COSTA RICA

Alkhan

New Member
Hello fellow travelers,

My wife and I are planning our anniversary trip and decided to visit Costa Rica. We have a total of 10 days from Early to Mid June of 2025 and would like to see as much as possible

As much as I would love to see the entire country, I understand that 10 days is just not enough, because there are so many interesting places in such a small country. I have spent the last few days watching YouTube videos about the best places in the country and have made a list of interesting places grouped according to regions

We are from Los Angeles, We have plenty of dry weather and beaches in LA. That’s why we may not visit the Guanacaste peninsula in the north west because I understand it’s a dryer region known more for beaches, surfing etc, even though it does have other attractions

We would like at least a couple of days of beach time relaxation but from what I understand the other regions, notably the southern pacific coast has plenty of beautiful beaches as well, for example Manuel Antonio state park and a few others (please recommend)

We are more interested in seeing things that Costa Rica is known for. For example, rainforests, cloud forests, exotic wildlife, private guided wildlife tour, adventuring and activities such as horseback riding, zip lining, snorkeling, ATVs, catamaran sunset and/or dinner boat tour, maybe even fishing, and anything else you can suggest

We will be landing at the Capitol city San Jose in early June. From there, we’re considering doing the following, but I’m very open to suggestions and changes. I also need to figure out how many days to spend in each region to balance out the 10 days and see as much as possible without spending too much or too little time in each region. We also don’t want to be rushing too much as we do want to enjoy our trip, rather than scrambling all the time. I’m thinking 3 to 4 regions will be the maximum we can visit in 10 days, spending 2 to 3 days in each region staying at a different hotel/base for each region

We land early in the morning at San Jose, YouTube videos recommended not spending too much time in the city, although I wouldn’t mind checking out the central market and trying out a few local foods before we get our rental car and hit the road. Our return flight to Los Angeles 10 days later leaves at midnight so we can also enjoy the city on our last day when we return to the capital

Day 1 2 and 3: spend a couple morning hours exploring the city, then get the rental car and drive to La Fortuna / Arenal volcano area where we can stay maybe 3 days and do the following activities

Arenal & LA Fortuna areas

Arenal Volcano national park

Canopy tour & mistico hanging bridges

La fortuna waterfall

Tabacon hot spring resort with River

Ecotermales hot springs

Free River hot springs off road side

Salto rope swing

White water rafting

Rio Celeste

Arbol de La paz June 1989 (largest tree)



Days 4 and 5: drive from La fortuna to Monteverde cloud forest area where we can spend a couple of days doing the following activities

Monteverde cloud forest areas

Monteverde $25
or
Santa Elena $18 (denser forest, less crowded)
Take a guide if you want to see more animals
You’ll see more animals with night tour

Zip line tour 100% aventura

Catarata del Toro waterfall



Days 6 ,7,8,9 and 10

Drive to the pacific coast and spend the rest of our trip visiting/doing the following places/activities until the day of our flight, and then driving back to the Capitol San Jose for our midnight flight to Los Angeles. I feel like we will be stretched out the dentist on the last five days traveling south down the pacific coast because there is so much to do and everything I listed is not at the same place so I will probably need to choose the best ones and or choose them based off location. Also some of them for example Osa peninsula/corcovado national park may require multiple days…

The coast / Manuel Antonio / Southern regions

Isla tortuga north of Jaco, gulf of Nicoya

Tarcoles River bridge crocodile viewpoint north of Jaco

Playa herradura next to Jaco

Jaco

Playa Hermosa near Jaco, not for swimming

Quepos / Manuel Antonio national park

La Playita small secluded beach in MA

La Selva trail in MA less crowded

Playa Biesanz (snorkel and swim)

Playa Espadilla

Alturas wildlife sanctuary in Dominical

Nauyaca waterfall

Playa Hermosa south near Uvita swim low tide

Uvita (whale tail sand bar beach and park)

Catamaran cruise & snorkeling

Cano island

Ojochal town as base for Corcovado

Osa peninsula (south) most bio diverse area

Corcovado national park, golfo dulce


The activities I have listed above are what I have found so far for the three regions I listed. We would also love to visit the Caribbean coast and a couple of other regions but realistically, I don’t know if we will have enough time, I would like to also see if not on this trip then I will visit them the next trip,


San Jose
Centro market
Irazu volcano
La paz wildlife refuge
Catarata vuelta del canon

Caribbean
Punta Uva beach
Puerto viejo
Cahuita national park
Guanacaste / Tamarindo
Playa conchal
Playa Manzanillo
Playa Samara (turtles)
Rio Negro hot springs
Isla tortuga gulf of Nicoya

Other questions

Any recommendations for a rental car? I was told to get some thing with all wheel drive or 4 x 4, because the roads in Costa Rica are known to be rough, especially when it rains. I found a company recommended by a YouTuber called “car_rentals_costa_rica_and_USA” on Instagram and WhatsApp, the owners name is Jairo. Apparently Costa Rica is known for adding on insurance, taxes and fees when you show up. after calling you a lower price online, but Jairos rates are no surprises it includes the listed charges and he works with Alamo. I was quoted about $55 per day for a small/mid SUV (Suzuki Vitata) automatic 4x4 with basic insurance coverage. (Full coverage costs more) it was also recommended to use WAZE app to navigate instead of google maps, please advise

