Hi All,

My wife and I are doing some last minute planning for a trip in mid-late March with our 6 and 8 year old kids. We are likely to fly into Liberia and plan to stay away from all inclusives and hire a car for exploring. Our interests probably align with most who visit this country: spend some time at various beaches, experience a rainforest, small hikes and excursions (possibly from an agency or on our own), and possibly visit a working coffee farm. Generally open for most activities and don't have specifics in mind yet. All research points towards the Guancaste Province. My question to you fine folks is with only a week does it make sense to spend half that time along the coast and then the rest more inland where we would have access to more greenery. Or should we stick with a coastal stay and use our car for day trips as wanted? Suggested towns for either option are also GREATELY appreaciated.

Thank you.

If it were me, I'd do a combination of the Arenal area and Manuel Antonio and fly into SJO. That's the most popular combination for first timers.

I second what volcanogirl recommends. Plus you get a volcano! Day trips are ok if sites are close by. Longer trips are not really time efficient, since traffic and poor road conditions make for slow going much of the time. If something is 60 miles, it will take a couple of hours to get there.