Hi, everyone!

My husband and I are planning to spend 3 nights at the biolodge in Monteverde, 2 nights at Shana's at the Beach near Manuel Antonio, and 1 night at the boutique hotel associated with La Chimba coffee farm near San Jose. This would be the first week of December. We think we'll rent a car to drive ourselves around, and I'm wondering if you can help with suggestions for activity agendas/itinerary.
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Near Monteverde, we want to do the Selvatura canopy walks & zip lines, see quetzals, and...? We fly in on a red eye and land at San Jose at around 6am, so we would get the rental car and drive to Monteverde that first day. I know we need to check in by 4pm.

In Manuel Antonio, we want to see sloths and...?

Could anyone recommend activities to do in each of these places?

Thanks so much!

We hiked the Monteverde Reserve and enjoyed it. We hired a guide who spotted a quetzal for us before we even left the parking lot. We did ziplining with The Original Canopy Tour. Sky Trek is another good company. We did a night hike at Hidden Valley and saw a fox and a porcupine; both of those were new to us. Sometimes all you see are insects, frogs, and snakes so you never know. It was rainy and cold when we were there, so you may want to pack a fleece jacket or sweatshirt just in case it's chilly. Our hotel had the fireplace going. The road to Monteverde was rough when we did it, but I heard it's improved.

We stayed at Tulemar in Manuel Antonio and saw sloths right on the property. Hopefully your hotel will have some too. We also did a guided tour of the national park with Manuel Antonio Expeditions, and they were excellent. Lots of monkeys inside the park when we were there. Sometimes they will steal from you, so keep an eye on your things. We also did the Damas mangrove tour with MAE. They invited us to their home for lunch afterward - not sure if that's something they do regularly, but it was fun to see a Costa Rican home. We also really enjoyed the Villa Vanilla spice tour. Other than that we just spent time on the beach. The beach inside the national park is pretty.

Sorry I just noticed you're doing your ziplining at Selvatura.

This is great! Thanks, Volcanogirl! Selvatura was recommended by several other friends, so we already got that squared away. We are staying at the Monteverde Biology Reserve Lodge, so we'll have easy access to the park from there. Would love any recommendations for guides (especially to see quetzals and night hikes!), other than the ones the park provides?

Hi, s - we just used guides that were recommended by our hotel. Maybe try checking with your lodge for suggestions. I wish I remember the names of who we used.