Hello Stephanie!

Great question! Truthfully, the best rainforest and volcano experiences take place in the La Fortuna/Arenal area of the country, which is roughly a 4-hour drive away from any of these destinations on the northern Pacific coast. If you don’t want to make day trips into La Fortuna, you can take day trips to attractions around the Guanacaste province, where you plan to stay. El Mangroove is located furthest up the coast at Playa Panama. Down the coast, the W Costa Rica – Reserva Conchal is located just north of Tamarindo and the JW Marriott is located just south of Tamarindo. Punta Islita is part of the Nicoya Peninsula; it is more remote and not the best option if you intend to drive to/from the hotel a lot, especially given that you plan to visit at the end of November when the roads in the area can be quite bad.

As for which place is the best for accessing excursions, this depends on the exact excursions you wish to participate in. Some take place further up the coast or in the north half of the Guanacaste province, so they’d be better accessed via El Mangroove. Others take place further down the coast around Tamarindo, making the W Costa Rica – Reserva Conchal or the JW Marriott the better choice. If you want, reply to this message with the names of the tours you’re considering experiencing, and I can let you know whether they take place closer to El Mangroove or the other two.

As a side note, you may be interested in reading our article Costa Rica Luxury Travel: All-Inclusive Resorts And Non-All-Inclusive Resorts In Costa Rica. The article summarizes several top large-scale resorts in Costa Rica, including the JW Marriott.

Article link: https://costaricatravelblog.com/all-inclusive-resorts-in-costa-rica/

Pura vida! 🙂