Solo Costa Rica

I am taking a solo trip to Costa Rica at the end of October here are my options for itinerary:

#1. Land in San Jose and stay for one night and then go to take a flight to Tambor and the stay the entire trip there
#2. Land in San Jose and stay for one night, take a shuttle or fly to Arenal and stay for two days, then to Tamarindo for 2 days

I want to see the volcano but I keep reading and hearing mixed reviews (like the volcano is not active it is going to raining), so I am not sure if I should go see the volcano or just go to a beach/rainforest area and enjoy the trip.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

only you can decide. if you want to go to the arenal area to enjoy it and participate in some activities, i think you would enjoy it. if you are going so you can say, "i saw a volcano" probably not worth it.

if you decide to go the arenal/tamarindo option, you might consider flying into liberia (lir). there are some good sales on now. another option is to fly into san jose and fly out of liberia. tamarindo is about 4-4.5 hours from the sjo airport but about 45 minutes from lir airport.

here are some websites that might give you more information
[www.nicoyapeninsula.com]
[www.arenal.net]

End of Oct Mal Pais is all but closed up and the roads a mess. Better off in Tamarindo as its drier in the NW and also more to do that time of year, you can get stranded in MP if the roads get too muddy....and flights can cancel due to weather down there...