Planning a large group trip to Costa Rica for the first time can seem complicated and stressful. However, it doesn’t have to be! With so many more direct flights from the USA, Canada and Europe, there is a good chance that you are just one plane ride away from Central American tropical paradise.
In this post, we will help you plan a large group trip to Costa Rica without booking a group travel package. You can book flights and accommodation on your own and then use a company like Mytanfeet to help you with your transportation and tours.
By the end, you’ll feel absolutely confident in being able to easily plan an epic group trip to Costa Rica, whether it’s a bachelor party, girl’s getaway or multi generational family reunion.
This post has affiliate links which we may earn a small commission from if you choose to purchase.
Costa Rica Facts
- Capital city is San Jose
- In Central America. Nicaragua is to the north, Panama to the south
- Official language is Spanish with many indigenous languages spoken. English is widely spoken in touristic areas like Tamarindo, Playas del Coco, Samara, Nosara, Santa Teresa, Dominical, Uvita, Jaco, Manuel Antonio, Puerto Viejo de Limon and La Fortuna.
- Currency: the Colon. Current exchange rate approximately 515 CRC to 1 USD. Read about handling money in Costa Rica
- GMT-6 time zone.
- Drives on right hand side of road
- Uses 110 Volts
- Two major international airports: Juan Santamaria International Airport in Alajuela province (airport code SJO) and Guanacaste Airport in Guanacaste province (airport code LIR).
Planning Your Costa Rica Large Group Trip Logistics
Before you dive into the fun part of vacation planning, you have to solidify the logistics, most importantly, length of your trip.
Plan Ahead to Determine Your Days Off First
For large groups, we highly recommend to start planning your trip around a year out, especially if your group is thinking about visiting for Christmas, New Years or spring break (peak tourism season).
For a large group of multiple families, you need a lot of time to gather the trip logistics. The biggest advantage is if you start planning a year in advance, you will have more accommodation options. You can get really good rates for booking early.
For families with kids in school, you will most likely be limited to summer/spring/winter break. Read about March, April, June, July, August and December here.
When is the Best Time to Visit Costa Rica For Your Group?
For the best weather in Costa Rica, the dry season months of December through April. However, that is the most expensive time of the year and the most crowded. For the cheapest prices and less crowds: May, September and October. But those are the rainiest months for the majority of the country.
Read our guide “Costa Rica by month” and “best time to visit Costa Rica” to help you decide which month is best for your Costa Rica large group trip.
If your group has a main interest in mind, for example, fishing, scuba diving, surfing or birding, then you should research the best months and the best destinations to visit Costa Rica for those.
Real Life Examples
Group of 6 Adults: My brother and his friend group from Seattle came to visit for 2 weeks. Originally, they wanted October to celebrate a birthday but October is the rainiest month for most of the country. They were not on a strict budget, but weren’t looking for luxury 5 star lodging the whole time either.
Since they were all first time visitors to Costa Rica, they decided against October and chose August instead. Even though August is also during the rainy season, it’s not quite as rainy and August still offers cheaper prices and less crowds.
Group of 18 multi generational family: When my mom’s friend brought 17 of her family members to Costa Rica (4 daughters, 3 spouses, 9 grandchildren and 1 friend) for 9 days, they chose July. The kids were on summer vacation, July has what we call a “little summer” where it stops raining and they didn’t want to go during spring or winter break.
Designate One Person as the Main Travel Planner
If someone is good at travel planning, designate that person as your main itinerary planner. For those coming with multiple families, you should appoint one point of contact per family. Then everyone can research on their own what they want to do.
Our Tip for Staying Organized: I love Google Sheets and My Maps. I always use those when creating large group trips to Costa Rica. Excel is great for the different sheets to keep track of everything. I use My Maps to map out the trip. There are also apps like TripCase and TripIt for trip organization.
What’s Your Costa Rica Large Group Trip Budget?
Budget will be a big factor if you have people on tight budgets. Costa Rica is NOT a cheap country to travel to. The further you plan in advance, the more time you have to save money for your trip.
Even though there are individual elements such as flights, tours and meals out, there will most likely be some shared expenses such as transportation and accommodation if you are not booking individual hotel rooms. Accommodation can take up a huge chunk of the budget, especially over the winter holidays and spring break.
If everyone is your group is really tight on $$, then September and October are the best months. Those are the cheapest months to travel in Costa Rica. Avoid December through April. The trade off is the weather, as September and October are the rainiest months for most of the country. However, they could then take a look at the Caribbean side. October is actually their summer and is not a terribly expensive destination.
