2 weeks in costa rica, itinerary and accomodation help?

Your itinerary looks good, although maybe not in the order that you presented it. I've been to a number of them, and the rest are on my list to get to. A few suggestions:

Arenal - be sure to take the night tour. You do an evening guided hike (the guide will be able to show you so much stuff you'd never see without knowing it is there), after the hike they take you to the best view to see eruptions after dark and many of them include a couple of hours at the hot springs at the end of the tour. This is such a great tour and includes the best parts of Arenol.

Monteverde: This is where you want to do the zip lining. You'll find more zip lining in other areas, but this is my favorite. You can spend a good part of the day just doing the suspension bridges and zip lining. You can get away with one day here. There are more activities if you chose to do more than one day, but not sure it's worth sacrificing one of your other locations to get a second day.

Manual Antonio: I love this National Park. It's so beautiful. You definately want to take a guided hike here too if you plan on entering the rain forest. Not only will they show you things that you will probably miss, bupoison'll also show you what plants you don't want to touch (they make poisen ivy look like a day in the park) and important safety information. The beach is gorgeous. If you are into photography, you will have so many opportunities here. If you look into Iguana Tours, you can check out some of the other activities in this area - I was really impressed with the friendliness and professionalism of this tour company. They have white water rafting, kayaking, hiking, ziplines, and a bunch of stuff. You could easily do a second day here.

Tortuguero National Park is still filled with beautiful plants and wildlife even when the turtles aren't nesting. This is a great place to take a kayak out into the canals. I havent been here yet, but it was on my itinerary for 2009 and I'm really excited to check it out.

If your spanish is good, taking a public bus is really really cheap. However, it isn't exactly efficient. You can spend an entire day on the bus trying to get from one place to another. Considering how much ground you guys are covering, renting a car might be the way to go. I don't usually recommend that (the driving in CR scares me, lol) but plenty of people do it and don't have a problem. If money isn't an issue you can rent a private shuttle or take a cab to get you to your destinations - but these will add up quickly. If you are taking regular tours, most of the tour companies will pick you up at the hotel/hostel. The tourist industry is knows most tourist aren't renting cars so they offer this service at no additional charge. I don't think any tour I've taken (from all day adventures to a 2 hour guided hike) has ever not picked me up. It's nice not having to worry about getting lost.

Also, be aware that just because things look really close on a map, it doesn't mean you can get there in the amount of time you think. The roads are in bad shape and there are mountains to work around. Where you think you can reach a destination in 90 minutes, expect it to be closer to 3 or 4 hours. The transportation part might make it hard to hit all of the places you want to hit in the time you think it will take you. Just something to keep in mind.

Good luck and have fun!

The Pacific side of Costa Rica is beautiful with white sand beaches and blue waters. If you guys are looking to try to surf, I would suggest Jaco Beach (Central Pacific) just about 1 hour by car south of San Jose, and then I would recommend taking a water taxi or driving across the peninsula to Santa Teresa, Mal Pais a very popular surf town and a Blue Flag beach (quality waters and clean beaches). It's a very cute remote surf town with lots to see - Montezuma waterfalls is close by and the Curu Wildlife Reserve. I love this side of the Pacific side the most. If you have time, and is your cup of tea, I would venture to Nosara, the yoga and organic mecca of Costa Rica with lots of great vegetarian options, eco-friendly environment and again, amazing surf spots as well. Hope you guys have a good time! -Angie

Tortuga Island, the cloud forest, the rain forest, two weeks is barely enough time.

Lic.Gregory Kearney Lawson.

masku...

-well, you need to begin at la fortuna, monteverder, puntarenas, "montezuma", jaco, manuel antonio, puerto jimenez(corcovado), cartago, tortuguero, and last day at the poas when you are near alajuela or san jose.

-but you need to go to montezuma. that small town has everything you need

-just enjoy it