Costa Rica itinerary, day by day

San José, Arenal, Monteverde and Manuel Antonio, by four-wheel drive: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 7, 10 or 14 days📍 4 stops☀️ Best time: December to April (dry season)

Arenal · Photo Andrés Góngora / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Costa Rica in 7 days

2 stops · 12 things to do · ≈ 380 km

1Arenal and La Fortuna

Days 1-3

A volcano with an almost geometric cone, and hot springs fed by what is under it. Its last active phase ended in 2010.

🎟️ Worth booking

Hot springs and the volcanoHalf day · from €45
Thermal pools heated by the volcano, best at dusk, when the forest around them starts to make noise.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Zip line through the canopyHalf day · from €60
A run of cables strung above the treetops. Costa Rica invented the format in the 1990s, for biologists before tourists.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Arenal volcano · The Fortuna waterfall, seen from the top · Lake Arenal · The hanging bridges

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Arenal Backpackers (€30 a night) · Mid-range: Arenal Observatory Lodge (€180 a night) · Luxury: Nayara Gardens (€550 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Harmony Food Restaurant ↗ ★ 5 · 1053 reviews
SODA El Turnito ↗ ★ 4.8 · 2012 reviews · €
La Street Bistro ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1832 reviews
Travesía Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1387 reviews
MARY’S BBQ • La Fortuna Lounge & Grill ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1059 reviews

Photo Andrés Góngora / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h30 · 200 km

2Manuel Antonio

Days 4-7

Where the rainforest runs down to the beach: sloths, monkeys and turquoise coves, in the smallest national park in the country.

🎟️ Worth booking

Manuel Antonio National Park, guidedHalf day · from €40
A guide carries a scope and finds what you would walk past: sloths, toucans, and the squirrel monkeys found only here.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Kayaking in the mangrovesHalf day · from €45
Quiet water between the roots, at the hour when crabs, herons and caimans come out.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The beaches inside the park · Monkeys and sloths · Sunsets over the Pacific · The coastal trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range: Hotel Playa Espadilla (€95 a night) · Luxury: Arenas del Mar (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Namaste Indian Restaurant, Manuel Antonio ↗ ★ 5 · 4763 reviews
Hola Indian Restaurant Manuel Antonio ↗ ★ 4.9 · 3839 reviews
Manuel Antonio Falafel Bar ↗ ★ 4.8 · 2414 reviews · €€
Le Papillon Restaurante ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1383 reviews
Restaurante Cerdo Feliz ↗ ★ 4.8 · 880 reviews · €

Photo Costa Rica Drone Tours / Pexels

Costa Rica in 10 days

4 stops · 23 things to do · ≈ 430 km

1San José

Day 1

The capital sits in the central valley, and is where trips to the volcanoes and the forests start. Give it a morning for the gold and jade museums.

🎟️ Worth booking

City tour and the marketsHalf day · from €25
Half a day between the National Theatre, the museums and the covered market, which is where the city actually eats.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The National Theatre · The central market · Barrio Escalante · The museums

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Costa Rica Backpackers (€22 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Grano de Oro (€135 a night) · Luxury: Costa Rica Marriott Hotel Hacienda Belén (€180 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

CharlesBBQ ↗ ★ 4.9 · 5242 reviews · €€
El Taller de Billy Sazón ↗ ★ 4.9 · 154 reviews
Café Rojo ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1851 reviews · €€
Amana ↗ ★ 4.8 · 197 reviews
La Esquina de Buenos Aires ↗ ★ 4.7 · 4007 reviews · €€€

Photo Mariordo ((Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz) / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

🚗 Car · 3h · 130 km

2Arenal and La Fortuna

Days 2-4

A volcano with an almost geometric cone, and hot springs fed by what is under it. Its last active phase ended in 2010.

🎟️ Worth booking

Hot springs and the volcanoHalf day · from €45
Thermal pools heated by the volcano, best at dusk, when the forest around them starts to make noise.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Zip line through the canopyHalf day · from €60
A run of cables strung above the treetops. Costa Rica invented the format in the 1990s, for biologists before tourists.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Arenal volcano · The Fortuna waterfall, seen from the top · Lake Arenal · The hanging bridges

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Arenal Backpackers (€30 a night) · Mid-range: Arenal Observatory Lodge (€180 a night) · Luxury: Nayara Gardens (€550 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Andrés Góngora / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h30 · 120 km

3Monteverde

Days 5-6

Cloud forest with a density of species found in few other places, crossed by hanging bridges and zip lines. The cloud is there most days by noon.

