Yes we did all that and rented a car. We went to the south west coast. It was great, mostly locals, cheap(ate lobster a lot of nights) and it was sunny. The south west coat is in the rain shadow- no rain or clouds. Lots of snorkeling, eating fresh fruit(everything is grow here) and chilling out.
We stayed here
http://www.copamarina.com/default-en.html
Southwest coast
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/02/travel/escapes/02puerto.html