Costa Rica

Since you have provided no information about yourself (your age, your fitness level, your travel experience, whether you're traveling solo or with others), it's hard to know whether this is a smart itinerary or a ridiculous amount of over-planning.

I did a similar itinerary a few years ago, but I didn't do my own driving, and I wouldn't want to tackle an itinerary this buttoned-down if I had to deal with a rental car. I'd suggest looking into private tour providers. They are relatively inexpensive in CR. Many of them will put you on shared transportation (buses or vans) between destinations.

But only you know about you, so do it how you think is best.

My husband and I took our two sons, daughter-in-law and two grandsons to CR in December 2023 for 12 days including Christmas Eve and Day. We rented two cars from the San Jose Airport and drove to Monteverde where we spent 6 days. We then drove to Manuel Antonio for the remainder of the visit. There were lots of potholes. I'm sure we didn't plan as much as you and the days were full. The weather was wonderful having just come out of the rainy season. Have you been to CR before? Did you plan around the rainy season? I ask because it can affect your itinerary and, definitely, the roads. Even in the dry season, many of the roads have potholes which slow one down to @ 30-40 mph. It was a wonderful trip. Costa Ricans are very protective of the environment and have preserved it well. I hope that you have a wonderful time!

@AJ

Sorry about that. I’m 35 years of age, in decent level of fitness, I’ve been traveling on and off since 2019, more so in recent years. I’ll be with one other person on this trip, she trusts me and is happy to go with whatever I plan for us. I like having a rental car so I can travel when and where I want when I want. Do you think the rental car will get in the way or something?

"Do you think the rental car will get in the way or something?"
If I may also answer your question which was directed at AJ, we definitely needed a car to go to the places you want to visit (and we didn't visit as many as you want to). It is quite doable. There are guides who will drive you, but if you want to be more independent, renting a car seems the better idea. Just be advised that driving takes longer than you might have planned for.

@Lindy

That sounds like a great family trip. I’m a bit jealous you got to go during the dry season, as I’m a bit concerned about going in June, the somewhat beginning of the wet season. I understand December is the busy season, were Monteverde and Manuel Antonio crowded with tourists? It’s my wife and I anniversary in June that’s why we’re going when we are. I went to CR once in September or 2017 with my parents it was an all inclusive resort I didn’t really leave the resort regretfully, I vowed to one day return and make up for it. I do plan on renting a small or mid size 4x4 SUV to handle the roads

Monteverde and Manuel Antonio were not overwhelmingly crowded for us, but we live in NJ, so. . . We are used to crowds almost everywhere we go. I don't remember long lines anywhere and most venues were reserved by time and date which cuts down on the waiting. Happy Anniversary in June (so is ours which will be our 54th--you have many more years of traveling to do--lucky you!)

@Lindy

I agree about the car, also we don’t like crowds and being cramped with strangers, I guess we’re not used to it. Thank you for the kind words. We wish you many more June anniversaries and travels as well!

The activities I listed for each day are just options / ideas. I understand it’s unrealistic to think I’ll get all of them done and I’ll be exhausted trying. I’ll go home satisfied as long as I wake up early every day, and knock one or two things off the daily bucket list while also taking time to relax and enjoy the trip. I counted the days when we will be very active and the days where we will be doing more relaxing things and it seems balanced. I’m considering transfer days where we’ll be driving for hours and won’t have a full day to do activities as “relax” days too, since there probably won’t be too much physical activity on those days

I’ve been to CR once before with my parents in 2017. All inclusive hotel. I didn’t even leave the hotel, regretfully. I vowed to return and this time see as much as I can. I want this trio to be 60% adventure 40% relaxing or something like that. Will be with my wife this time.

I decided to take your advice about visiting OSA at the end of our trip. one thing I decided to change, I’m going to do the itinerary in reverse. When we land in Costa Rica we’re going to drive straight to OSA pensinsila then work our way up the coast, Monteverde and finally La fortuna. That way we’re not scrambling to make our flight on the last day and also not taking a chance of missing a boat from Drakes Bay to Sierpe plus the 5 to 6 hour drive from Sierpe to San Jose. Instead, our last day we’ll wake up in La Fortuna , spend half the day there, and end up in San Jose around sunset 6pm, enjoy the city for a few hours and head to the airport

im also thinking this will be better because the further south you go the rainier it’s supposed to be and the later in June the deeper into rainy season, so if I start from the south at the beginning in early June, then head north, I might experience less rain? What do you think?

