Costa Rica 11 Days Itinerary: Rainforest, Volcano, Cloud Forest & Beach

Experience the best of Costa Rica in this 11 day Costa Rica itinerary! Visit La Fortuna for rainforest and volcano, Monteverde for cloud forest and Manuel Antonio for beach. This Costa Rica 11 day itinerary offers plenty of adventure, relaxation and fun. You’ll experience three of the most popular tourist destinations so this itinerary is ideal for first time visitors.

You can use this exact itinerary or if you have more/less days, I’ll tell you how to adjust it. Also included are hotel and restaurant recommendations and ideas for excursions and tours.

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Costa Rica 11 Day Itinerary Details

This itinerary includes your travel days and flying in and out days. If your flight lands very late on your first day, you should stay a night by the airport and then depart the next morning for La Fortuna. Likewise, if your flight is super early on Day 11, you should travel back to San Jose and stay the night near the airport on Day 10.

It gets dark by 6 PM everyday in Costa Rica and we do not recommend driving long routes at night (2+ hours), especially in rainy season.

You will fly in and out of San Jose International Airport. This is the closest international airport for your destinations.

Costa Rica 11 Day Itinerary Transportation

Transportation: This itinerary requires you to rent a car for the most flexibility and to maximize your time in Costa Rica. A high clearance car is required for this specific itinerary in the dry season. If you are visiting in rainy season and have a more adventurous spirit, a 4wd is required. Get our Costa Rica car rental discount and freebies here.

If you don’t want to drive, then book private shuttles. Private shuttles are ideal for groups, families with children/seniors, or those who are not on a strict budget but don’t want to drive. Learn more about shuttles in Costa Rica and request a quote.

You can take the public bus but I don’t recommend it as there aren’t direct routes or frequent schedules. It’s cheap but I don’t suggest it if you’re traveling with infants or seniors with mobility issues. I recommend driving or private shuttles in that case.

Shared shuttles are great for those more on a budget or are solo travelers. The downside to shared shuttles is that they have limited schedules. Many routes have only 1 shuttle in the morning, 1 shuttle in the afternoon. Some routes have just 1 shuttle a day. Additionally, they only pick up/drop off at certain hotels, no Airbnbs, no rentals and no hotels outside their route.

If you do not rent a car, then you will have to rely on booking tours with transportation or taxis/Ubers to get around.

How to Adjust This Costa Rica 11 Days Itinerary

If you have less nights

Remove one night (or two) from Manuel Antonio since this itinerary has 5 nights in Manuel Antonio.

If you have 9 nights, you can do 3 nights La Fortuna, 3 nights Monteverde and 3 nights Manuel Antonio to get a well rounded experience of each place.

For 7 nights, then I recommend 2 nights in La Fortuna, 2 nights in Monteverde and 3 nights in Manuel Antonio.

If you have more nights

To easily turn it into a full 2 week trip, add a night in La Fortuna and a night in Monteverde.

If you want to visit another destination, then I recommend 2 nights in Jaco after Monteverde. Jaco is 1 hour north of Manuel Antonio and a fun, party surf town. However, if you prefer not to stay in big beach town, Hotel Villa Caletas is a beautiful romantic hotel with gorgeous views and luxury rooms, 1.5 hours north of Manuel Antonio. If you’re a birder, Hotel Villa Lapas is a great option, close to Carara National Park.

Day 1: Fly Into SJO, Travel to La Fortuna (~3 Hours Drive)

Welcome to Costa Rica! After you go through immigration and customs, you will then travel onto your first destination in this Costa Rica 11 days itinerary: La Fortuna.

This town is the main tourism hub near Arenal Volcano and boasts plenty of nature, wildlife, adventure, culture and relaxation activities.

Don’t forget to read our La Fortuna 3 days itinerary which also works for 2 and 4 days.

Driving: Pick up your rental car and then drive 3 hours to La Fortuna. If your flight lands after 4 PM, we recommend to stay a night by the airport and then leave for Fortuna next morning so you can drive in the daylight. Read more about the drive from San Jose to La Fortuna!

