2 Week Costa Rica Itinerary: Volcano, Rain Forest, Cloud Forest and Beach

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We put together this exact 2 week Costa Rica itinerary for my family and friends. They absolutely loved it as it had the perfect mix of adventure, beaches, relaxation and rain forest.

Furthermore, in this sample itinerary, you will find our personal recommendations for hotels, tours, restaurants and travel tips.

This two weeks in Costa Rica itinerary goes to La Fortuna, Monteverde, Santa Teresa and Playas del Coco and flies in and out of Guanacaste Airport.

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A Few Things to Know About This 2 Week Costa Rica Itinerary First

• First, our group of 6* rented a 7 passenger SUV to have the most flexibility, comfort and convenience.**
• Thinking about renting a car? Get our Costa Rica car rental discount and extra freebies.
• Want to book private shuttles instead? Contact us to get a quote!
• Second, this itinerary flies into and departs from Guanacaste Airport.***
• Third, the best time for this itinerary is dry season which is December, January February, March and April for the best weather. However, it is doable any time of the year.

*We do not recommend a SUV for 6 people with check in luggage. You have to rent a 11 person passenger van or two SUVs. Our group of 6 had a couple of short (below 5’4/160 cm) people and we traveled with just 40l backpacks each.*

**You could book private shuttles instead of renting a car.

*** You can fly from San Jose but you will need to sacrifice one day to travel back to SJO Airport from Playas del Coco.

Time of Year

We did this itinerary in August and got quite a bit of rain in La Fortuna and Monteverde, but we packed for rainy season and had a 4×4.

As our whole group was from Washington state, rain did not bother us at all.

You can also click this link 2 week Costa Rica itinerary to see our interactive map of this itinerary.

Day 1: Land in Guanacaste Airport, Drive to La Fortuna (~3 hours)

Collect your rental car and head to La Fortuna right away. This is about a 3 hour drive.

If you’re arriving in the late afternoon or evening, we don’t recommend driving all the way. In that case, you can stay a night in Liberia first.

Here are our suggestions for hotels near Guanacaste airport. You can also stop halfway in Nuevo Arenal by Lake Arenal.

Read more about the drive to La Fortuna after landing.

WHAT TO KNOW: It gets dark by 6 PM everyday in Costa Rica and we don’t recommend driving long distances at night. The section around the lake is VERY curvy and windy. Pop your Drammamine before the drive.

EXTRA TIP: Stop by Llanos de Cortes waterfall on the way from Liberia – La Fortuna to see a beautiful waterfall in the dry tropical forest. It’s a 5 minute walk to the waterfall from the parking lot.

If you’re landing at the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO Airport code), it is also about a 3 hour drive.

Same advice as Liberia, we don’t recommend driving if you’re arriving in the late afternoon or evening, at least in the rainy season.

Then it’s best to stay by the airport and then leave the next day to drive in the daylight.

You can check our post for hotels near San Jose Airport for hotel recommendations.

Days 2-4: Arenal and La Fortuna

La Fortuna is an area in the northern lowlands famous for the Arenal Volcano and Lake Arenal surrounded by lush rain forests.

As one of the most popular tourist destinations in Costa Rica, La Fortuna is the best place for your first introduction to the country.

This area offers many adventure activities as well as wildlife watching opportunities.

Spend the next couple days adventuring through the rainforest and volcano!

Where to Stay in La Fortuna

There are a ton of hotel options in La Fortuna and Arenal. We stayed at Arenal Observatory Lodge, an incredible lodge close to Arenal Volcano for a very close stay in nature.

However, if you want to splurge on for hotels on your trip, this is a fantastic place to do so in this itinerary.

Some recommended luxury rainforest resorts are Amor Arenal, Arenal Kioro, Nayara Gardens, Nayara Tented Camp, Nayara Springs (adult only), Tabacon and The Springs Resort Arenal.

If you want to stay in town and are on a budget, we recommend Arenal Xilapalo, Hotel Las Colinas or Hotel El Secreto La Fortuna.

If you’re coming with a family or big group, check out this Airbnb in Arenal that fits up to 12 people.

You can check our list of hotels in La Fortuna for more tips.

