I am planning a few days in CR as part of a longer trip around Central Am. We get into San Jose on Sunday afternoon and Leave Thursday afternoon. We want to see the Volcano and possibly go canyoning in the Arenal area. After that we want to head to a beach and just chill out. Any recommendations? What is the best way to get around on such a short trip?

Thanks!

I think both Desafio and Pure Trek offer canyoning if you want to check out their websites. Most people either drive, hire a private driver, or take Interbus. If you want to fly, there are in-country flights through Sansa or Nature Air. Manuel Antonio has a place called Tulemar Bungalows that's really popular. There are a lot of restaurant choices there, easy access to fairly tame wildlife, and a beautiful beach inside the park. With only four nights, I'd personally be inclined to stay in just one area. It takes a long time to get around on those roads.

Have a great time at Arenal--forget the beach! Or vice versa. . .not enough time for 2 locations ---unless you don't mind just a quick stop here and there and a lot of travel time on the front, middle, and end. You are going to give up one entire day (total of 10 hours or so) in transfers.

Another thought. . .you could settle for seeing Poas Volcano (within an hour of the airport) early on Monday morning, then head to the beach until Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.

Not really time to do Arenal plus a beach location.

Consider visiting Poas or Irazu instead of Arenal. You can look inside the craters of those two. For some weird reason, people think of Arenal as "the volcano." There are many. You can do either as a day trip from the San Jose area.

Beach area is tough with such a short time, unless you fly to/from San Jose. San Jose is about as far from a good beach as you can get in Costa Rica.

Agree with the above. Lots to do at either beach or Arenal but you'll only have 3 full days sandwiched between two days with travel so best to pick one.

I also agree with other posts. You will have to choose between Arenal and a beach location.
As RAC mentioned in Costa Rica they are plenty of choices in terms of volcanoes. Poas Volcano is one of my favorites, this one and Irazu are within the Central Valley area.
Three days in Arenal will give you plenty of time to enjoy the hot springs and do some adventure activities. For canyoning I also recommend Pure Trek http://www.puretrek.com/.
Hope this helps!

Definitely check out the waterfall hike while you're in the Arenal area and either Eco Termales or Tabacon natural hot springs. There are also Hanging Bridges and ziplines if those interest you. Arenal volcano is really amazing to see because it's the typical conical shape that you think of when you think of volcanoes. It really dominates the landscape. However, it can get enshrouded in fog sometimes. Same with Poas. You may not be able to see it at all depending on when you go, the weather, the mist, etc.

www.hotelvillacaletas.com awesome location/beach/views

little over an hour from the airport on the coast.

tabacon.com at arenal.net best FREE hot springs if

you stay there.

desafiocostarica.com best canyoneering.

mapache.com wild-rider.com nice rentals interbusonline.com

or oddyseytourscr.com for private driver guides.

Have fun!

So do your flight nights at the beach HOTEL close to SJO

spirit.com aa.com jetblue.com cheap flights down.

The rest of your time at Tabacon but per others make more

time for better experience.

I like Qwo's idea of a whirlwind vaca. Normally I would agree that 1 area is all you have time for. But if you have your heart set on both volcano and beach you could take a private transfer out to Arenal on arrival, stay there till tuesday and fly down to Manuel Antonio on Nature Air, then ground transfer from there isnt bad back to the airport, few hours and your back. With the flight it is doable and you are not wasting too much time on ground travel.

All in all it is a bit less time than normal for those areas, but IMO doable.
Cheers

Thanks for all of the helpful replies. Maybe we're best off spending the entire time around Arenal. We'll be getting plenty of beach time on other parts of this trip. There's probably no need to do that much traveling.

I think that's a good plan since you'll be traveling around to other countries.

So here's a follow up question since we got so much help the first time. We get into Liberia at around 8pm. Ideally we'd like to head to Arenal that evening so that we get the full day the next day. Is this possible/safe/doable, or do we really need to wait until the next morning?

That's a 3 hour trip in the daylight. IN the dark, on unfamiliar roads, after a tiring plane ride, might be better to hit the Hilton Garden Inn (most convenient) and get a car in the morning. Better to enjoy scenery that way, too.
You could also work in Monday as a beach day first (an hour away from LIR)then do the drive to Arenal for the remainder.

We weren't really planning on driving ourselves. If we have a driver, does that change your opinion at all? We don't have a ton of time and want to be ready to go in the morning. I suppose we could always just get up early am and drive ourselves. We just dont want to lose a half day of activities unless we have to. Thoughts?

I agree with the majority...stick to Arenal. I highly recommend hiring a driver so you don't have to watch the road and can instead enjoy your surroundings. Traveling to Arenal on the day of arrival would be ideal, but what time of year will you be traveling? I'm not familiar with trip times from LIR, but if you can't make the drive during daylight hours I would probably just wait until Monday morning. That way you can get some rest to prepare for your Arenal visit.

We once had a driver pick us up at 9:00 p.m. at the SJO airport. It was nice to wake up in Arenal the next morning. I think it's really up to you. Either spend the first night near the airport, or see if a driver will take you that first night. It is kind of nice to enjoy the views along the way though, and you'd miss that in the dark.