Planning on visiting Guanacaste and only have a few days? Check out our sample 5 day Guanacaste itinerary!
As Guanacaste is well known for its beautiful beaches and ocean activities, this itinerary is written for those looking for a beach vacation.
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How to get around this Guanacaste itinerary
You don’t necessarily need to rent a car for this itinerary if you plan to stay in the main towns using one town as your home base.
In that case, booking shuttles and tours is fine. However if you want to explore and move around, then renting a car is a must.
We offer discounts for Mytanfeet readers for car rentals. Click to get your Costa Rica car rental discount.
Where to stay in Guanacaste
As this province is very big, many people have a hard time trying to figure out where to stay in Guanacaste. The capital city of the province, Liberia, is not a big city and most tourists don’t stay there except for flying days.
First, you need to know that Guanacaste is known as a beach destination so most people stay at the coasts. So this itinerary will focus on those who want a beach vacation.
Second, there are 4 main areas that visitors like to go to. The areas are Gulf of Papagayo, Tamarindo, Conchal/Brasilito/Flamingo and Samara/Nosara.
Lastly, this Guanacaste itinerary has one home base in order to maximize the time you have in Costa Rica since you only have a few full days.
And also, if you’re interested in any of the tours and activities below, just contact us and we’ll be happy to help you book them or give more information.
For those who are not renting a car and plan to book tours with transportation, get our Guanacaste day tours discount here!
Gulf of Papagayo
The Gulf of Papagayo is an excellent option if you don’t want to travel far. These are the beaches of Playas del Coco, Playa Hermosa, Playa Panama, Playa Ocotal and Bahia Pez Vela.
They are about a 25-35 minute drive from Liberia Airport. You can take a private shuttle, the public bus or rent a car.
If you want to stay in a town, Playas del Coco is your best option. But if you want to stay in a quieter beach area, any of the other surrounding beaches are great. These are not surfing beaches and are best for those who like to snorkel, scuba dive, fish and relax.
If you stay at Hermosa, Ocotal or Panama, we do recommend renting a car since those beaches don’t really have a downtown. There really isn’t too much there except for a few hotels and restaurants on Hermosa and Ocotal. Playa Panama has just a few hotels and that’s it.
You can also stay at one of the many all-inclusive resorts in the Gulf of Papagayo, which are also around a 30 minute drive.
These are Planet Hollywood, Riu Guanacaste, Riu Palace, Occidental Grand Papagayo and Secrets.
For non-all inclusive resorts, but still high end, there are El Mangroove Hotel on Playa Panama, Hotel Bosque del Mar on Playa Hermosa, Andaz on Papagayo Peninsula and Four Seasons on Papagayo Peninsula.
Tamarindo
Tamarindo is a very lively surfing beach town. It’s the biggest in the area with a few condo towers, several hotels and restaurants on the beach and is home to music festivals and big parties during the holidays.
You can find a lot of good shopping, food, happy hour and parties going on in this beach town. It’s popular with families who are into surfing and like a lively atmosphere.
From the Guanacaste Airport, you can drive, take a shuttle or fly as Tamarindo has its own local airport. It is a 1.5 hour drive from Guanacaste Airport to Tamarindo.
Hotels
Tamarindo Diria Beach Resort: Beach front hotel in Playa Tamarindo with 3 pools, ocean view rooms, pool view rooms and an adult only section.
If you’re really into surfing and/or don’t want to stay in a busy town, head to Playa Grande or Avellanas instead. There aren’t many hotels and restaurants there so you will need a car.
If you want to stay in Tamarindo, we wrote a dedicated Tamarindo 5 days itinerary using that town as a home base.
Flamingo and Conchal
Conchal is a gorgeous white sand beach and is known to be more exclusive due to the access. There are only two hotels on Conchal: Westin Conchal and W Costa Rica and one large private property with vacation rentals, Reserva Conchal.
The closest town to Conchal beach is Brasilito and where you will have to stay if you don’t stay at those resorts.
