OT: headed to Costa Rica - suggestions?

The best food we had was in the Sodas. Just the front of people's homes opened up with a few tables. The food is called "typical food" and is a rice and bean based cook with proteins and veg thrown in. Had an octopus one that was absolutely great from a soda right on the beach. I guess it depends where you are but the locals fry whole snapper on the beach and serve it with rice and beans (could be called rice and peas or peas and rice). We went to a few restaurants but I preferred the local fare.

Don't drink the agua

Manual Antonio is my place of choice or Look up house of flying monkey's ... fly from place to place trust me!  Only take the red taxi's in town as those are regulated by the state however make sure the driver turns on the meter once you are in or you will have to negotiate your fee once you arrive at your destination.  Other then great cigars hand delivered to you on the beach and the beautiful weather it is hard to want to go anywhere else!  

Fishing
ATV tour
Canopy Tour
Hiking
Rafting

I have been, canopy tour (zip line), Horse back through the rain forest and the natural spa were the best. We went to the Arenal hot springs all three were on the same tour.

Which Hyatt?  We spent a week in Papagayo/Guanacaste (NW corner) and had a great time.  Good fishing, diving, snorkeling, canopy tour, nature/boat tours, waverunner tour

Mayberry said:

Best trip you'll probably ever take. And the last one where you exoerience freedom. We went to Costa Rica for a little over a week a few years back, right before we had kids. Skip San Jose, the capital. It's pretty dirty. We only spent one night there, and I wish we hadn't. Unless you're into underage prostitutes. If so, then you're in luck. They're everywhere. La Paz waterfall gardens is awesome. Great way to spend an afternoon. Volcan Arenal was amazing. Do yourself a favor and don't try to find the nicest hotel in Arenal. We stayed at the Arenal Observatory Lodge and it is the closest to the base and has an amazing view at night. Arenal us one of the most beautiful, amazing things I've ever seen. We didn't have time for the cloud forest, but that would definitely be on my left if we ever go back. I've heard it's awesome. From there, we traveled to Tamarindo, an old beach and surfing village. Great place, especially if you like deep sea fishing. We had a great trip with a really cool captain....American guy from Florida who "retired" to charter trips down there. While there, we stayed at Cala Luna. Really nice little place. It's more of a small, boutique resort, but has an onsite restaurant that was really good, and an open air sushi bar that was great. I hope this helps. It is a great country to visit. Congratulations on the baby!

I couldn't agree more on skipping San Jose ......also if you have any plans on going white water rafting it is a blast! You will have a blast, now you got me itching to go back.  I have been everywhere in central America and by far Costa Rica is the best place you will go unless you want to party you ass off go to Columbia!

When in de Arenal, take a night
tour. The small groups and the wildlife that you see are memorable. We also took one in Monte Verde.
Go to Manual Antonio. You won't believe the monkeys and iguanas. In LaFortuna, Rainforest Cafe (not the chain) is small and great for breakfast. There is a really friendly place for dinner a couple of doors down. The rafting is more daring than the US. Very fun. If driving between Arenal and Manual Antonio, you will cross the crocodile bridge. You'll know it when you see it.
Zip lining in San Ramon, on your way to and from Arenal has the worlds longest line. Also doesn't require rappelling which some do.
Last is the Refugio Asis. You can take a tour and the choose to stay and volunteer. You prepare the food for the animals and then each member of your group feeds different animals from birds to monkeys to javelins. Pretty much everyone from our group stayed for this part. Intimate and enlightening.

My wife and I stayed at a B&B on a horse ranch and rode everyday.  I highly recommend this place even if all you're interested in is a one or two hour ride.  They are in Guanacaste, not to far from Tamarindo.  If you're interested in  horseback riding and are in the area, definitely give them a call.

I have been several times on vacation and on business. I flew into San Jose and drove the Arenal area (La Fortuena). When you rent your car, get the insurance and make sure you rent one of their GPS units. 95% of the roads are not marked. I wouldn't rely on a smartphone for GPS. We stayed at the Springs Resort which was really nice. Did the zip line deal but I can't remember the name of the company but I can tell you that you take a tram to the top of the mountain and it is a blast. We repelled down waterfalls, watched the volcano and ate mostly at sodas except for seafood and etc. Drove to Tamarindo and stayed several days in a new beachfront condo. Not a high rise and we were ground floor. Great night life, took surfing lessons at Witches Rock, good food, got a local fishing to take us on a 3 hr trip up a small tributary for only $50. Note on beer. You can buy American brands but they are expensive. Imperial is the CR brand and not bad. It is $1 a beer....whether you buy 1, a six or a case. No need to ice down beer and lug a cooler to the beach (in Tamarindo) because guys walk up and down the beach pulling coolers full of beer that are iced down and cold and will serve you right on the beach for $1.50 each. Depending on what you are into, there are some nice resorts that make you feel like you are in the US. I choose to stay in nice places but not on a compound and I like to rent a car, see the sights, meet people and get a taste of the local culture. Either way, you will have a blast.

@Tinyfish, the Pacific in that area is incredibly rich with sealife/baitfish. I saw a school of dolphins actually change how they surface and breathe because the feeding was so good.  They were heading parallel to the coast - maybe 600 yards offshore - when they came on a school and just started diving vigorously, staying down longer and surfacing for very abbreviated breaths.  We also saw a huge school of tuna feeding as well, but unfortunately didn't hook one.  We did catch some jacks and a roosterfish.