Are you looking for sample itineraries for your Costa Rica trip? Look no further! In this post, I have outlined our favorite Costa Rica itinerary ideas. You’ll find recommendations for itineraries of 4 days to 2 weeks.
We have created many itineraries for our family and friends and Yeison did it for during his 20’s when he worked for a tour company so we know exactly how complicated and frustrating it can get. Even though Costa Rica is a small country, there are so many places to see! So we have written these itineraries to help you out and feel free to change them up according to your own wants and needs.
We have done all of them ourselves so that we give you the best information and recommendations.
What You Will Find In These Costa Rica Itinerary Ideas
Destination Information
Each itinerary contains a short snippet of important information about each destination such as what the place is known for, who should visit and the highlights of the area.
Transportation
How to get there by plane, bus, car and shuttle (also boat if there is one). Distance and driving times from SJO and LIR Airport. Also has information on how to get around each destination.
Where to stay
Our recommendations for hotels, hostels, lodges and Airbnb/vacation rentals.
Where to eat
Our recommendations for restaurants. Where to find local food and our favorite places.
What to do
Our recommendations for things to do. I always put a list of our favorite things to do with a short description.
Budget
An estimation of how much you will spend for that itinerary, particularly on hotels and tours.
Extra Travel Tips
Miscellaneous travel tips related to that particular itinerary. Things to know about certain destinations, tours, etc. Recommendations for other beaches and towns to visit/stay nearby. What to pack. The weather. All that kind of good stuff so you are prepared for your trip.
Discounts
We include our own Mytanfeet exclusive discounts so you can save $$ on car rentals, hotels and tours. We also include helpful links to other posts and resources in the itineraries so you can get more information.
I’ll be updating this post whenever I write new itineraries so don’t forget to check back!
Costa Rica Itinerary Two Weeks: Arenal, Monteverde, Santa Teresa, Playas del Coco
2 Week Costa Rica Itinerary: Volcano, Cloud Forest and Beach
Two Week Itinerary: Tortuguero, Arenal, Monteverde, Guanacaste
An Incredible Two Weeks in Costa Rica Itinerary: Discover the Caribbean and Pacific
Two Week Itinerary: Tamarindo, Monteverde, Bijagua and Rincon de la Vieja
14 Day Costa Rica Itinerary: Playa Tamarindo, Bijagua, Monteverde, Rincon de la Vieja
Costa Rica Itinerary 10 Days Chasing Waterfalls: Rincon de la Vieja, Bijagua, Grecia and Manuel Antonio
For the Waterfall Lovers: 10 Days in Costa Rica Chasing Waterfalls
10 Day Itinerary: San Jose, Puerto Viejo and Manuel Antonio
A 10 Day Costa Rica Itinerary: Caribbean, Central Valley and Beach
One Week Itinerary: Jaco, Manuel Antonio and Uvita
Costa Rica Itinerary 5 Days in Guanacaste
5 Day Itinerary San Jose
Ideas for a Short Trip: Sample 5 Day San Jose, Costa Rica Itinerary
5 Day Itinerary Arenal and Monteverde
5 Day Arenal and Monteverde Itinerary For the Outdoor Adventurer
Costa Rica 4 Days Itinerary Playas del Coco
If you would like more in-depth help to create a custom itinerary, we do offer consultations. You can check our Ask Us page to learn more.
Sammi says
Hi Hannah, my recommendation would be to stay somewhere in Guanacaste as your base so you will be at the beach, and then you can do a day trip to La Fortuna for volcano/rainforest and then up to Rio Celeste or Rincon de la Vieja for waterfalls and hikes. I wrote a sample itinerary here: https://mytanfeet.com/costa-rica-travel-tips/5-day-itinerary-in-guanacaste/
Hannah says
Hello!
My girlfriends and I are planning a 4 day Costa Rica trip from my bachelorette party. We want to do a short/easy hike, see the waterfalls, rainforest, volcano, beach, and also have down/relaxing time. We are not looking to party and are more interested in experiencing the outdoors (but nothing strenuous) and just relax. Any suggestions? We aren’t set on which part of the country to stay at and which airport since we want to see which area would make more sense first. This trip will be Mid April of next year.
Thank you so much!
Hannah
Abbey says
Hello,
Thank you so much for all the wonderful information you have provided! This will be my first international solo trip and I have spent hours reading your blog trying to plan my trip for May. Your sample itineraries have really helped me to narrow down my options. I will be in Tamarindo for 6 days for a surf camp, then I have another 10 days before I fly out of San Jose. I would like to split my time between Monteverde and La Fortuna. I am fairly active and adventurous so I’m looking forward to hiking, zip lining, canyoning, white water rafting, etc. My question is would it be worth me adding in another town/city during this time? I saw that there are day trip opportunities to Rio Celeste which I would love to do. Would it be worth me staying a day or 2 in Bijagua to maximize my chances of getting some good weather? Or is there somewhere else that is accessible without a car? I am hoping to not rent a car for the entire trip, but would be open to getting one for part of the trip if needed.
Any insight you may have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Abbey, I’m glad the blog has been helpful!
You can do a day trip from La Fortuna to Rio Celeste which I recommend to do instead because getting to and from Bijagua is a bit tricky if you don’t have a car and for a solo traveler. There isn’t a bus that goes directly to Rio Celeste, all the shuttles and buses will drop you off in Bijagua and then you will need to take a taxi to the national park which is around $40 one way. There is a shuttle from Monteverde to Bijagua with Quality transfers but it requires 2 passengers minimum and there isn’t one from La Fortuna.
