We (family of 4) visited the Arenal area and Tamarindo in August 2021 for 10 nights. We flew into/out of Liberia. We stayed 1 night near the airport and picked up a rental car the next day. Driving after dark (6pm year round) is NOT recommended. Roads are iffy and there are no lights or street signs. Airport transfer prices are reasonable, even for several hours ($120-150 for 3 hrs).
All inclusive are not common in Costa Rica. There are a few, but it’s not like Cancun.
You might consider the Chachagua Rainforest Resort. They have a 2 br villa with two full beds and a queen bed. It includes a private plunge pool. The resort has two other pools (one cooler pool, and one is a series of pools heated by the thermal water from the volcano), two restaurants, they offer guided nature walks. It’s fabulous. We stayed in a bungalow with two queens. We had a huge porch with hammock. It is deep in the rainforest and it’s pretty fabulous listening to the forest come alive every morning.
It’s pretty remote, but perfect for a couple days of just relaxing. I’m sure they organize tours/excursions also. We went zip lining & white water rafting. But we had a car.
In Tamarindo, there are tons of rentals. We stayed at this place: https://abnb.me/y5p3gwlMoGb
There are many units for rent in this complex. Some have 3 bedrooms.
Food in Costa Rica is good and reasonably priced. I’ve not heard good things about the food at most all inclusives. That’s one of the main reasons we haven’t tried them.