Shared shuttle: Most shared shuttles have one AM and one PM schedule. You will need to meet your shared shuttle at the Denny’s Restaurant or Fiesta Casino a couple miles away (you can call an Uber from the airport or take the airport taxi) If you cannot catch either of their schedules, then you will need to stay a night in San Jose or book a private shuttle. Here is our list of recommended hotels near SJO Airport.

Private shuttle: Your driver will wait for you directly outside the airport terminal exit to pick you up and take you to La Fortuna straight away. Your service includes a stop along the way for food/bathroom/shopping, etc. Contact us to book your private shuttle!

La Fortuna Hotels

There are many hotels and vacation rentals to choose from in La Fortuna. Here are some of our picks.

• Luxury: Amor Arenal adult only, Royal Corin, The Springs Resort & Spa, Tabacon, Nayara Gardens, Nayara Springs Adult Only, Nayara Tented Camp, Kioro
• Mid range: Los Lagos, Kokoro Volcano View, Volcano Lodge & Springs, Arenal Manoa, Arenal Springs Resort, Magic Mountain, Tifakara Lodge
• Budget/Solo traveler: El Secreto Fortuna, Selina Fortuna, Hotel Las Colinas, Arenal Xilopalo, La Choza Inn
• Nature Lover: Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Oasis Eco Lodge

Nearly all hotels include a hot breakfast except hostels and super cheap hotels. You can read our guide on “Where to Stay in La Fortuna” for more options and details.

Day 2: La Fortuna (Sloth Trail + Chocolate & Coffee Tour)

In case you don’t have a car and need to book tours with transportation included, we offer small discounts for La Fortuna tours here.

In the morning, you’ll do an easy sloths and bird watching tour. Give yourself about 2.5 hours for this guided walk and then head into town for lunch. If you don’t want to book a tour, head to the Bogarin Trail which is right in downtown and within walking distance to the town center. You can do the trail on your own but you should do a guided tour so the guide can point out the wildlife. Self guided entrance fee is $20 USD, no reservations needed. 2 hour guided walk is $45 USD per adult, reservations highly recommended in the high season.

After the walk, go grab some food. Lunch recommendations: Rainforest Cafe or Soda Garra Pata.

After lunch, grab a coffee, ice cream or dessert at Chocolate Fusion to relax, people watch and sit in the town square. If you’re lucky, the cloud may clear up a bit and you can see the classic La Fortuna town scenery with Arenal Volcano in the backdrop of the local church.

Then head to Northfields to do their fun chocolate and coffee tour. They have presentations at 2 and 3 PM in the afternoon. You’ll learn about the history and importance of cacao and coffee in Costa Rica, how to process it and the best part – sample it! You can grab a taxi or call an Uber. From downtown La Fortuna, it is about a 40 minute walk.

After the 2.5 hour presentation, head back to your hotel to nap and rest. You’ll finish the day at the hot springs. If your hotel doesn’t have their own hot springs, Paradise, Ecotermales, Tabacon, The Springs and Baldi are the most popular ones. You can also get dinner at the hot spring resorts. You can call an Uber or ask your hotel to call a taxi for you.

For a romantic experience, Tabacon and The Springs are the best hot spring resorts for couples. We offer a $5 USD discount for The Springs 2 day hot springs pass. They are our favorite hot spring resort with a waterslide, swim up bars, river pools and more!

Day 3: La Fortuna (Arenal Volcano National Park and Lake Arenal Sunset Cruise

Today you’ll visit Arenal Volcano National Park to hike through the lava fields and the peninsula. There are two sections of the national park and you’ll visit both. The two sectors are about a five minute drive apart from one another. You will first do the volcano hike for close up views, and then go to the Lake Arenal sector.

A guide is not required to visit the national park. The trails are well marked and easy to follow to enjoy beautiful views of the volcano and Lake Arenal! We recommend to go in the morning so start your hike at 8 AM and finish by around noon-1PM for both sectors. Make sure to have a good breakfast!