It’ll be a lot easier to do a day trip. There is a company called Arenalevergreen that provides daily shuttles and round trip transportation for $50 per person. This is a non guided hike – it only includes transportation so you will need to pay for the entrance fee, any food and water and the hike will be on your own. You can also do a tour which includes transportation, guide, lunch and entrance fees. We have a 10% discount with Jacamar Naturalist Tours in La Fortuna and we can check to see if there are any tours already running that you can join as a solo traveler. Just let us know if you would be interested.
Marion Rogers says
Hello!, me and my boyfriend(20&29 yo) will be traveling to Costa Rica in late July and early August for 20 days. We love beaches and just chilling there, and we also like all kinds of activities! like raffting, canyoning, ziplining, parasailing, hiking, etc, Anything that gets our adrenaline kicking!
We have come up with a possible itinerary but we will like to hear your opinion as well!
Day 1-2: San Jose
Day 2-5: 3 nights in Manuel Antonio(were we would like to parasail, go to the beaches and the NP)
Day 5-10: 5 nights in La Fortuna ( this is were we ideally would be doing most of the adventure activities and visiting waterfalls and hot springs)
Day 10-13: 3 nights in Tamarindo( we are planning on relaxing here and having fun!. I’m also interested in Diamante park because of their zipline, do you think it’s worth it to spend a day there? and it is possible to get there on public transportation?
Day 13-15: 2 nights in Monteverde( to do maybe one fun activity and see the cloud forest(?)
Day 15-19: 4 nights in Puerto Viejo( to enjoy the beaches that are in that area punta uva, cahuita NP)
Day 19-20: San Jose
My questions are: Do you think this itinerary is doable? we will be depending mostly on public transportation and maybe some shared shuttles.
Will you change something? add a place or omit some?
Our budget is pretty restricted, around 100-150 usd per day for the both of us.( not counting the flights)
Sammi says
Hi Marion, that’s a good itinerary and I would recommend taking shared shuttles for all your destinations because there aren’t direct buses to most of your routes (La Fortuna to Tamarindo requires 4 buses, Monteverde to PV requires 2, etc.) and shared shuttles will pick you up and drop you off directly at your hotel. They’re a bit more expensive but it’s the best way to save time and the hassle of switching buses (without renting a car). We have a 10% discount with Interbus, a shared shuttle company and you can email us at hello@mytanfeet.com if you’d like quotes.
For activities, we have a 10% discount with Jacamar Naturalist tours in La Fortuna for most of the tours in Arenal. You can check out the discount here: Arenal and La Fortuna tours discount and read what our favorite activities to do there are: Things to do in Arenal and La Fortuna
If you like adventure, I would definitely do the white water rafting trip at Rio Pacuare. This and canyoning are my two favorite outdoor activities and the Pacuare River is stunning with Class 3 and 4 (and 4+) rapids. You can read about it here: Rio Pacuare white water rafting discount. You can do this tour as an interconnection between Puerto Viejo to San Jose so the company we work with, Rios Tropicales will pick you up at Puerto Viejo, take you rafting and then drop you off at San Jose so you save money on a transfer and you can go rafting instead of sitting on a shuttle all day. It’s $105 per adult but we have a $10 discount and it includes breakfast, lunch, the rafting and the transfer so it’s a super great value!
Diamante is also really fun but there is no way to get there via public transportation. Diamante offers round trip transportation from Tamarindo for $30 per person and we also have a 10% discount with them you can read more here: Diamante discount and here is our post on Diamante: Diamante Eco Adventure Park But I think if you go ziplining in La Fortuna or Monteverde, you don’t necessarily need to go again in Diamante since for my personal opinion, the ziplines in La Fortuna and Montevede like Sky Trek, Selvatura and 100% Aventura are more fun. Diamante is great but their zipline is a bit short since they focus on having one long cable with an ocean view. The others take you through the rain and cloud forests. And you will most likely see a lot of wildlife in the destinations where you’re going so you can see animals in the wild as opposed to their zoo.
Your budget can be doable depending on what tours you do and what hotels you stay at. You’ll need to stay in pretty cheap places if you want to do tours since some tours are around $75-100 or more. For example, Diamante is $118 per person for the Adventure Pass (ziplining, animal sanctuary, botanical garden, beach) or $78 pp for the zipline (not including our 10% discount). Canyoning in La Fortuna is $101 per person, SkyTrek ziplining in Arenal is $81 per person. So tours will take up a good chunk of your budget but if you find some cheap places to stay and eat cheap, it is doable since you won’t be doing tours every day. You can read more about how much it costs to travel in Costa Rica here: Cost of traveling in Costa Rica
If you’d like more in-depth itinerary help, please refer to our consultation services here so we can provide the best answer: Ask Mytanfeet
Tanks for reading Mytanfeet!
Dieter Rachal says
We will be flying into San Jose and stay for 9 days in Bejuco at the end of May. I hope we did not isolate ourselves too much from the best itineraries. We will have a car but again I don’t want to spend all of our time driving. Any suggestions? Oh yeah, I love your website, so much great information.
Dieter
Sammi says
Hi Dieter, from Bejuco you’re close to Jaco, Carara National Park, Manuel Antonio, Dominical, Uvita and all of the Central/South Pacific. Those will be your closest destinations and are all within a 20 minute – 2 hour drive.