15 minutes drive away is the white sand beach of Flamingo and its luxury community with luxury hotels and fancy vacation rentals. It is a popular fishing and scuba diving destination.
Potrero and Brasilito are two quieter and cheaper options in between Flamingo and Conchal.
On Flamingo, there is a beach front resort, the Margaritaville. Flamingo also has a luxury marina with condos.
Samara
For families, Samara is an excellent option. This area is less of a party town than Tamarindo and is great for those who are into yoga, surf and wellness.
Samara is 2 hours from Guanacaste Airport and you can drive, take the bus or a shuttle.
You can also check out Nosara, which is an hour north of Samara and more rural. It’s a small beach town that’s also a great destination for those into surf, yoga and wellness.
Nosara is about a 2.5 hour drive from Guanacaste Airport and has some gorgeous beaches.
Guanacaste Itinerary Day 1: Land in LIR airport, head to hotel
Day 1 of your 5 day Guanacaste itinerary is for settling in and getting ready for the next 5 days.
Day 2: Boating/snorkeling
On your first day of this Guanacaste itinerary, it’s time to hit the beach!
If you’re staying in the Gulf of Papagayo, take a private beach hopping/snorkel tour to experience the beautiful hidden beaches.
Our friend Marcy runs a boating company that picks up in the Papagayo Gulf beaches and he takes you around to the best beaches and snorkel spots.
Read more about his Playas del Coco boat tours here.
If you’re staying down in Tamarindo/Conchal/Flamingo, you can take a snorkel catamaran cruise with Dream Chaser (Tamarindo), Panache or Lazy Lizard (Potrero) or Serendipity (Flamingo).
If you’re in Samara, you can go kayaking and snorkeling to Isla Chorro. Easy 30 minute kayak ride one way and nice snorkeling at the island.
For scuba divers, definitely take this day to scuba dive Las Catalinas Islands, Isla Murcielagos or the Tortuga Islands!
Day 3: Wildlife Tour
I’m sure you want to see some wildlife so Day 3 is dedicated to wildlife watching. There are a couple options to see wildlife.
Palo Verde National Park
Take a leisurely boat ride down the Tempisque River to see crocodiles, monkeys, iguanas, lizards and birds. Learn about the importance of the dry tropical forest and the river.
Palo Verde National Park is 1.5 hours from Gulf of Papagayo, 2 hours from Tamarindo and Conchal and 2.5 hours from Samara (driving one way).
Tamarindo estuary ride
The national park next to Tamarindo, Marino Las Baulas has a large estuary. Take a short boat ride through the estuary to see crocodiles, birds and monkeys.
This is a 2 hour tour which is very nice to do in the morning.
Camaronal Wildlife Refuge
You can take a turtle tour in the season or take a guided hike through the private reserve close to Samara to see wildlife.
Hacienda El Viejo Wetlands
For a full day of adventure, culture and wildlife, head to Hacienda El Viejo Wetlands. This private estate has their own refuge with wildlife watching boat rides, a cultural tour and rum tour. Fantastic place to experience the best of Guanacaste tradition!
It’s 1 hour and 45 minutes from Samara, 1 hour 15 minutes from Tamarindo, 50 minutes from Coco and 2.5 hours from Nosara. Get a discount off their activities with our Hacienda El Viejo discount!
Bijagua Rainforest Walk and Sloth Spotting
Experience the primary rainforest on this spectacular one day tour from the beach to tropical rainforest. You’ll walk on a 2.2 kilometer trail through a private reserve, learning about the gems of a primary tropical rainforest.
Then you’ll go to a second reserve to see sloths!
You can read more about this Guanacaste rainforest sloth tour in the link and watch our video below.
Day 4: Relax
Day 4 is for you to relax during your Guanacaste itinerary. If you have a car, you can drive around to the nearby beaches.
It’s up to you what you want to do! Chill at the pool, go shopping, sleep in, be lazy. If you are up for it, take a surf lesson in Tamarindo or Samara.
Day 5: Adventure
For your last full day in Costa Rica, get ready for an action packed day at the foot of a volcano.
