I don't know if this even makes sense!!! A family member has a bad back, especially while riding in the car. What if we would take two days to get to MA from Arenal? We could take our time, stop often, and rest early. Is this a crazy idea?

We went from Manuel Antonio to Arenal, and stopped in the Tarcoles area. We did an afternoon crocodile safari, then did a guided tour of Carara national park before hitting the road to Arenal.

It's only about 5 hours between the two - I personally like to get on the road and just get to the next place, but you can certainly stop if you want to. Most people stop at the Tarcoles Bridge to see the big crocs, grab a snack, use the restroom, etc. It doesn't seem like very many people stay overnight anywhere though, but you could if that suits your family best.

Look into the El Cafetal Inn. I *think* it's about halfway? Maybe I'm wrong. It's in Atenas. Looks like a lovely place.

www.hotelpuntaleona.com nice beach head there

or more upscale amazing north of Jaco

www.hotelvillacaletas.com

either nice overnite

Have fun,

Thanks everyone. Since we have many free points with Marriott, maybe we should drive to Jaco (3.5 hours driving time), and stay overnight at the Marriott. That would give us only a couple hours to MA. Would make a day to stop for lunch, see sights, etc.

I really appreciate your replies.

Plumboy, El Cafetal has very good reviews.

I don't know if you have any interest in the Alajuela area, but we liked www.xandari.com.

Just a couple more thoughts:

If you decide to stay in Jaco but aren't definite about the Marriott, you might also want to look into Hotel Club del Mar. It's on the very far south end of Jaco, a bit out of town. I HAVEN'T stayed there, but we seriously looked at it at one point when we briefly considered Jaco. Apparently, the beach at that south end is a tad nicer and a bit more swimmable (but still looks a bit rocky).

There's also Hotel Punta Leona, I think a few miles before Jaco? Gets wildly uneven reviews, but could be a real option for one night. One of the beaches there is supposedly pretty nice, Playa Blanca.

If you decide to go with Punta Leona, Playa Blanca is a lovely pure white sand beach, gentle waves and scarlet macaws in the trees at the far end. We celebrated a Tica friend's BD there, so just spent a great day there, not overnight.