Hi all,

My husband and I are going to be in Costa Rica (1st time visit) as part of an 11-night cruise/tour, which starts in San Jose, the first week of December. Prior to the tour, we're considering traveling to Manuel Antonio for 3 nights.

We were originally thinking of staying at Tulemar but have read good things about Costa Verde, as well. They both seem to get good reviews, although there is quite a price difference. We are willing to pay the price to stay at Tulemar, but only if t will be a significantly better experience. If we stay at Costa Verde, it would be in the Penthouse. If we stay at Tulemar, it would be in one of the Villas.

We're primarily interested in which would be better in terms of (1) views from our room, (2) amount and variety of wildlife on site, (3) any tours provided on site, (4) good onsite food / restaurants, and (5) proximity to restaurants, etc. offsite since I don't believe we'll be renting a car (although we could be convinced otherwise).

By the way, our cruise also stops in Quepos / Manuel Antonio for a day, as well, and we have hired a private guide for MA National Park in the morning and Damas mangrove boat tour in the afternoon. We would actually prefer to visit another CR destination that we won't see as part of the cruise / tour, but these two MA properties seem to be consistently recommended as places with wildlife on site, which is what we are looking for.

We also thought about visiting the Osa Peninsula but, we don't think that makes the best sense, with only 3 nights. Also, the cruise does stop at Puerto Jiminez / Golfo Dulce for a day, where we have hired a guide to take us to Corcovado La Leona.

As another FYI, the tour portion of our trip does visit Arenal, where we will stay at Tabacon Resort & Spa, and Monteverde, where we still stay at Poco a Poco.

Thanks, in advance, for any recommendations!

Carole