Basically the plan is (open to changes / suggestions ) we added an extra day so total 11 days instead of 10, not counting the flight time

We will skip San Jose. We will sleep on our 6 hour direct flight from Los Angeles so we should arrive somewhat rested. we take off at 11pm and land early morning 5:30am

I am aware we need to hire a guide for for OSA, I’ve been looking at different tour options and I’m considering the 2 day / 1 night trip to Sirena station. They drop us off via boat from drakes bay and bring us back the next day. I’m also going to do the Cano island snorkeling tour so I’ll be staying in drakes bay 2 nights and Corcovado for 1 night (3 nights in OSA total)

I read that the road from Sierpe to Drakes bay has been improved , regular cars can drive it as long as the weather isn’t too rainy because if so it gets muddy? I plan on renting a small or mid 4x4 maybe Suzuki Vitara SUV or Toyota SUV. I’m concerned when we get to Sierpe on day 1, if the weather is dry and I make it to drakes bay via car, what if later it rains and gets muddy and the car gets stuck in DB when I need to drive back to Sierpe. What do you think?

day 1 drive straight to OSA / Sierpe then either take the 4pm boat to Drakes Bay or drive from Sierpe to DB. with our small or mid size 4x4 rental, maybe do a night wildlife tour that evening, then sleep

day 2 wake up early do the Cano island snorkeling tour, returning to DB around 2pm

day 3 wake up early take the overnight tour to Corcovado national park for hiking wildlife exploration and sleep at the Sirena ranger station

day 4 finish our tour in Corcovado and return to DB around 2pm then drive or take the boat to Sierpe and head up the coast towards Manuel Antonio park , check in at a hotel near or in the park. I’m assuming it’ll be around 5pm when I arrive at Manuel Antonio so wont be able to do much else that day?

day 5 do a full day tour of Manuel Antonio park and maybe spend some time relaxing at the beach after hiking in the park

Day 6 maybe enjoy some local beaches in Manuel Antonio area I listed a few interesting places in the area, I would also like to visit Naucaya waterfalls, maybe some other activities like ATV or horseback riding, or I can do horseback riding in Arenal/LF instead of in MA. Maybe check out Alturas wildlife sanctuary if we can get close to animals. We want to leave Manuel Antonio area not long after noon time so we can make it to Monteverde while there is still light out, I understand it’s a 3+ hour drive. I would also like to see anything interesting on the way to MV, for example Tarcoles bridge crocodiles viewpoint. Arrive in Monteverde before dark and check in hotel. Maybe can end the day with a nighttime wildlife tour or just relax

day 7 considering hiking the Santa Elena cloud forest instead of the Monteverde cloud forest, I heard it’s denser forest with less crowds, maybe even do it with a guide so we can see more things. After that I would love to do the 100% Aventura zip lining I heard it’s the longest in Latin America. Maybe end the day with a night time wildlife tour or something else

day 8 check out of Monteverde and head towards La Fortuna or do another activity in Monteverde then go to La fortuna and find something to do like Salto swing or check out Rio Celeste and the biggest tree in CR (Arbor La Paz) or do afternoon horseback riding near volcano

day 9 do the full day tour which takes us to La Fortuna waterfall, Arenal volcano hike, indigenous village experience, and hot springs resort

day 10 spend at least half the day relaxing at a nice hot spring resort like Tabacon, that is if we enjoyed yesterdays hot spring experience. Another option is to do the level 2/3 white water rafting experience it takes you down several kilometers down the river, sounds fun.

Day 11 checking out of La Fortuna , spending half the day in La fortuna area before heading to San Jose arriving sometime before sunset , spending a few hours in the city before flying home at our 1:00 AM flight

im also considering visiting the hanging bridges either in Arenal or Monteverde, if I have time. Is there one you recommend more than the other?

if I decide not to visit Monteverde because it’s similar to Arenal and is redundant, or if I decide to still visit MV but spend 1 less day in La Fortuna, where should I spend the extra day that I will have? Maybe spend that extra day in Manuel Antonio? That would mean spending 3 nights in MA instead of the proposed 2. Maybe I could drive to Rio Celeste if it’s worth it? Unfortunately I heard you can’t swim there but there is a free swimmable part just outside the park. The largest tree is also there. What would you recommend?

there are also some beautiful places like Isla Tortuga which is across the bay from Jaco in Guanacaste. Maybe that could be a good substitute but it could be redundant since I already have snorkeling plans at Cano island near OSA peninsula

below is is a list of places and activities I found interesting based on my research. I tried to mention all these places in my daily itinerary but nothing is set in stone. I’m open to suggestions on which ones to skip and also any new ideas. Thanks for taking the time to read all this and give me your advice and opinions. I appreciate you

Arenal / LA Fortuna area

Arenal Volcano national park

Canopy tour & mistico hanging bridges

Horse back riding

La fortuna waterfall

Tabacon hot spring resort with River

Ecotermales hot springs

Salto rope swing

White water rafting

Rio Celeste

Arbol de La paz June 1989

Monteverde cloud forest areas

Monteverde $25

Santa Elena $18 (denser forest, less crowded)

Take a guide if you want to see more animals

Selvatura Park / Treetopia Park hanging bridges

You’ll see more animals with night tour

Zip line tour 100% aventura

Sky adventures Monteverde

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 for swimming

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 (swim OK with caution)

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 slide into pond)

Drakes Bay

Cano island

Ojochal town as base for Corcovado

Osa peninsula (south) most bio diverse area

Corcovado national park, golfo dulce

For anyone who cares to read, and advise , I appreciate you! NEW ITINERARY UPDATED 3/17/25

