I've visited Costa Rica several times (once on a two-month backpacking trip) and I was also married right in front of the Arenal Volcano. I've visited a few resorts,low-end backpacker hostels and everything in between. I've put together this online travel guide to share some tips and advice for visiting about to explore this awe-inspiring destination. I've visited most of the Pacific Coast, but haven't made it to the Carribean yet so I've only included places I've seen.
The numbers in this travel guide correspond to the numbers on the maps.

1. Manuel Antonio National Park
3. Advice About Transportation

What Makes Costa Rica so Awe-Inspiring?

While Costa Rica has only about 0.1% of the world's land mass, it contains 5% of the world's biodiversity. Costa Rica has no military or navy, but an abundance of wildlife; it has been said that the soldiers are the leaf cutter ants, the pilots are the macaws and the navy ships are the whales. Over 25% of Costa Rica is composed of protected forests and reserves.

1. Manuel Antonio & Quepos

If you are only going to make one trip to Costa Rica and you have only one or two weeks, Manuel Antonio is where you should stay. You know all those travel brochures featuring monkeys, sloths, and huge rainforest trees? Those photos were likely taken in Manuel Antonio, even though most travel brochures feature hotels and resorts in Gunacaste (in places like Santa Cruz and Tamarindo). The resorts along the northern pacific are nice and you'll get a great beach vacation and possibly a few animal sightings, you won't get what you see in those stunning pictures. Don't fall for the large resort marketing trick.

Tiny it may be, but this 682-hectare national park epitomizes everything tourists flock to Costa Rica to see: stunning beaches, a magnificent setting with islands offshore (bird sanctuaries for marine species), lush rainforest laced with a network of welcoming trails, wildlife galore, and all within walking distance of your hotel. You are guaranteed close-up encounters with monkeys, sloths, coatimundis, and scarlet macaws. The area has the warmest and nicest sandy beaches I've seen in Costa Rica - and there are several, including some you can have all to yourself.
Manuel Antonio has a wide range of places to stay - from luxury hotels to $10 a night backpacker hostels. The area has the warmest and nicest sandy beaches, the widest range of restaurants and things to see and do and it's a great jumping off point for visiting areas like Arenal, San Jose, places in the south and the north. Quepos is one of the major towns in Costa Rica and is connected by bus to just about everywhere else.

Getting to and around Manuel Antonio and Quepos

Manuel Antonio park is just south of Quepos on the Pacific Coast, 132 km from San José (about a two and a half hour bus or shuttle ride). You can catch a bus to Quepos from almost anywhere in Costa Rica. Believe it or not, the buses in Costa Rica are really no different than the inter-city buses in any North American city or town. They don't have air conditioning, but they are clean and very efficient. The only warning I would give is carry your valuables with you (in your arm/on your lap) - not in the overhead compartment. Thieves do work buses, but the chances of having something stolen are low (just like in North America). The bus costs about $5 from the San Jose airport and a shuttle costs about $20 to $30. A taxi costs about $200. If you stay in Quepos, a bus will shuttle you to the park entrance every 15 minutes for just under 50 cents each way.

Advice About Transportation in Costa Rica (your options)