My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon in Costa Rica in August. We have 10 days, and are trying to figure out how to spend them. We definitely want to hit Osa, probably Bosque del Cabo, for 3 nights at the end of the trip. For the beginning of the trip, we found a great deal on Villa Caletas, but we'd have to stay there for 5 nights. How are the excursions from VC/Jaco, would be we able to whitewater raft around there, and how hard would it be to take an excursion to Tabacon and Arenal? Any thoughts? We're wondering if the deal is worth it, or if we should look at staying just outside of San Jose (rafting) and at Arenal to get a better flavor of Costa Rica. Thanks!

that is a great place to take day trips from! Arenal, Manuel Antonio (you can go rafting from here), Carara, and many other options. You would have a better chance of seeing the volcano if you could spend a night or two there but you could still do the hot springs as a day trip.

My husband and I stayed at Villa Caletas for 3 nights in May. I wish we didn't stay there so long. It's a beautiful hotel and has great views all around, but it was inconvinient to get around unless you rent a car. I suggest 3 nights max. If it's possible, don't stay there too long. Just enjoy the view for a couple days and move to a better place. They charge you for everything. For example, they offer complementary coffee in your room just like any other hotels, but if you decide to have more than once, they will charge you. They charge you $25 for transportation to Jaco beach and $33 to Carrara. These places are only 10 min away driving. And they don't even offer complementary breakfast for that rate.
I don't know what your expectations are, but we stayed a Tabacon before we arrived at VC. At Tabacon Hot Spring resort, they offered a GREAT breakfast buffet for free. And you get to enjoy the hot spring for free as a guest. Even though doing various excursions from VC is not a problem, I would like to recommend breaking those 5 nights between VC and Tabacon. It takes about 3 1/2 hours (one way) from VC to Tabacon, so it's a waste to go there for a day. From Tabacon, you could do a lot of different activities including rafting. We stayed 2 nights at Tabacon and 3 nights at VC. I wish we did it the other way arond.

I agree with Hoppang.....Villas Caletas is TOO far for a 'day trip' to Arenal. With 3-1/2 driving one one way, that's 7 hours on the road and NO time to see Arenal or the springs. VC is a nice property but can be expensive with all the 'nickle and diming'. I had friends who got married there and enjoyed it for their honeymoon, but have said they would not stay there again unless it was another 'special occasion', like maybe their anniversary.

I guess we all agree that Arenal is best seen as an overnight trip. Lots of people do do it as a day trip and most tour operators also offer a lot of information while traveling so it is not just a 3 1/2hr transportation.
Sorry to hear the bad reviews of Villa Caletas after so many good ones. Has it gone down hill? I love the sunset there.