This combo adventure tour is one of our favorite things to do in Costa Rica! Zipline through the forest, horseback ride and white water tube down the river. Wind down the day with relaxing hot springs and mud baths!
You can read more about the Guachipelin combo adventure tour here. It is 1.5 hours from Coco, Tamarindo and Flamingo.
For ziplining, go to Diamante Adventure Park (get 10% off in the link) for an adrenaline filled ocean view zipline, animal sanctuary and traditional farm experience. By Samara, you can check out Wing Nuts Zipline.
If you’re not that keen on ziplining and are more into hiking, we recommend Catarata La Leona hike in Curubande de Liberia. Wild river adventures and relaxing river pools!
Day 6: Fly out
It’s time to go home! Even though your trip was short, you still had a great time with this itinerary in Guanacaste.
Tips for this Guanacaste itinerary
Many of these tours require a minimum of 2-3 people. For solo travelers, stay in a hostel to join groups.
Bring plenty of sunscreen and mosquito repellent.
The best months to visit Guanacaste depends on your preferences. High season is end of December – April and it is very crowded, hot and expensive. September – November is less busy, rainier and cheaper.
But if you don’t want to run into any rain, dry season is the best time (Dec – April). July also tends to dry up a bit even though it’s the middle of rainy season.
Average day time temperatures in Guanacaste range from 85° – 100° F (29° to 38° C) so bring LOTS of sunscreen and appropriate sun protection.
Read about other things to do in Guanacaste, Costa Rica in this post.
Check out other sample itineraries!
8 days itinerary: Playas del Coco and La Fortuna. Guanacaste beaches, La Fortuna rainforest and Arenal Volcano. Ideal for those flying in and out of LIberia Airport.
1 week itinerary: Jaco, Manuel Antonio and Uvita (beaches in the Central and South Pacific). Great itinerary if flying in and out of San Jose Airport.
10 day itinerary: San Jose, Manuel Antonio and Puerto Viejo. Goes to the city, rainforest and beach. You will get to experience both Caribbean and Pacific coasts.
2 week itinerary: Arenal, Monteverde and Guanacaste. Goes to volcano, rainforest, cloud forest and beach. Excellent if flying in and out of Liberia.
Karen says
Hello!
We’re two pretty fit 60 something’s. Coming next week 21-26 for 6 days, 4 full. Renting car and staying at El Mangroove.
Anything new to be aware of? Good, or bad? We’ll hike, boat, snorkel, drive around a bit. Love history/culture. No ziplining or baking on beach. Haha. Wanna get out, get a little adventuresome and relax too. Have yet to book anything.
Any current guidance is appreciated! Love your site!
K and L
Sammi says
Hi Karen we’ve sent you an email with our recommended blog posts to assist you
Arwen Kataoka says
Hi! we’re trying to get from monteverde (Santa Elena) to Guanacaste? We don’t have a rental car and also don’t have a hotel yet so we’re open for recommendations for towns to stay in as well. Our flight leaves out of LIR on the 18th and we leave monte on the 15th.
Sammi says
You can take a shared shuttle or public bus from Monteverde to Liberia and then taxi from Liberia to the airport
Kayla F says
Hi there, absolutely amazing site by the way! My husband and I (in our 30’s celebrating 10 yr anniv. w/o kids) will be visiting in June Tues-Saturday. We land early Tuesday and leave late Sat. We are thinking either Secrets resort or the Riu Palace (would love your opinion on that!) and not renting a car. We love adventure and beach days – but aren’t super interested in Palo Verde nature day. We are considering swapping that day for Rio Celeste, but also keeping your Guachipelin combo adventure tour Day 5. Is that going to be too exhausting? If skipping the “nature day” and you suggest narrowing down to either the Rio Celeste tour package or the Guachipelin adventure tour – which would you pick? Thanks in advance!
Sammi says
You could definitely do Rio Celeste and Guachipelin, actually I highly recommend it for the rainforest, nature and hiking and then ziplining, adventure and relaxation.
