Read on to find out what you need to know to plan your trip to Costa Rica!
- Where To Go — Traveling for 1 Week or Less
- Where To Go –Traveling for More than 1 Week
- What To Do
- When To Go
- Driving Distances
1) Where To Go — Traveling for 1 Week or Less
On a short trip, most people visit 2 areas like one of these options.
OPTION #1
- Fly into San Jose Airport
- Arenal Volcano
- Beach on the Pacific Coast
OPTION #2
- Fly into Liberia Airport
- Rio Perdido
- Beach on the Pacific Coast
2) Where To Go — Traveling for More Than 1 Week
If you 10 days, you can visit 3 areas. If you have 14 days, you can visit 4 areas. Start with one of the 2 options above and then add from there.
To pick the “other place”, it depends on what is most important to you, how much time you have, and when you want to travel. In particular:
- River rafting or surfing or yoga
- Wildlife or birding
- Active adventures or more quiet
- Whales in August-September (Osa Peninsula/Golfo Dulce)
- Nesting sea turtles: July-October (Tortuguero)
- August-November: Rainy on the Pacific side, but nice at Arenal on the Caribbean side
3) What To Do
In particular, your trip or where you stay will defined if you want to do any of these activities:
- River rafting
- Surfing
- Sea turtles
- Whales
Other activities can fit into just about any itinerary.
4) When To Go
The main travel season in Costa Rica is mid-November to mid-April.
Mid-September to early November can be very rainy on the Pacific side, but Arenal and the Caribbean side will still have nice weather.
Mid-November to January is more rainy on the Caribbean side.
If you arrive in San Jose before 2:00pm, you can get a transfer to Arenal/La Fortuna that day (3.5 hour drive). If you depart San Jose after 4:00pm, you can get a transfer from the Nosara/Samara/Tamarindo area and fly out that day. Otherwise, you will need to spend the night in San Jose.
5) Driving Distances
Here are some driving distances to give you an idea:
- San Jose-Manuel Antonio: 3.5-4 hours
- Manuel Antonio-Tamarindo: 5.5-6 hours
- Tamarindo-La Fortuna/Arenal: 2.5-5 hours
- La Fortuna/Arenal-Monteverde: 5-6 hours (this is a drive + boat ride + drive)
- Monteverde-San Jose: 4-4.5 hours
- Monteverde-Manuel Antonio: 3.5 hours
- Manuel Antonio-San Jose: 3 hours
See Also: