Planning a 3 Weeks Route through Costa Rica
I spent 6 weeks in Costa Rica from December 2021 till January 2022. I spent the first 3 weeks with my boyfriend and the other three weeks I was traveling solo. This blog is about the first 3 weeks, traveling half of the time by car. It took us quite long to plan everything in advance and get all the info we needed together. Our requirements were: seeing the Pacific and the Caribbean side, National Parks, nature & animals and hanging out on nice beaches. We knew that Costa Rica is not a cheap country to travel, but we also wanted to allocate our budget wisely.
Overview of our route: 1. San Jose (1 night), 2. Pacific Coast (6 days), 3. La Fortuna Arenal Volcano (2 days), 4. Caribbean Coast (9 days)
This article is packed with the following information: 3 weeks route, overview of places and things to do, how to get around, road conditions and a cost breakdown. I also wrote a blog on preparing for trip to Costa Rica with general information about traveling in this country. You can find more detailed information for each place by following the marked links.
1. Arrival in San Jose
Most of the international flights arrive in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, so this is where your trip usually starts. In my opinion, there is not that much to see in San Jose, so I would not plan spending much time there. A few hours on your arrival day or before your return flight should be quite enough to walk a bit around the city. We arrived in San Jose in the evening, picked up our car at the airport, spent one night in San Jose and started our trip the next day in the morning.
I recommend to check out these places in the city center:
- Mercado Central
- Plaza de la Cultura
- Museo Postal, Telegrafico y Filaatelico (beautiful building next to Banco National)
- Teatro Nactional
- Shopping & strolling on Avenida Central: here you will walk past the mentioned sightseeing spots
2. Northern Guanacaste Province - Pacific Coast
We spent 6 days in the Northern Guanacaste Province. Our accommodation was in Playa Hermosa and since we had a car, we could easily and flexibly explore the area. In this area we were happy to have a car, because some places are hard to get to with public transport.
Things to do plus the travel time by car from Playa Hermosa:
- Playa Hermosa: beautiful beach with a very relaxed atmosphere
- Las Baulas National Marine Park (1 hour): lonely beaches, beaches for surfers, Turtle hatching night-tours
- Tamarindo (1 hour): large wide beach, very touristy
- Playa Flamingo (50 min): beautiful white sand beach with few people
- Playa Coco (10 min): touristic beach with many activities
- National Park Rincón de la Vieja (1 hour): Cangreja waterfall and volcano
- Llanos de Cortez waterfall (1 hour): Near the highway exit Bagaces on Route 1. Directly on the way to San Jose/ La Fortuna – perfect for a quick stop!
Journey by car from San Jose to Playa Hermosa (Guanacaste): 242 km, 4 hours via highway Route 1. The trip took us 7 hours, as there was an accident and we were stuck in a traffic jam for 3 hours – take circumstances like this in mind when you plan your travel time tight.
Road conditions: Route 1 is a single lane roadway thus there is always congestion when cars are going up and down the highway and you can't overtake slow moving trucks. Basically, you could drive 60 km/h most of the way, but we had to drive much slower most of the time. The road is generally in good condition, but there are always potholes/ cracks in the asphalt, so you have to drive concentrated to avoid them. There are many construction sites over a long distance, because the highway gets renewed or a second lane is built. About 1 hour before Liberia, the road becomes 2-lane, is completely new and there are no potholes/ cracks in the asphalt, so this section is much faster and easier to drive (80 km/h).
3. La Fortuna Arenal Volcano
We spent 2 days in La Fortuna and that was actually enough for us. Of course, there are various hikes, parks and activities in this area. But they are quite expensive, so we decided for a few which we really like to do.
Things to do in and around La Fortuna:
- Volcán Arenal: active volcano
- Laguna de Arenal: largest inland lake in Costa Rica
- Eco Centro Danaus: private Ecological Reserve with animals like sloths, tucans, agoutis
- Mistico Hanging Bridges Park: trekking in the treetops of the jungle
- La Fortuna Waterfall: 70-meter-high waterfall
- Natural Hot Springs
- Activities: Zip-Line, Canyoning & Rafting-Tour, Quad/ ATV rental, etc.
Journey by car from Playa Hermosa to La Fortuna: 166 km, 3 hours via highway Route 1 + ordinary roads.
