Itineraries
Costa Rica itineraries by trip length
Every itinerary here is built around the country's actual drive times, so the days you have left after transfers are the days we plan. Each one names what it gives up, because a week cannot be two weeks.
3 days · 1 base
3 Days in Costa Rica
Three days is a long weekend, not a tour of the country. This routing picks one high-density base near the airport and gets you volcano, rainforest and hot springs without a single wasted transfer.
La Fortuna / Arenal
5 days · 2 bases
5 Days in Costa Rica
Five days is enough for two bases if you pick two that are close together. Arenal and Monteverde are linked by the jeep–boat–jeep crossing, which turns a 4-hour drive into a scenic 3-hour transfer.
La Fortuna / Arenal → Monteverde
7 days · 3 bases
7 Days in Costa Rica
One week is the first length where the classic three-ecosystem trip actually works. Two nights each in Arenal, Monteverde and the central Pacific, with the drives sequenced so you never double back.
La Fortuna / Arenal → Monteverde → Manuel Antonio
10 days · 4 bases
10 Days in Costa Rica
Ten days lets you keep the classic north loop and add the south Pacific, where whales, real rainforest and far fewer people start about two hours past Manuel Antonio.
La Fortuna / Arenal → Monteverde → Manuel Antonio → Uvita
14 days · 5 bases
14 Days in Costa Rica
Two weeks is when Costa Rica stops being a highlights reel. This routing gives Corcovado the nights it needs, adds the Caribbean's completely different culture and food, and still keeps the volcano and cloud forest.
Puerto Viejo de Talamanca → La Fortuna / Arenal → Monteverde → Manuel Antonio → Drake Bay
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