Please see attached screenshots of the route We are considering taking and the rental car

Also we are open to stopping at any interesting places while driving at any point in the country. I took a look at the route and noticed a few places so far that may be worth stopping on the way to our destinations, including these

Catarata Del Toro (waterfall) on the way to La Fortuna

Tarcoles crodocile viewing bridge on the way to Jaco


Any advice on where to stay? What type of hotel is the best option or maybe AirBnB? We will be eating mostly at restraints I’m assuming, and maybe snacks and to go food while traveling or while in nature. We don’t need all inclusive hotels that would be a waste of money I think


Please excuse the very long post, I know it’s a lot so thank you for taking the time to read it, we are hoping to get some solid advice on how to make this the best trip possible because this may be a once in a lifetime trip and we don’t want to have any regrets on how we planned and executed our trip. We are very very grateful to the good people here who take the time to help us. We’re looking forward to your responses. Thank you very much.

Alen
 

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Since my last post I’ve created an itinerary using the locations and activities I previously listed, please let me know what you think, I’m open to suggestions / changes and again thank you very much for your helpThe Plan



Day 1 - Land in San Jose 5:30am, leave airport by 8am or sooner, explore the city for a couple of hours, explore central market try a few foods then start driving to La Fortuna, arrive at La fortuna between 12:00 and 13:00. Check in hotel and unpack by 14:00. 4 hours Sunlight left in the day, can do Salto rope swing and any hot springs, or Arenal horseback riding, or Mistico hanging bridge canopy tour. End day enjoying evening activities



Day 2 Do a full day guided tour or self guided multiple tours. Option A: all day guided tour of La fortuna waterfall, Arenal volcano hiking, indigenous village and hotel hot springs. Option B: do the same or other activities ourselves without a guided group tour. End day enjoying evening activities



Day 3 River rafting, Rio Celeste trail and Arbor La Paz (largest tree in CR), hot springs, horseback riding, hanging bridges tour, salto rope swing. End day enjoying evening activities



Day 4 Check out of La fortuna and drive to Monteverde, check in hotel, 100% Aventura zipline tour, chocolate tour, hanging bridges, night time wildlife tour. End day enjoying evening activities



Day 5 Santa Elena cloud forest guided tour, 100% Aventura zip line tour, chocolate tour, hanging bridges, night time wildlife tour. End day enjoying evening activities



Day 6 Check out of Monteverde, start driving towards the pacific coast. Optional: Take a boat ride from Jaco area to isla tortuga for snorkeling and beach fun (may skip this as not enough time) . Drive to Jaco, stopping at Tarcoles bridge to view Crocodiles. Then stop at Herradura beach for swimming and beach fun. Then stop at Jaco for lunch and explore the town. Then head to Manuel Antonio and check in hotel. Check in should be around 15:00 with only a few hours left in the day, can do one of the following: La Playita small secluded beach in MA, La Selva trail in MA less crowded, Playa Biesanz (snorkel and swim), Playa Espadilla (swim OK with caution) End day enjoying evening activities



Day 7 Explore Manuel Antonio park well known areas and also do the following if enough time: Kayaking, fishing, La Playita small secluded beach in MA, La Selva trail in MA less crowded, Playa Biesanz (snorkel and swim), Playa Espadilla (swim OK with caution)



Day 8 Check out of Manuel Antonio, head South and visit some of the following places en route to Drake Bay: Alturas wildlife sanctuary in Dominical, Nauyaca waterfall, Playa Hermosa south near Uvita (swim low tide), Uvita whale tail sand bar beach and park, Uvita waterfall natural water slide into pond. Arrive at Sierpe before 3:30pm, park car, take 3:30pm boat from Sierpe to Drakes Bay arriving 5:00pm. Check in hotel. End day enjoying evening activities



Day 9 Get on 7:30am boat tour to Cano island for snorkeling, 5 hour tour should be back at drakes bay by 1:00pm. Maybe do some daytime beach activities then try “Nativos Corcovado Night Hike in DrakeBay”



Day 10 - Check out of Drakes Bay Hotel, get on 6:00am boat to Corcovado national park. Walk & tour to wildlife station. Check in at Sirena overnight ranger station, drop off bags. Enjoy afternoon wildlife tours. Lights out 8:00pm



Day 11 Do a morning and afternoon wildlife tour then leave the park at 1:00pm via boat, arriving at Drakes Bay at 2:30. Then Take 2:30 boat from Drakes Bay to Sierpe arriving at 4:00pm. Get in the rental car and drive to San Jose, arriving around 8:00pm. Return rental car and go to airport by 10:30pm in time for 12:50am (June 18) flight
 
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