Road conditions: First via the highway Route 1, after about 1 hour depart on the country roads. These are mostly asphalted and in good condition, you have to drive on these of course slower than on the highway. A short part of the route led over steep stony paths, here I was very happy about the 4x4 car. The last hour before La Fortuna you can see a couple of times the big lake Laguna de Arenal. Also drive carefully, we were surprised by iguanas and a group of coatis on the road 🙂
Our original plan was to go to Santa Elena/ Monteverde Cloud forest after La Fortuna and spend 2 days there. The distance between the two places is 111 km, but the driving time is 3 hours via Route 142 to Tilaran and then Route 145 to 606. The ride is along paved and dirt roads, and we read that especially the dirt road can be quite challenging in the rainy season. The night before we were to leave for Santa Elena, it started raining very hard. Since it poured all night and the weather forecast was also very bad, we decided not to take the already challenging road and spontaneously went straight to Puerto Viejo.
4. Puerto Viejo – Southern Limón Province, Caribbean Coast
Puerto Viejo de Talamanca is a town located in the south of Costa Rica, only 30 km from the boarder to Panama. The small village is very busy and noisy, mainly because of the chaotic traffic and the many tourists. From Puerto Viejo south on a distance of 13 km there are the following beaches: Playa Negra, Playa Cocles, Playa Chiquita, Playa Uva, Playa Manzanillo.
Things to do in this area:
- Explore the Beaches
- National Park Cahuita & Manzanillo
- Jaguar Rescue Center
- Trip to Panama (Bocas del Toro)
- Surfing, kajaking
- (Night) Jungle Tours
More detailed information on the beaches and activities can be found in the blog Things to do in Puerto Viejo.
Journey by car from La Fortuna to Puerto Viejo: 270 km, 5 hours via Route 4 + 31 +36.
Since we wanted to chill in Puerto Viejo and you can easily get around there with a scooter/bicycle, we didn't want to pay the expensive rental car (55€ per day) for this time. Our original plan was to return the car in San Jose after Santa Elena and take the bus from there to Puerto Viejo. Timing the whole thing with the buses would have cost us an enormous amount of time. We therefore took the tip of the rental car dealer, drove directly with the car to Puerto Viejo and returned it there for an additional 60 USD. Probably the taxis/buses would have cost us the same for two people anyway. Consider this option if you get into a similar situation.
Road conditions: The roads (Route 4 + 31) are mostly 1-lane and you have to watch out for potholes. Along the route there are many construction sites, so there is often traffic jam and you can only drive slowly. This highway is also going to be renewed and enlarged with a 2nd lane. The road from Limón to Puerto Viejo (Route 36) is single lane, seems to be brand new and there was very little traffic. The route is very beautiful, you drive along the coast or through palm avenues and you are surrounded by jungle to left and right!
After 9 days in the Caribbean we took a bus to go back to San Jose. Bus from Puerto Viejo to San Jose: Busses leave several times a day. We took the bus at 9 am and drove 4,5 hours. Bus Company: MEPE, Price: 5.700 CRC (8 €), Bus arrives at MEPE Bus station in San Jose. I recommend to buy the tickets 2 days in advance when you are there in the high season.
Cost Breakdown for 3 weeks
Costa Rica was one of the countries, which was quite easy to enter during the Covid pandemic. Prices for flights and accommodations were even more expensive, as we went there in the main season. I guess these two things could be cheaper in the off season. The total cost of this 3 weeks trip trip was about 2.800 € per person including flights. Here is a short overview of the prices, more details on costs and prices can be found in my blog Preparing for a Costa Rica Trip.
- Flight from Vienna: 1.100 €
- 4×4 wheel car 556 € + 55 € for the return in another location
- Basic Double Room: 40 – 60 €
- Food: in Sodas (local restaurants) 5 €, in restaurants starting at 8 €
- Entrance fees for National Parks/ waterfalls: 20 to 35 €
Hello,
I was wondering where you rented the car from, as they seem to be quite expensive online.
Thank you very much,
Kindest regards,
Francesca
Hello Francesca,
we booked the car online through a comparison platform. For us, the provider Alamo was the cheapest with comprehensive insurance. We paid about 60 € per day, excl. gasoline. Have a great time in Costa Rica! Sandra