choose from, some of which are very lovely and secluded with ocean views. <BR><BR>I also have friends who spent their honeymoon at Drake Bay Wilderness Camp (www.drakebay.com) and raved about it. It is very secluded and beautiful (and right near a national park), and there are tons of activities available (hiking, scuba, boating, fishing, etc.)<BR><BR>Congratulations and enjoy!

I would not call Manual Antonio "secluded". It is the number one tourist destination in Costa Rica. If you are looking for something very secluded and beautiful, I would go to the Osa Peninsula. It has beaches where you rarely see another person and access to the Corcovado National Park, which is the most remote and well preserved rainforest in the country. Since it is your honeymoon, you may want to go to Lapa Rios, which is the most upscale property in that area. I stayed on the other side of the peninsula from Lapa Rios at Drake Bay at the Aguila de Osa Inn, which was also very nice. Just to give you an idea of what this part of the country looks like, it was used for some of the outdoor/wilderness scenes for Jurassic Park. It is a truly breathtaking area and no people due to the fact that it is so hard to get to this part of the country.

I also thought about recommending Lapa Rios (we stayed there last year) but I am afraid that if you are expecting a typical beach experience you would be disappointed. Lapa Rios is awesome for experiencing the rain forest but I would not go there for the beach.<BR>I still think that Manuel Antonio will be best for you. Despite it being the most developed area in Costa Rica, it is not a city, all of the hotels are small (maybe 30 rooms on average), there are no highrises, and a lot of the hotels give you that secluded and isolated feel you are looking for. Plus it is easy to get to from San Jose (1/2 hour flight so if your international flight arrives early in the day you can even take a flight to Quepos/Manuel Antonio the same day).