Places to Visit
If you're coming for like 7 days, and don't want to feel like you're running/driving around a ton, I would recommend only visiting like 2 areas. If you're coming for more like 10 days, you could squeeze in 3.
La Fortuna
If you were here for 7 days, I would recommend splitting your time in La Fortuna at the Arenal Volcano and then getting some beach time on either of the Pacific coasts. That way you would see volcano/rainforest and beaches.
Arenal Volcano
In Arenal, I would recommend staying in a place with hot springs. There are lots of them. See the link below for one example. We stayed there last time. Great volcano view. Tons of different hot spring pools. Swim up bars. And a nice swim area/park/slides for the kids. Baldi Hot Springs
Manuel Antonio National Park
If you flew into SJO you could do Arenal and the south Pacific beaches like Manuel Antonio National Park.