Day 1, 2, 3, 4 - Drake Bay - June 7 land in SJO 5:30am, get on 8am domestic flight to Drake Bay, arriving 9am, check in hotel, no plans this day maybe go on a daytime fishing tour then do something else at night (open to suggestions) June 8 get on boat to Sirena/Corcovado for wildlife hiking tour, spend the night there. June 9 more hiking in Corcovado then return to Drake Bay around 2pm, that night maybe do nocturnal wildlife tour (open to suggestions) June 10 (our anniversary day) get on boat to Cano island for snorkeling tour, return to Drake bay around 2pm, check out of Drake bay hotel, get on boat to Sierpe and arrive around 4:00 PM where we pickup a rental 4x4 SUV and drive to Manuel Antonio park

Day 4, 5, 6 - Manuel Antonio - June 10 arrive hopefully around 6pm before dark, check in hotel. That evening have a romantic dinner, celebrate our anniversary, walk on the beach or nature and sleep early, wake up early for tomorrows M.A. park tour. June 11 do a full tour of Manuel Antonio park, hiking and also relaxing beach time, then watch the sunset with drinks, then maybe some night life or night time mangrove boat tour or nocturnal wildlife walk.

June 12 - check out of Manuel Antonio hotel, but before heading to Monteverde, visit one or a couple of the following places: one hour drive South there is Nauyaca waterfalls, which looks beautiful, they offer horseback rides up to the waterfalls and back down instead of hiking, (one hour each way) it starts at 9am and ends at 1:30pm, it includes Lunch on the way down. Total cost $80 PP. From Nauyaca it’s 4 hours drive to Monteverde which means I’ll get there about 6 pm (sunset) because I will stop for 30 minutes to view Tarcoles bridge crocodiles on the way to Monteverde. This plan should work but is cutting it close if there are delays on the road. I would prefer not to drive unfamiliar roads at night but I’m not too concerned, it won’t be my first experience of the sort and I’m an experienced driver

Other than Nauyaca there are less interesting places in the Manuel Antonio region: to the South there is Uvita, Playa Hermosa, Uvita waterfall (natural water slide) to the North there is Beisanz beach, Quepos, Playa Hermosa, Jaco, and Playa Herradura. Of all the places I listed above, there are only a few that I’m most excited to see: Nauyaca waterfalls and Tarcoles river crocodile bridge. The other places don’t seem as special and/or they seem redundant compared to everything else on my 11 day itinerary. Most likely I won’t visit these places unless I have time to spare and they’re recommended

Day 6, 7, 8 - Monteverde - June 12 check in Monteverde hotel, freshen up, dinner, maybe a nocturnal cloud forest tour. June 13 visit Santa Elena cloud forest with a private guide, then do a zipline tour either at 100% Aventura, Selvatura, or Treetopia (open to suggestions) no plans in the evening (open to suggestions).
June 14 check out of Monteverde hotel. Maybe do a short activity before driving to La Fortuna / Arenal, maybe a coffee and/or chocolate tour

Day 8, 9, 10, & 11 - La Fortuna - June 14 Check in La Fortuna hotel. Depending on the time of the day, do a short activity e.g. Salto rope swing, hot springs, kayaking lake Arenal, or hanging bridges night tour (open to suggestions) June 15 do a full day group tour with shared guide to see La Fortuna waterfall, hike Arenal volcano, visit an indigenous village, and visit a hot spring resort. Another option is to do these activities without a guide (open to suggestions) afterwards maybe hot springs in the evening (open to suggestions) June 16 either do a river rafting tour, or drive to Rio Celeste(only if good weather or else it’s muddy water) for sight seeing swimming and river tubing and also visit the oldest/largest tree in CR. I’m hoping I can do all this in one day without feeling too rushed

June 17 - our final day in Costa Rica but thankfully we have the entire day since our flight is after midnight. San Jose doesn’t interest us too much (open to suggestions) so we will probably spend the morning and early afternoon in Arenal / La Fortuna. Maybe we’ll visit the Mistico hanging bridges, or do another activity we didn’t have time for. Maybe we will use our final day for pure relaxation, hot springs, massages, etc (open to suggestions)

We should leave La Fortuna by 2 or 3 PM so we can get to San Jose by 5 or 6 PM before the Sun goes down. Our car rental guy said we can return the car at 10pm, the office is located 10 minutes from the airport, or we can return it earlier if driving in the city is more of a hassle than a convenience, but in this case we will need transportation to the city and back again to the airport, and we won’t have anywhere to keep our luggage full of clothes while we explore the city. We want to enjoy the city for a few hours before our midnight flight back to Los Angeles

I’ve been researching and planning for almost a week now, changing the itinerary multiple times, but I think it’s getting close to being ready, maybe I’ll make some more changes based on your advice and suggestions, but I’m ready to start reserving hotels, rental car, and activities

Please let me know what you think. Thank you!