How to Get There Without a Car

If you do not have a car, you can call an Uber to the park entrance and get dropped off there. To get back to town, I saw a few Ubers around. You can try to get the phone number of your Uber driver to arrange a pick up time though, so that you don’t need to take your chances on an Uber. Some people will walk to the main road (about 30 minutes walk) and then wait for the public bus that goes to La Fortuna but this bus is not very often so you will probably be waiting for a bit.

Another option is to book a tour to the Arenal 1968 reserve for a morning hike with roundtrip transportation, guide and entrance fee included. This reserve is right next to the national park with nearly the same views. Another tour you can do is the Peninsula Sector + Lake Arenal boat ride. We offer small discounts for both of these tours which you can get in our La Fortuna tours discount link here.

After the hike, have lunch on the way back to your hotel. Soda La Palma is a good local choice on Route 142 back to La Fortuna. We also like Cafeteria and Retaurante Rain Forest Arenal on Route 142.

Then in the afternoon, you’ll do a La Fortuna night walk to experience the tropical rainforest when the sun goes down. This has to be booked as a tour. Get a discount off this tour here!

Dinner recommendations: Piura, Restaurante Pollo Fortueno, Travesia or Don Rufinos. For a lively night out, Lava Lounge.

More Things to Do in La Fortuna

If you’re interested in other activities, please check our things to do in La Fortuna and Arenal post for more ideas! If you are visiting with your family, check our things to do in La Fortuna with kids blog post to see what tours the kids can participate.

We also have a discount for all the mentioned tours in La Fortuna which you can get in the link (lots of other tours offered).

Day 4: Travel to Monteverde (~3.5 Hr Drive)

Today you’ll travel to Monteverde, the town up in the tropical cloud forest. Sleep in and enjoy your last morning in La Fortuna. After you check out, fill up on gas and pick up some snacks and drinks. There are some gorgeous country views during the drive and you’ll want to go slow to enjoy them. You’ll also have to drive carefully as it’s an mostly unpaved windy road.

If the weather is good and you leave in the morning, you can stop by Viento Fresco Waterfall on the way. 4×4 access only and must be in decent condition to walk down steps.

You can get lunch along the way, there are several roadside restaurants. Restaurante Brisas del Lago is about halfway and very good.

If you’re not renting a car, we highly recommend taking the taxi-car-taxi across Lake Arenal. This service picks you up at your hotel in Fortuna, takes you to Lake Arenal to ride the boat across and then picks you up on the other side to take you to your hotel in Monteverde. Contact us to book this transfer!

Monteverde Hotel Recommendations

Most of the lodging in Monteverde consists of lodges, country inns, cabins, and boutique hotels. Tons of vacation rentals/Airbnbs.

• High end: Hotel Belmar, Senda, El Establo, Ocotea Boutique Hotel, Koora, Chira Glamping
• Mid range: Poco a Poco, Monteverde Country Lodge, Scala Monteverde, Monteverde Lodge & Gardens, Bella Vista Lodge Monteverde, Los Pinos Lodge and Gardens, Hotel Arco Iris. 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.
• Budget: Selina Monteverde, Monteverde Backpackers, Cabinas Vista Al Golfo

Day 5: Monteverde (Cloud Forest Hike)

Today you’ll visit the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve in the morning for a hike. We recommend to get there around 8-9 AM. You can go on your own or book a tour with a guide. If you really love hiking and prefer to go at your own pace, we recommend to go on your own. You can purchase reserve tickets at the door and download their map. Plan for around 3 hours at the reserve and trails are well marked.

If you do not have a car, there are buses to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve from downtown Santa Elena to the reserve at 615 AM, 730 AM, 930 AM, 120 PM and 3 PM. Costs $3 USD one way. There is a bus back at 640AM, 830 AM, 11 AM, 2 PM and 4 PM. Costs $3 USD one way. You can also get a taxi or see if there are Ubers around.

