5 Day Guanacaste Itinerary for a Quick Visit

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 our Hacienda El Viejo discount and book your activities here!

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.

5 day San Jose itinerary