🎟️ Worth booking

Cloud forest on the hanging bridgesHalf day · from €35
Walkways at canopy height, which is where the birds and the epiphytes are. Go at opening time for the quiet.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Night walk to see the wildlifeEvening · from €30
Two hours after dark with a guide and a torch: frogs, snakes, kinkajous, and the eyes that look back at you.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Old-growth forest · Hummingbirds · Trails in the mist · The coffee farms

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Cabinas Vista al Golfo (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Belmar (€185 a night) · Luxury: El Establo Mountain Hotel (€200 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Monteverde Brewing Company ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1129 reviews · €€
Kapi kapi Restaurante ↗ ★ 4.8 · 852 reviews · €€
NATIVO Restaurant & Coffee ↗ ★ 4.8 · 736 reviews
Restaurante Sensoria Monteverde, Traditional Costarican Food! ↗ ★ 4.8 · 296 reviews
The Jungle Monteverde ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1667 reviews

Photo Jos van Ouwerkerk / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h · 180 km

4Manuel Antonio

Days 7-10

Where the rainforest runs down to the beach: sloths, monkeys and turquoise coves, in the smallest national park in the country.

🎟️ Worth booking

Manuel Antonio National Park, guidedHalf day · from €40
A guide carries a scope and finds what you would walk past: sloths, toucans, and the squirrel monkeys found only here.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Kayaking in the mangrovesHalf day · from €45
Quiet water between the roots, at the hour when crabs, herons and caimans come out.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The beaches inside the park · Monkeys and sloths · Sunsets over the Pacific · The coastal trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range: Hotel Playa Espadilla (€95 a night) · Luxury: Arenas del Mar (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Costa Rica Drone Tours / Pexels

Costa Rica in 14 days

4 stops · 23 things to do · ≈ 430 km

1San José

Days 1-2

The capital sits in the central valley, and is where trips to the volcanoes and the forests start. Give it a morning for the gold and jade museums.

🎟️ Worth booking

City tour and the marketsHalf day · from €25
Half a day between the National Theatre, the museums and the covered market, which is where the city actually eats.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The National Theatre · The central market · Barrio Escalante · The museums

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Mariordo ((Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz) / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

🚗 Car · 3h · 130 km

2Arenal and La Fortuna

Days 3-5

A volcano with an almost geometric cone, and hot springs fed by what is under it. Its last active phase ended in 2010.

🎟️ Worth booking

Hot springs and the volcanoHalf day · from €45
Thermal pools heated by the volcano, best at dusk, when the forest around them starts to make noise.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Zip line through the canopyHalf day · from €60
A run of cables strung above the treetops. Costa Rica invented the format in the 1990s, for biologists before tourists.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Arenal volcano · The Fortuna waterfall, seen from the top · Lake Arenal · The hanging bridges

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Arenal Backpackers (€30 a night) · Mid-range: Arenal Observatory Lodge (€180 a night) · Luxury: Nayara Gardens (€550 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Andrés Góngora / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h30 · 120 km

3Monteverde

Days 6-8

Cloud forest with a density of species found in few other places, crossed by hanging bridges and zip lines. The cloud is there most days by noon.

🎟️ Worth booking

Cloud forest on the hanging bridgesHalf day · from €35
Walkways at canopy height, which is where the birds and the epiphytes are. Go at opening time for the quiet.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Night walk to see the wildlifeEvening · from €30
Two hours after dark with a guide and a torch: frogs, snakes, kinkajous, and the eyes that look back at you.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Old-growth forest · Hummingbirds · Trails in the mist · The coffee farms

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Cabinas Vista al Golfo (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Belmar (€185 a night) · Luxury: El Establo Mountain Hotel (€200 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Jos van Ouwerkerk / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h · 180 km

4Manuel Antonio

Days 9-14

Where the rainforest runs down to the beach: sloths, monkeys and turquoise coves, in the smallest national park in the country.

🎟️ Worth booking

Manuel Antonio National Park, guidedHalf day · from €40
A guide carries a scope and finds what you would walk past: sloths, toucans, and the squirrel monkeys found only here.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Kayaking in the mangrovesHalf day · from €45
Quiet water between the roots, at the hour when crabs, herons and caimans come out.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The beaches inside the park · Monkeys and sloths · Sunsets over the Pacific · The coastal trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range: Hotel Playa Espadilla (€95 a night) · Luxury: Arenas del Mar (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Costa Rica Drone Tours / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Gallo pinto: rice and beans, cooked together. Breakfast, every day.
Casado: a plate of rice, beans, meat, salad and fried plantain.
Ceviche: fish cured in lime, eaten cold at the beach.
Tropical fruit in quantity: mango, papaya, and pejibaye, the palm fruit eaten with mayonnaise.
Café de altura: high-grown coffee, among the best in the world and cheapest at the farm gate.

⚠️ What to avoid

Take a four-wheel drive for the unsealed roads, and check the insurance excess.
Leave nothing visible in a parked car, above all at trailheads and beaches.
Rip currents are the main danger on Pacific beaches. Swim where others swim.
Do not feed the monkeys or the coatis. It makes them sick and then aggressive.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Costa Rica guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Costa Rica, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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