lindseylua

I am planning a trip to Costa Rica from December 7th until the 11th. My boyfriend and I have never been to Costa Rica before and are trying to relax at a luxury resort, but want to be near attractions and other things to do. We were thinking of staying at Villa Caletas outside of Jaco for 2 or 3 days (not sure how many yet) and then either 1 or 2 days possibly up by Arenal Volcano at the Tabacon Hot Springs. Does it make sense to spend 2 days outside Jaco and then head up to Tabacon? Any reccomendations on how to get from one place to another? We are consdiering renting a car, but if it is more cost effective to hire a driver (and less stressful) we could do that as well. Lastly, are those even good areas to go to? We are open to anywhere but from our preliminary research we stumbled upon VIlla Caletas and then also the Arenal Volcano area. Are we missing out by being far from Manuel Antonio?? Any advise would REALLLLY be appreciated!

volcanogirl

We ate lunch at Villa Caletas and thought it was beautiful, but it seems kind of isolated. We ate there because we were doing a tour on the Rio Tarcoles. Jaco has a reputation for being a party town. I would personally stay in Manuel Antonio - lots of nice places there; we loved Tulemar Bungalows, but there are others as well. In the Arenal area, The Springs Resort and Spa is probably the newest, most luxe place to stay. It's where Will Smith stayed when he was in town filming his movie. We loved it there. Nayara is nice as well. You can rent a car; the roads are in pretty good shape. You can also hire a private driver; we just book them through our hotels when we reserve them.

Kevin1

Well, I will suggest that you should take rent a car to go from one place to another, It is really very good option.

MichelleY

With only 4 days, I would pick one place, either the MA area or Arenal.

Cris004

Villas Caletas is very nice. You will love it. Enchanting place.
Manuel Antonio and Tabacoon too. But you will have to choose 1 or 2.

Three choices are great. don't worry about that.

And yes, I suggest to take a private shuttle or taxi or a domestic flight. Because you will lose precious time with your renting...In Costa Rica time is...different...it is a good thing for vacations...but you can easily lose time.

For shuttle:http://www.easyridecr.com/timetable.htm
For a Costa Rica domestic flight:http://www.sansacostarica.com/
Caletas:http://www.hotelvillacaletas.com/
Tabacoon: http://www.tabacon.com/