Hi, I've learned so much from everyone who posts on this board...I thought I had my itinerary planned until I discovered this site! Thanks so much for all your postings and advice. Based on everything I learned, I would love to get your feedback on my one-week (7 nights) intinerary for February. My main concern is that, while I want to see a lot of different areas, I don't want to spend TOO much time in the car (we're not renting, but I'm going to arrange for transport). Also, would love feedback on whether it's okay to leave MA for SJ in the morning for an evening flight - is that rushing it or is it OK? I'm also really bummed that the Peace Lodge didn't have a room for us the first night of our trip - but if you see any holes in my itinerary where I can fit it in (I'm willing to add an extra night), let me know, because they do have openings after the first night (spefically, 5th and 7th night of my trip). Thank you in advance!

Day 1 - arrive San Jose, spend night at Hotel Grano de Oro
Day 2, leave for Pacuare river rafting and stay at Pacuare Lodge that night
Day 3, 4, 5, -Leave for Arenal, and stay at Lost Iguana for three nights
Day 6, 7 - head to Manuel Antonio and stay there for two nights
Day 8 - leave Manuel Antonio for San Jose, and fly out that evening

Leaving MA in the morning for an evening flight is fine. Count on min 3.5 hours of driving time. Then account for the usual other things ... road delays ... line ups for check in, customs etc

great, thanks!

also, i've pretty much set up the trip in terms of where i want to go, but what's the best way to arrange transport between all the different places (since I am not renting a car?) can i call one of the tour agencies and they can do it for me for a fee, or should i just arrange it myself when i am there/ahead of time? any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I just happened to see this message, and couldn't resist replying. I haven't been to Costa Rica since 2003, and others can give more up to date information. I do recall that in 2000 we left San Jose late morning and got to Manuel Antonio about the middle of the afternoon. We stayed only one night there rather than the two we had planned. We stayed in Lost Iguana in 2003. Take a light bulb with you if you want to do any reading in your room.
Have a wonderful time.

It will be easy to get from Arenal to MA and from MA to San Jose if you use Interbus. They offer door to door service. I think they have a couple x-fers each day for those areas. You might need a private x-fer though from Pacuare Lodge to Arenal, your hotel can probably arrange this for you. Sounds like a great trip!