Very Confused with Itinerary
 

After spending lots of effort and time researching one vacation plan we decided to switch our plans and visit Costa Rica instead. So I'm back at the drawing board.

My orginal Costa Rica plan was to arrive in San Jose stay at Peace Lodge for 1 night, then drive to Arenal for 2 nights, then stay in Tamarindo for 4 nights and depart from Liberia. The catch is Peace Lodge is booked and I'm reading mixed reviews about Tamarindo. With that said... how in the world do I organzie this 7 night trip for the end of July (in 2005)?

Overall, we would like the trip to include nature, surfing, and a bit of nightlife (nothing crazy). We will be celebrating our one year anniversary.
Thanks

I assume your flights are booked?

If not then the obvious, which you have probably already tried - would be to reverse your trip and try Peace Lodge at the end. Personally I prefer a place like this at the end of my trip anyway. Peace Lodge is quite different, but I would not let not staying there affect my trip too much.

Are you wanting Peace Lodge because you have heard so much, want a nice place to stay that night or for the grounds and waterfalls. There are other nice places near SJ, such as Vista del Valle Plantation Inn, Xandari, etc. You can always visit La Paz without actually staying at Peace Lodge.

Tam is probably the most built up of small beach towns along the Nicoya Pen. Which is still relatively small when you think of beaches in the Carib, Cancun, etc. I think all of these little beach towns get mixed reviews, but they also get raving reviews, different strokes....

For surfing you might look at MalPais and Santa Teresa. For an anniversary it seems Florablanca, Milarepa, Tropico Latino get good reviews. But Casa Chameleon has also recently been getting great reviews.

Just some thoughts

I did want to stay at Peace Lodge because the reviews and website did look and sound great. I also tried reversing the dates but that did not work out either. My friend stayed in Xandair and loved it so its an option. So the question becomes - Is it necessary to stay in the San Jose area for a night if my flight gets in at 12:30 pm? Or can we just travel directly to Arenal?
Can anyone recommend a top-rated hotel in Arenal? Thanks

Getting into SJO midday should certainly give you enough time to get to Arenal before dark.

As to where to stay, there have been many suggestions recently, it has been 3 years since we were there. We stayed at Arenal Parisio, which was rustic cabins, with great front proches and excellent view of the volcano. Since our stay, it seems many improvements have been made to the grounds, with hot springs and an added canopy ride.

If we were to return to Arenal, I must say the Lost Iguana looks inviting.

Go ahead and give Tamarindo a try. It's a fun place and the area is great for exploring. With all of its faults (too built up, etc), it is still a favorite for many people. I'm thinking you are going to like it just fine. And I certainly don't think you'll find yourself DISliking it! Hard to go wrong in Costa Rica!

You might also look into spending your last night at Vista del Valle--gets great reviews and is near the airport. For sure, I agree with Donna--head straight up to Arenal.