Margie Shaw says
Love these options. What would you suggestion for a 4day trip? We were thinking beach side but would enjoy a day in the jungle. Is that possible within our timeframe? There are SO many options I’m overwhelmed. Any and all suggestions welcomed.
Sammi says
Hi Margie, yes you can base yourself at the beach and do a day trip to the rainforest (like this itinerary but just take one day out)
Ali says
Hi. Just booked 7 days at planet Hollywood resort but we plan on booking many excursions. All the info you posted is super helpful. How can I contact you to help me book day trips there?
Sammi says
Hi Ali, please feel free to use our form on our contact page or email us at web @ mytanfeet.com with your details!
Emer says
Just booked our tickets for 9 days home base Tamarindo first week in August. Worried I should have spilt the trip to a different area. But I hate racing around and not getting a true flavor of a place. Will be travelling with two teens. Always a joy!
Christine W says
Planning a trip in December. We are only there for 5-6 days but want to experience beach, rainforest, waterfalls & wildlife if possible. Planning to do Manual Antonio or Jaco but I have read that December is insanely busy in that area. Will it be as crowded in Tamarindo or other Guanacaste areas? Typically we like to do more off the beaten path, less touristy areas. Thanks
Sammi says
All coastal and beach towns will be very very busy during the CHristmas holiday. If you want to find less touristy areas, you will need to rent a car and find a beach outside of the main areas.
Sammi says
Samara is a really nice family surfing beach town but it’s kind of close to Nosara/Guiones in case you want to see something very different. Santa Teresa would give you a really different beach and surf experience. Both are popular beach towns for families, Santa Teresa is much bigger but a bit less developed than Samara and it is a bit further from Liberia Airport than Samara so I would advise to leave a day early to stay by the airport for your flight. Tamarindo is another option that’s a good different experience as it’s a much more developed and livelier beach town and only 1 hour from the airport.
Erik says
Hi,
We are thinking a 1-2 week family (youngest 12-years-old) trip. We want to move slowly, settle-in, and maybe only be in two locations. We may try first weeks of December or in February. The kids an I are into beginning and intermediate surf, and my wife would love yoga. We would fly in and out of Liberia.
I am thinking maybe a week in Guiones, but am not sure where it would make sense to stay for the second week. Hoping you can advise.
thank you!
april says
hello,
I am thinking about doing Rincon de la Viejo on my own rather than with a tour company.
Is this something that can be done and what activities can you do without a tour?
Thank you! I love your website!
APril
Sammi says
Hi April, yes you can definitely visit the national park on your own without a tour or guide, the only thing to do in the park itself is hike. If you go to the private hacienda or adventure parks outside the national park like Guachipelin or Buena Vista, you can do any of their activities like ziplining.
Denby says
We (family of 5) are flying into Liberia late March and plan to rent a 4×4 car, and open to taking puddle jumpers. Our stay is 11 days including arrival and departure day. So, I guess we have 9 days to explore! We were thinking about staying in Santa Teresa for the bulk of our vacation, kind of our hub (or dividing it up into 3-4 night stays at different locations. We like what we have heard about Santa Teresa as it seems to be off the beaten path with nice community. We arrive into Liberia at 7 pm and were wondering what type of destination (can be multi day) would you recommend? We would need a place to stay the first night, ideally on route to our destination. We are from Oregon so very use to and appreciate rain and waterfalls. We love to hike, boat, raft, surf, fish, snorkel, scuba – basically we are an adventuresome family who want to truly capture Costa Rica and its culture before we leave. That being said relaxed beach/pool is always a must on a vacation. Any ideas would be wonderful.
Thank you for providing all this great content about Costa Rica! It has been very helpful to get a sense of where we are headed.
Cheers –
Denby
Sammi says
Santa Teresa, Costa Rica is very nice, I don’t believe they have very good scuba diving from there but you can surf, fish, hike, lay by the pool, visit waterfalls in Montezuma, Costa Rica and there are some nice hotels and nicer vacation rentals with a pool.
Shelly Ladden says
Looking forward to all your great travel tips! Thanks for doing the research for us!
