Hi,

I am a 29 year old travelling to Costa Rica with my boyfriend in January. We are going to Arenal for 3 nights and then either Mal Pais or Manuel Antonio....having trouble deciding which beach and hotel.

We are looking for a nice hotel, walking distance from a beautiful beach, where we can kayak, snorkel and swim without being swept away by rough tides. We are not looking for something too seclusive, nor too family-oriented, nor too rowdy.

Manuel....we are looking at Buena Vista Villas. Are the villas too family-oriented? Any other suggestions in Manuel Antonio?

Mal Pais....haven't found a nice hotel yet. Any suggestions?

BVV would be my pick in MA. You might also check out the Mot-Mot Villa at Tulemar Bungalows. It's really popular.

If you don't already have a place in Arenal, we love the Lost Iguana.

In Mal Pais, Tropico Latino and Villas Hermosas are popular. I stayed at a smaller place that I loved called Horizon. Seperate little villas with kitchenettes, took me just a couple minutes walk to the beach from there. Nice owners.

BVV sounds like a really good bet, if we choose MA.

Any other opinions of Mot-Mot Villa? Which hotel is closer to the beach? Is the beach accessible all day or do the waves take over the sand during high-tide?

Mot Mot Villa is really nice. You have a beautiful view and a gorgeous deck. It's very spacious. There are full lentgh windows around the entire building. BVV and Tulemar share the same property, so some of the BVV villas may be farther from the beach than mot mot. However, they have a shuttle that you can call to take you back and forth any time. We just used that as the walk is a fairly steep hill. There is plenty of sand on the beach, even at high tide - from what I remember. We loved Mot Mot, and it's much less expensive than BVV.

www.buenavistavillas.net nore upscale not family oriented

www.tulemar.com more downscale family oriented.

either one would be good...