What to Do in La Fortuna

• Arenal Volcano Hike: Walk the trails of the national park to see the impact of the 1968 eruption.
• Another excellent volcano hike is the Arenal 1968 private reserve.
• Canyoning: Rappel down cliffs and waterfalls 200 feet tall in the middle of the rain forest. Read more about canyoning in La Fortuna and get our canyoning discount!
• The Rainforest Falls tour to enjoy the rivers in pristine rainforest as you rappel down waterfalls, jump into crystal clear pools, swim in a jungle oasis and climb up a rock wall.
• Wildlife Safari Float: For an exclusive experience, float down the Rio Frio river while your guide points out wildlife such as caimans, toucans, sloths, otters, birds and more. Read more about this La Fortuna river safari float. For a closer and cheaper alternative, check out the Penas Blancas safari float.
• Visit the Rio Frio river in Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge by river boat if sitting on a raft is not possible (not for babies/infants or seniors).
• Hot springs: No visit to Arenal is complete without a trip to the hot springs. Soak in pools of varying temperatures surrounded by the lush rain forest. Best time to go is at night.
• Farm to table cooking class: Super fun and educational. A must for anyone who likes food and cooking. La Fortuna was originally a farming town so you can learn a lot about farming and gardening in Costa Rica and Costa Rican food.

Interested in booking those tours? Click the link to get our La Fortuna tours discount!

What Our Adventurous Group of Young Adults (mid to late 20’s) Did

Day 2: 4 in 1 combination tour with hot springs to see the highlights of the area (hanging bridges, La Fortuna waterfall, volcano hike and hot springs with dinner included). As we had a car, we visited these places ourselves.

If you don’t have a car, we highly recommend booking a tour that includes a guide and transportation. We went to Baldi Hot springs.

Day 3: Relaxed, went to the pool, walked around the Arenal Observatory Lodge trails, visited Fortuna town to shop and eat. We also visited the hot springs again. Unfortunately, hot springs resorts do not offer multi day passes so we had to purchase another pass.

Day 4: Canyoning in the morning, rest, nap, lunch in town.

There are plenty more activities to enjoy in Arenal and La Fortuna. For more ideas, check out our post of top things to do in La Fortuna and save some money with our La Fortuna tours discount!

If you’re looking for a beautiful, luxurious hot springs resort, check out The Springs! We offer a $5 USD discount for the Springs Resort 2 day hot springs pass.

Recommended Restaurants

La Fortuna Pub, Organico, Soda Garra Pata, Piuru Peruvian, Travesia, Rainforest Cafe, Soda Nene, Restaurante Fortueño, Restaurante El Coloso, Don Rufino and Soda La Hormiga.

Days 5-7: Monteverde (Drive around 3 hours)

Leave mid morning to your second destination, Monteverde.

If you don’t have a car, you can take the water taxi across Lake Arenal which costs ~$45 USD per person and takes around 3 hours. They have a taxi boat in the morning and afternoon (~8 AM and 2 PM).

Contact us to book this taxi-boat-taxi!

Travel day tip: To make the most of our day, we stopped by Rio Celeste on the way from La Fortuna to Monteverde to see the sky blue river.

We left La Fortuna at 630 AM to get to the Tenorio National Park at 8 AM, hiked the park for 3 hours, had lunch in Bijagua and then drove 2.5 hours to Monteverde, arriving around 5 PM before dark.

IMPORTANT: You need to purchase park tickets beforehand on the SINAC website and you cannot be late to your appointed time slot.

Monteverde is home to an incredible tropical cloud forest, has excellent hiking, ziplining and birdwatching and is also the site of the first zipline in Costa Rica.

Read our Monteverde travel tips guide for more information.

Where to stay in Monteverde

El Establo Hotel, Hotel Belmar and Senda Monteverde are the more high end options.

El Establo has big rooms with two floors with beautiful views of the cloud forest.

Use our 5% promo code “mytanfeet” to save $$ at the following hotels: Hotel Poco a Poco, Monteverde Country Lodge and Sibu Lodge. All wonderful places to stay in Monteverde with a great location, excellent restaurant and very cozy and comfortable rooms.

We stayed at Monteverde Country Lodge with my brother which was very cozy and comfortable. For our stay at Hotel Poco a Poco, we enjoyed their pool and rooms on the top in the back of the hotel near the gardens.