If you are a birder, we recommend a morning birdwatching tour at Curi Cancha Reserve instead. If you want to visit another cloud forest reserve that isn’t as busy as Monteverde, head to the Bosque Nuboso Santa Elena Reserva instead. That one is our favorite, it’s even higher in elevation, normally less people and feels even more tropical cloud foresty! You can do a self guided hike and there is a cheap shuttle bus that goes to Santa Elena Reserve from downtown.

If you go to Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, have lunch at Stellas after your hike. You can also stop by the Colibri Cafe right outside the reserve.

After a good lunch, visit a super cool spot very close to downtown Santa Elena, the Ficus Root Bridge. Great spot for photos! This spot is 10 minutes walking from town center. You only need about 30 minutes here.

Then around 5 PM, head straight to the Mirador Valle Escondido Preserve to watch the sunset. This is in walking distance from downtown Santa Elena (25 minutes).

For dinner, we recommend Tramonti for Italian, Taco Taco or Restaurante Sabor Tico for local food. If you want to do something special for your last night in Monteverde, make a reservation at the San Lucas Treetop Dining Experience.

Day 6: Monteverde Ziplining + Hanging Bridges and Travel to Manuel Antonio (~4 Hour Drive)

Day 6 of your 11 day Costa Rica itinerary is a a very fun and busy day! You’ll do the hanging bridges and zipline tour at Selvatura Park. Afterwards, you will head straight to Manuel Antonio for beach time.

Selvatura Park includes free transportation from hotels in Santa Elena if you book their packages. If you book any individual activity, there is an extra fee. The zipline + hanging bridges package is the Gold Pack.

You have to start your activities at 830 AM to finish around noon. Have a quick lunch at the park’s restaurant and then plug in your GPS to your hotel in Manuel Antonio!

This drive takes around 3.5 hours and as soon as you get down the mountain from Monteverde, the drive is super easy on a highway all the way down to the south.

If you do not have a car, then the only option to get to Manuel Antonio after Selvatura Park is a private shuttle. There are no shared shuttles from Monteverde to Manuel Antonio in the afternoon. You won’t be able to take the public bus either. If you don’t have a car and don’t want or can’t to book a private shuttle, it’ll be better to skip Selvatura Park and head directly to Manuel Antonio by bus or shared shuttle.

Make sure to stop at the Crocodile Bridge to see the giant crocodiles and you can get a snack at one of the roadside restaurants there. Then drive through Jaco to see the biggest beach town in Costa Rica. If you’re still hungry, there are a ton of food options in Jaco.

Manuel Antonio Hotels

There are a lot of hotels and vacation rentals in Manuel Antonio and this area is pricey. If you’re on a strict budget, find a hotel in Quepos or a hostel.

But if you want to splurge on a nice beach resort, Manuel Antonio is definitely the place to do it in Costa Rica!

• High end: Hotel La Mariposa, Tulemar, Shana By the Beach, Parador, Arenas del Mar, Si Como No, Issimo Suites Adults Only, Makanda By the Sea Adults only, Gaia Adults Only, Los Altos resort
• Mid range: Hotel Plaza Yara, Villas Lirio, Jungle Beach Hotel, Tico Tico Villas
• Funky: Igloo Beach Lodge (igloos), Hotel Costa Verde (hotel converted from a plane), El Faro Beach (containers)
• There are a handful of hostels like Hostel Manuel Antonio, Hostel Plinio, Hostel Pura Vida and Pura Vida Mini Hostel Manuel Antonio. Wide Mouth Frog Hostel is in Quepos.

Day 7: Manuel Antonio Relax

Now you have 4 full days to enjoy Manuel Antonio, famous for its beautiful white sand beaches and lush rainforest.

Day 7 is your day to just relax. Do nothing. Lay by the pool. Nap. Sleep in. Read a book on the balcony. You can wander down to the beach or wander around town to check out the area. Get a massage, do yoga, meditate, recharge.

If you’re visiting with your family, check out our things to do in Manuel Antonio with kids blog post for ideas.