Read our guide How Much it Costs to Travel to Costa Rica to get an idea of estimated budgets.
Where to Stay For Your Costa Rica Large Group Trip: Destinations
After deciding when your large group will visit Costa Rica, it’s now time to choose where to go.
Depending on your group size, these are the options.
Option 1: Choose a Home Base
Base yourself in one location for your entire time in Costa Rica. This option is popular among large multi generational families, especially those with seniors, infants and babies. It’s less hassle, less stressful and less planning.
For my mom’s friend’s group of 18, they chose to base themselves at the Westin Conchal for the entire 8 night stay. She treated her entire family and did not want to do any more planning. As the Westin Conchal is an all-inclusive resort, food and activities were easily taken care of.
Option 2: Plan an Itinerary with Multiple Destinations
For my brother’s group of 6 adults, I created a full two week Costa Rica itinerary for them. They wanted to see and do a lot and had no problem driving. In two weeks, they went to 4 different destinations and went on a bunch of excursions.
Option 3: Plan an Itinerary with Two Destinations
If your group wants to see a bit more of Costa Rica, then a two destination itinerary is perfectly feasible, even for larger groups.
Here are some of our sample 2 destination itineraries. All of these itineraries go to both the rainforest and beach.
8 Days Costa Rica itinerary: La Fortuna and Playas del Coco flying into Guanacaste Airport. 3 hour drive from airport – La Fortuna, 4 hour drive from La Fortuna – Playas del Coco and 30 minute drive from Playas del Coco – airport.
1 Week Family Itineraries: La Fortuna + Manuel Antonio and Samara + Bijagua. First itinerary flies into San Jose International Airport with 3-5 hour average travel times. Second itinerary flies into Guanacaste Airport with 2-4 average travel times.
Real Life Example from Our Readers
Below is a real itinerary from a reader. With a multi generational family of 10 people, they decided on the Caribbean coast as they were visiting in October. They decided on Tortuguero and Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, the two main tourist destinations in the Caribbean. October is the summer month on the Caribbean side, despite it being the rainiest months for the rest of the country.
My family of 10 adult kids and grandkids are going for 10 days. We are planning 3 nights in Tortuguero and then going to Puerto Viejo for 5 nights and then going back to San Jose.
Here is another one that did a four destination itinerary in 9 days. They flew in and out of San Jose International Airport. They stayed 3 nights in La Fortuna, 2 nights in Manuel Antonio, 2 nights in Uvita and 1 night in San Jose.
We are a group of 10 adults that will be landing at SJO, going to La Fortuna, Manuel Antonio, Uvita and San Jose.
Finding Accommodation For Your Large Group’s Costa Rica Vacation
Now, accommodation. Accommodation can be tricky if you’re a large group that all want to stay together in one unit. You will need to find a destination in Costa Rica that offers more large vacation rentals. These are places like Tamarindo, Langosta, Samara, Dominical, Uvita, Jaco, Manuel Antonio, Puerto Viejo and La Fortuna.
Sometimes, you’ll decide where to go in Costa Rica based on your accommodation. Some people first look for a place that can accommodate their entire group and then simply choose that place to go because they found a rental that worked for them.
If you are looking for a vacation house, the best places to look are Airbnb and VRBO. Some hotels may offer a large villa or casita but availability can be extremely slim if you’re booking last minute during the high season.
You can rent out entire hotels for events for your group. We once assisted a 50-60 person wedding party that rented out an entire hotel, Santarena Hotel in Las Catalinas.
Pros of a Vacation Rental
Private space, usually a luxury home, beautiful views, has a kitchen so you can cook your own meals, usually has laundry, feels like home.
Cons of a Vacation Rental
No daily house keeping*, no included breakfast*, tour operators do not usually provide pick up/drop off service to Airbnbs or vacation rentals**, not in town center so will need a car to get around
*Some vacation rentals offer house keeping and chef services for an extra charge.
**This depends on the operator and this rule applies to shared services. If your rental has a name and is on Google Maps/Waze, then sometimes the operator can offer transportation from there.
We have stayed in large vacation rentals a few times with groups. Once at a lovely one in La Fortuna called Arenal Luxury Paradise (up to 8 people). Another time at Posada Colonial in La Fortuna (up to 12 people. One more time at Por Que No in Uvita (up to 8 people).
Real Life Examples
Example 1: We are a large group of 10 adults and 4 kids ages 8, 10, 12 and 14 so it best suits us to have one home base and travel for our adventures. One of our readers booked a vacation rental in Hacienda Pinilla, a huge luxury development near Tamarindo. Hacienda Pinilla has a lot of big houses specifically built to be vacation rentals.
