Now I'm checking out Montezuma and it looks preferable to Mal Pais in almost every way (cheaper, more beaches, more food options, more activities). Any advice on cottages/cabins to stay in?

This is what sucks about having only one vacation every couple of years...it makes me more neurotic about planning it.

How did you get to Montezuma from San Jose?

Thanks all. I really do appreciate it.

My parents are taking Ben and me to Costa Rica around Christmas. Their friends from Idaho went last year and stayed at this place, The Blue Pelican Inn near Playa San Miguel, on the Nicoya Peninsula. This is most likely where we'll be going as it looked enticing in the photos we've seen and my parents friends are not douchebaggy tourist-types who want the Disneyland experience whenever they take vacations. Anyone been there before?

I'm also curious as to how prevalent sport fishing outfits are in Costa Rica, if anyone has experience with that. Are they incredibly expensive to use, do you need to get a special license as a tourist/non-national, and are these guided fishing tours usually offered by the hotel or resort? It's not absolutely vital that I slay a creature of the sea while on vacation but...I'd sort of like to try.