Airbnb is also an excellent option in Monteverde. We stayed at this Airbnb in Monteverde, perfect for couples or groups of 4.

What to Do in Monteverde

• Ziplining: Monteverde is famous for their cloud forest canopy tours, with some of the longest and highest in the country. The most popular canopy tours are Treetopia Park, Selvatura Park and 100% Aventura.
• Hanging bridges: Discover the wonders of the cloud forest by walking on hanging bridges high up in the tree top canopy.
• Bird watching: Monteverde is one of the few places in Costa Rica where you can see the elusive Resplendant Quetzal among many other beautiful birds. A great place for birdwatching in Monteverde is the Curi Cancha Reserve.
• Hike the cloud forests: This is an absolute must do. The 3 reserves, Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, Bosque Nuboso Reserva Santa Elena and Children’s Eternal Rain Forest all have beautiful viewpoints, well maintained hiking trails and ample wildlife opportunities. Read this guide to decide which Monteverde cloud forest reserve should visit.

What We Did

Day 5: We relaxed at our hotel and checked out the town the day we arrived. After dinner at Sabor Tico, we did a bit of souvenir shopping in town.

Day 6: One day adventure at Selvatura Park including ziplining, hanging bridges, butterfly garden, sloth center, insect exhibit and herpetarium. This is a full day activity.

After we finished the park, we went to our hotel to freshen up and then had dinner at the Tree House Restaurant in downtown. We did more souvenir shopping after we ate.

Day 7: A 3 hour walk in Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve in the morning and coffee and chocolate tour in the afternoon.

Alternative option: birdwatching at Curi Cancha Reserve or El Tigre Waterfalls hike. Then Cerro Pinocho for sunset.

Recommended Restaurants

Tree House, Tramonti, Monteverde Brewing Company, Panaderia Jimenez, Orchid Coffee, Choco Cafe, Taco Taco and Restuarante Sabor Tico.

Tramonti has amazing pizza and Sabor Tico is the best for local food. Orchid is great for breakfast and lunch. Panaderia Jimenez is a local bakery with great Costa Rican breakfasts.

Day 8: Travel to Santa Teresa (~5 hours)

Today is a travel day to a popular beach and surf town in the Nicoya Peninsula, Santa Teresa. We first went to Puntarenas to catch the ferry and then drove to Santa Teresa.

Read our tips to taking the Puntarenas ferry.

If you’re not driving, the best option is to take a shuttle. Shared shuttles are around $65 USD per person, private is around $300-350 USD. You can also take the public bus.

For the bus, take a bus to Puntarenas (4:30 AM, 6 AM and 15:00) and grab a taxi to the ferry dock. Once you arrive at Paquera dock, take the public bus to Cobano (6:15, 8:15, 10:15, 12:15, 15:15, 16:30, 18:15).

If you arrive in time, you can get a bus from Cobano to Santa Teresa, or take a taxi. Last bus from Cobano to Santa Teresa is 14:30.

The ferry is very nice with beautiful views of the Gulf of Nicoya nd you can see what Puntarenas, an important fishing town in Costa Rica is like.

Days 9-10: Santa Teresa, Mal Pais, Playa Carmen

The next couple days are yours to enjoy at the beautiful, lesser visited beaches of Santa Teresa, Mal Pais, Playa Hermosa and Playa Carmen.

Santa Teresa attracts surfers, yogis and those looking to escape the busy crowds of touristic areas.

What to do in Santa Teresa

Here you can try surfing, watch the beautiful sunsets on the beach, go horseback riding or take a yoga class.

All we did was check out different beaches, watch the sunset, lay by the pool, shop, eat and relax.

No excursions in Santa Teresa this time, just beach time.

Our first week in Costa Rica was full of excitement and adventure, so we took these beach days to relax.

Where to Stay in Santa Teresa

We stayed at Hotel Santa Teresa which was really nice. It’s about a 1 minute walk to the beach and you’re close to small supermarkets and restaurants.

Casa Chameleon Mal Pais Adults Only is an incredibly nice hotel for couples and honeymooners.

If you prefer to be in a quieter part of this area, we highly recommend Lua Villas in Playa Hermosa. We stayed here for a surf trip and it was a fantastic place for our group of 5. It’s about a 15 minute drive to Santa Teresa downtown however, so you need a car.