If you’d like to do something that day, we highly recommend a night walk to see creatures and critters of the night. Manuel Antonio is a fantastic place to see animals like frogs, snakes, insects, spiders and other nocturnal wildlife. Get a discount for the Manuel Antonio night walk here!

Day 8: Manuel Antonio National Park

On day 8 of your Costa Rica 11 days itinerary, you’ll visit Manuel Antonio National Park. We highly recommend hiring a naturalist guide. You can book a tour with transportation (get our Manuel Antonio tours discount here) or go on your own.

If you go on your own, make sure you purchase your park tickets online beforehand. If you are visiting in peak tourism season such as Christmas, New Years, Easter Week or your spring break, buy your park tickets at least 3-4 weeks before. As this national park sells a limited number of tickets a day and is the most popular park in the country, they sell out FAST during peak season.

If you drive, drive all the way to the park entrance and park in one of the lots in front of it. You can find a guide at the park entrance (ask for their ICT certification) and I recommend an hour guided walk. No car? Take the public bus that goes from Quepos to the beach every half an hour and then walk 10 minutes to the park entrance. You can also call an Uber.

Spend a good few hours at the park to swim, hike, relax, sunbathe, nap and enjoy one of the most beautiful national parks in the world! There is a cafeteria inside the national park for snacks and drinks as you cannot bring food inside the park or single use plastics.

Important: once you leave the park, you cannot go back in so once you are done at the park and are hungry, you can visit one of the restaurants right outside such as El Chante del Parque (typical food). There are also many restaurants by the beach, a 5 minute walk away.

We also really like Rafaels Las Terrazas, Cafe Agua Azul and El Patio de Cafe Milagro up the hill (must drive). Those are great places for happy hour and to watch the sunset.

Day 9: Ziplining, Surf Lessons or White Water Rafting

On day 9, you’ll embark on some fun outdoor adventures! Go ziplining, take a surf lesson or go white water rafting. Ziplining is about a 3 hour activity, a surf lesson is a 2 hour activity and white water rafting is usually a full day for the Class 2 and 3 and Class 3 and 4 rapid.

You can also do an afternoon snorkeling catamaran cruise (dry season only). If you’re visiting during the rainy season from May through November, the morning cruise is available.

If you’re interested in these adventures, you can book it with our Manuel Antonio tours discount here.

Day 10: Manuel Antonio Up to You!

For your last day in Costa Rica, it is up to you what you want to do! I personally recommend just relaxing and enjoying the hotel pool. If anything, end your trip with a bang with a parasailing tour from the beach outside the national park. Though it’s a bit expensive, it’s absolutely worth it for the killer unforgettable views.

I did this with my parents and it was truly one of the best bonding moments we’ve ever had! We went with Aguas Azules. It would also be a wonderful activity to do with your new spouse for a romantic experience.

This was the best way to end our time in Manuel Antonio, with epic views and a splash of heart pumping adventure.

Day 11: Fly Out of SJO

Today you will fly home! The drive from Manuel Antonio to San Jose International Airport is approximately 3 hours without traffic.

I recommend leaving with plenty of time to arrive 3 hours before your departure flight. That way, you will have enough time to return the rental car and get to the airport and account for any delays along the way.

So if your flight is at 4 PM, I recommend to leave at 9 AM the latest in case you run into any traffic or delays. You can also stop on the way for food and bathroom without rush.

However, if your flight departs at noon or earlier, I recommend to drive the airport on Day 10, return your rental car and spend your last night near the airport. That way, you don’t have to worry about any delays on the road, especially if you are visiting during Christmas, Easter or rainy season. Here are our recommendations for hotels near SJO Airport. We offer a 10% promo code “mytanfeet” for Adventure Inn, a great hotel near the airport with free airport shuttle.

Other Costa Rica Itineraries

1 month Costa Rica itinerary

5 days in San Jose, Costa Rica

5 days in Tamarindo, Costa Rica

10 days Costa Rica itinerary: Bijagua, Bajos del Toro, Manuel Antonio

Read ALL of our Costa Rica itineraries here!

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