Example 2: I’m looking for a villa to celebrate my mom’s birthday, we are 8 people. This was from a reader who decided to go to Uvita. We helped her book a house at Manoas. In addition to their glamping tents, they have a 4 bedroom and 4 bathroom home on a gorgeous property with a yoga deck and river.
Example 3: We are 6 adults and 6 children (ages 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, and 8) arriving at the Malinche Palace vacation home in Coco Guanacaste. This amazing 8 bedroom house is actually in Playa Ocotal on the top of a hill with an amazing view.
Example 4: The group is 9 adults, 6 children over 12, and 9 under 12 for a total of 22 people and we have reservations at Playa Langosta. In Playa Langosta, there are many huge luxury houses for rent, some beach front, some just a few minutes walk away.
Example 5: We are a group of 9 people made up of 3 families and want different rooms. This group was 1 couple (grandparents), 1 couple with 1 child and 1 couple with 2 kids. They chose Los Lagos Spa and Resort in La Fortuna as it has nice family amenities and they wanted hotel services like daily house keeping and a free hot breakfast.
Example 6: There are 8 of us in total in our group (4 adults and 4 children) and we’re staying at a house in Dominical in Lagunas Estates. This gorgeous house is on VRBO and can accommodate up to 12 people.
Booking Tours
Trying to find tours for everyone to do can be one of the hardest parts of booking a large group trip to Costa Rica. Everyone has their own bucket list and budget.
Visiting La Fortuna with multiple families? Check out our list of Best Things to Do in La Fortuna with Kids. Tours are broken down by age so you can see what tours the kids can do.
Visiting Manuel Antonio with your families? Check out our list of things to do in Manuel Antonio with kids. Tours are also broken down by age.
Our Recommendations
Tip 1: If you are visiting during the high season December through April and would like any private tour, book those early. I recommend at least 4-6 months out. This is especially true if you have a larger group and are coming during Holy Week and Christmas and New Years week. Private tour guides book out early. If you are visiting in the slower months May through November, you don’t need to book quite that early. A month out is OK.
Tip 2: Ask for group discounts. Tour companies are happy to give group discounts. It depends on the company, but group discounts can be for parties 8+. We offer discounts for tours in Costa Rica and are happy to give even more group discounts (just put the request in the comment section).
Tip 3: Ask each point of contact per family to decide what their “must do” is. See whose overlap to book tours together. The bigger the group, the more likely you can get a group discount.
Tip 4: There are minimum age restrictions for all outdoor activities, so make sure you check the minimum age. For families with babies, infants and young kids, you will have to designate an adult to stay behind with those that cannot participate in the excursion.
Tip 5: Always ask what the group cancellation policy is as they are normally stricter.
Should You Book a Private Tour? For bigger groups, we highly recommend a private tour. It’s great for activities like a national park hike, night walk or full day sightseeing. A private tour is great for babies or seniors with mobility issues. That way, the guide can focus all their attention on just your family. On shared tours, you have to stick to the schedule. The guide must divide his attention to many people at once.
Our favorite private sightseeing day trip in Guanacaste: The Guanacaste rainforest and sloth tour. This day trip goes to a waterfall, a rainforest reserve to hike hanging bridges and a private local reserve to see sloths. Tour picks up from Playas del Coco, Liberia, Papagayo Peninsula, Tamarindo and Flamingo.
Booking Transportation
How your group gets around depends on your itinerary. The best way is to rent a car. However, if nobody in the group wants to drive, then private shuttles will be your next best option.
We do not recommend shared shuttle services for larger groups, especially those with seniors and kids. A private shuttle will be much more comfortable, convenient and can be more cost effective for large groups. Read more about Costa Rica shuttles and you can contact us to assist you with your private shuttle booking.
Thinking about driving in Costa Rica for your Costa Rica large group trip? Check out our Renting a Car in Costa Rica blog post and get our Costa Rica car rental discount to save some $$. If you need to rent multiple cars, please put a note in the comment section of the reservation booking so we can check if we can get you a group discount.
Here are our recommendations.
One Home Base at an All Inclusive Resort
If your group is staying at an all inclusive resort the whole time, we recommend private shuttles and booking tours. Renting a car is not really that necessary since you will be spending most of your time in the resort and day trips will include roundtrip transportation. If you prefer to explore on your own, you could rent a car for a couple days instead of the entire time.