Recommended Restaurants

Drift Bar, Banana Beach, The Bakery, Eat Street, Burger Rancho, Zula restaurante, Somos Cafe, Soda Pura Vida and Habaneros. If you’re vegan/vegetarian, Drift Bar is a fantastic option.

The Bakery is a local favorite for pastries and coffee.

Day 11: Drive to Playas del Coco ~4 hours

Today is a travel day and the fourth destination in this 2 week Costa Rica itinerary is Playas del Coco. This town is a small fishing village in the North Pacific.

For the easiest driving route, you should take the Route 21 past Paquera, Nicoya and then Route 151.

Take your time on this drive and make sure to leave in the morning/mid-morning so you drive during daylight.

Also do NOT stray off the main road, there are many rural roads on this route, do not take them. Stay on the main road!

Days 12-13: Playas del Coco

For our last few days in Costa Rica, we relaxed and enjoyed a lot of downtime by the pool and the beach.

We only did one excursion, a private boating tour around the Gulf of Papagayo to snorkel.

Our Recommendations

Private beach hopping, snorkeling and fishing tour: Visit beautiful hidden beaches and go snorkeling.

Fish, watch the sunset, snorkel, have the best beach experience on this private beach hopping and boating tour in Playas del Coco.

*Dedicate one full day to do a full day beach hopping and snorkeling tour which is what we did*

Shop, relax, eat, watch the sunset, swim at the pool, walk on the beach, just enjoy!

Where to stay

They stayed at Hotel Villa del Sol. It has a pool and hot breakfast included with a lot of pretty gardens. It’s on the most northern end of the beach, so it’s a bit far to walk to town.

You can also check out the many vacation rentals and condos, such as Breeze Residences.

Recommended Restaurants

Java Coffee, Coconutz, Johann Bistro, Soda Teresita, Le Coq, Cafe Corazon, Zi Lounge and Villa Italia.

Day 14: Fly out of Guancaste Airport(~30 minute drive)

And the two week Costa Rica trip has come to an end. Fly out of Guanacaste Airport and make sure to arrive at least 2-3 hours before your flight.

Tips for this Two Week Costa Rica Itinerary

• Monteverde is considerably cooler, so bring a jacket and long pants
• Make sure to bring the appropriate clothing and gear for the activities such as hiking sandals, microfiber towel, waterproof backpack, mosquito repellent and reef safe sunscreen.
• Check our packing list for Costa Rica.
• Have a few more days? Add more beach time in Santa Teresa and/or Playas del Coco.
• Want to add another destination? Head to Samara or Nosara for more beach or you can check out the Curubande area for tropical dry forest.
• If you’re looking for more of a party vibe, stay in Tamarindo instead of Playas del Coco.

2 Weeks in Costa Rica Budget

If you’re staying in hotels that are about $100 USD a night, spending about $60 USD a day on food and doing a few tours, your estimated cost for this sample 14 day Costa Rica itinerary will be around $1800-2000 USD per person not including the car rental or flights.

Your budget really depends on where you stay, where you eat and what you do (excursions/tours).

You can do it luxury and expensive, mid range or cheap ish.Y ou can lower your costs by staying in budget hotels, doing few or no excursions and eating at cheap places only.

Want more itinerary ideas?

Check out this 1 week Costa Rica itinerary, this 5 day Guanacaste itinerary, another 14 day itinerary or this 10 day Costa Rica itinerary.

Flying into San Jose International Airport? Check out this 2 week Costa Rica birding and wildlife itinerary. Heavy focus on birding and nature walks.

Costa Rica Vacation Checklist

• First time to Costa Rica? Read our First Time in Costa Rica guide.
• Not sure how to move around Costa Rica? Read our How to Get Around Costa Rica guide to find the best transportation method for you.
• Click the link to get our detailed Costa Rica Packing List so you know what essential items to bring.
• Check our Costa Rica destinations map and Costa Rica restaurant map
• Do not forget to purchase Travel Insurance for your trip to Costa Rica.
• Stay connected by purchasing a prepaid SIM Card in Costa Rica. Get 10% off your Airalo eSIM package with our promo code “mytanfeet”
• Save money with Mytanfeet Deals for tours and hotels and our Costa Rica Car Rental Discount.

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