Joseph williams says
We went to Palo Verde in august with a tour guide. Without the guide we never would have seen the bats that looked like part of a tree from a distance. We saw howler monkeys and capuchin monkeys, birds, crocodiles and iguanas. A great day trip!
Rob Moody says
I enjoy rock climbing. My wife and I are staying in Guanacaste W Hotel for Christmas holidays. Do you have recommendations for a top rope or lead climbing guide that is AMGA certified?
Sammi says
Hi Rob, Costa Rica doesn’t really have any good rock climbing, to be honest I don’t know of any tours or anyone who does rock climbing here. Maybe ask the W hotel if they have recmomendations but in our experience, there isn’t really any rock climbing in CR.
Christine says
I am planning to rent a car, and drive to Palo Verde National park. I see that $10 entrance fees, what about the boat ride? Would it be better (cost wise) to join a tour that includes transport & everything (entrance & boat fees)?
We are open for suggestions.
Same thing with Arenal full day tour…like to do the hike & hot spring etc.
Thank you for any ideas & suggestions are appreciated.
Sammi says
Hi Christine, I believe the boat tour is around $30 per person if you go on your own (excluding park fees). It is recommended to have at least for Palo Verde since the road to the park has a lot of potholes and is bumpy. For a tour that includes transportation, I believe it is around $90 and they usually also include a visit to the local pottery town. For Palo Verde, I think since you’re renting a car that it would be better to go on your own. You may need to wait for an open boat but they can usually accommodate people. Just get there early in the morning to check availability.
With Arenal, it will depend. I usually recommend booking a tour because the drive from Guanacaste to Arenal is around 3 hours and it’s a loooong day if you want to do the hike, explore town and do the hot springs. Most tour companies leave around 6 AM and arrive in La Fortuna around 10 AM (with a stop for breakfast). Then they do a short hike, have lunch, walk around town and go to the hot springs at night. Usually by the time the tour is over, everyone is super tired so if you book with a tour company, they will drive and arrange for you so all you have to do is relax and enjoy. If you drive, you’ll need to drive back in the dark and that route is super curvy with tons of big potholes. If you think you can drive in one day, then you could go on your own but if you don’t want to worry about driving or having to figure out the schedule for the day, I’d book with a tour company.
Sammi says
You can also just take a day trip to Arenal, a lot of people who are staying 1 week in Guanacaste do that and you don’t need to find multiple places to stay and your wife will not need to pack/unpack if you take just a day trip.
We have a post on using Airbnb in CR you can check out here: Airbnb in Costa Rica
sr says
we land at 8 pm, so dont think we can go to Arenal on that day. i would have to stay for a night in or around Liberia and then think about driving. But then I am thinking what am i missing by not going to Arenal that i wont get in Guanacaste.
Ideally i would like to find a place(villa or house) on the beach or view, and then relax for a day and then go out for adventure for day trips. My wife is not a big fan of packing and unpacking and a feel that we are always on the move.
Ideas suggestions on what we should do.
For accommodation I like some of your high end , but would definitely like some of the airbnb. Just trying ton decide
Sammi says
If you’re renting a car, you can definitely visit Arenal for a couple days especially if you’re going straight from the airport. It is about a 3 hour drive from Liberia to Arenal. Here are some ideas of things to do in Guanacaste besides beach: Costa Rica car rental discount You can get 10-25% off, 2 free drivers and booster seats along with other freebies.
skn says
Just booked the flight for april 2nd week. We will be there for exactly 7 days(6 day since .. 7th day we have a early morning flight).
I would rather stay at Guanacaste all 6 days, but thinking if I should make a run for Arenal side for couple of days then come back to Guanacaste and spend 4 days on the beaches and some R&R.
I have family of 4 with 2 kids( 7 and 12).
So questions
1) Going from Liberia airport to Arenal and back 3 days (if I drive) possible .. or am I rushing it.
2) Guanacaste : what do I do there other than spend time on beaches.
3) airbnb or resorts in Guanacaste ? Priorities are good pool and nice place to relax.
We are active but again its a vacation and dont want to tire ourselves with lots of running around.