One Home Base at a Vacation Rental
We recommend to rent a car. Most vacation rentals are in local neighborhoods outside of the town center, so they are not in short walking distances to restaurants, the beach or shops. Many tour operators do not pick up and drop off at vacation rentals either.
Another option is to book private shuttles to get to and from the airport to your vacation rental and then rent a car for your time there to be able to get around on your own. This is a great option to avoid driving long distances.
Multiple Destinations
You can rent a car for your entire time or book private shuttles and rent a car for your time in the place. My brother and his group of 6 rented a 7 pax SUV for their entire 2 weeks since they wanted to have flexibility and go around to explore on their own time.
They dropped off extra luggage at my house because otherwise, the 7 pax SUV would not have fit all 6 of them and their check in bags. They cut it down so everyone had one carry on and a small backpack or fanny pack. His group were all shorter, leaner Asians so they did two in front, three in middle and one in the back and used the extra seats for luggage. This will not work if your group is taller or larger due to size of the seats.
Renting a Car or Cars For Your Large Group
If you want to rent a car or cars for your group, then there are some extremely important things to know.
Do Not Wait Until Last Minute to Book in the High Season
The larger vans and 7 passenger SUVs book out very early during the peak tourism season: Christmas, New Years and Holy Week. Do NOT wait until last minute to book. You should be booking these vehicles at least 4-6 months out. By October rolls around, many times all of the vans are already booked for the last two weeks of December.
You May Need to Rent One, Two, Three Cars
Depending on how big your party is and what availability is like. Here are some examples.
For groups of 7 with luggage: You can rent a passenger van. Usually they are 9, 12 or 15 passenger vehicles but it depends on the company you rent with. Our partner, Adobe Rent a Car’s biggest vehicle is the 9/11 passenger Hyundai Staria. It can fit 9 passengers with luggage and 11 without. Some other companies offer a Toyota Hiace that is for 15 people.
If no vans are available, you will then need to rent two mid size 5 passenger SUVs. The 7 passenger SUV will not fit 7 people with luggage, there is little trunk space with all rows of seats used.
For groups of 10 adults with luggage: Two full size 7 passenger SUV to comfortably fit everyone and their luggage. Another option is the 9 passenger van, the Staria + a sedan or compact SUV if you need a 4wd and if everyone is bringing a ton of luggage.
For groups of 14 people with luggage: A Hyundai Staria + Full size 7 passenger SUV to comfortably fit everybody. And if everyone is bringing a ton of luggage, then two Hyundai Staria vans.
One Person Per Contract
If your group is renting multiple cars, the best way to do it is open each contract under a different name. The reason for this is because car rental companies will require you to pay for the entirety of the reservation plus put down a deposit at the same time. In case your credit card doesn’t have enough funds to cover all of the reservations, you will need someone else to put the reservation under their name.
Furthermore, if you plan to use your credit card car rental insurance, they only allow one reservation at a time using the credit card insurance, per credit card. The person who is paying for the reservation has to be the same person using their credit card insurance and the cardholder has to be present.
Don’t forget to check our Costa Rica car rental discount to get rental discounts and freebies like two free additional drivers, free baby/booster seats, free cooler and more! Rememeber to write you’re renting multiple cars so we can check to get you an extra discount.
Booking Private Shuttles
Private shuttles are a great way to go for any group who doesn’t want to deal with driving.
Many private transfer companies can accommodate groups of up to 8 people. The bigger companies will have units that can hold up to 28 people so that everyone can stay together.
Why You Should Book Private Shuttles For Your Large Group
NO driving! No stress of finding a rental car, driving or mapping out routes. Private shuttle services offer door to door service anywhere and can even go to vacation rentals as long as they can find it on the map. You will have the entire vehicle for just your group. You can also ask them to do a stopover along the way (for an extra fee).
How to Get Around Your Destination If You Don’t Rent a Car?
Without a rental car, you will need to rely on walking, booking tours with transportation included or calling taxis to get around once you arrive to your destination. But like I mentioned, many people will rent a car once they arrive to their accommodations, so that they avoid driving the long routes and just have a car to drive around locally.
More Questions?
Although we do not offer travel packages or tour groups, we have written a lot of sample Costa Rica itineraries on the blog.
In case you require assistance with your rental car, shuttles or tours booking, please feel free to contact us and we will help you as much as possible.
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.
Sandhya says
We are flying from USA.Can u suggest 6 day itinerary for us with activities and fun. We are a group of 24 people with older kids and adults.
Sammi says
If you’re flying into Guanacaste Airport, this is a fun itinerary: Tamarindo in 5 days.