Costa Rica, the stunning gem of Latin America—home to volcanoes, rainforests, beaches, and mouthwatering cuisine! It was always a must-visit on our list! After doing some research on road quality and safety, we boldly decided to embark on a self-drive adventure. And what a fantastic decision it was! While tours are great, nothing beats the freedom of having your own wheels. It allowed us spontaneous stops for a quick coffee or a photo op. The country is incredibly safe for tourists, with regular police checkpoints ensuring peace of mind. It truly feels like a safe haven in the LATAM region! Here is our 10 days itinerary of Costa Rica road trip!
Day 1: San Jose
We arrived in San Jose, the capital city, and collected our car at the airport. Most car rental agencies are not located within the terminal. Instead, they offer a shuttle service from the arrivals area to their actual location, roughly 10 minutes away. We had reserved through Budget car rental, and the process was very smooth, with the added bonus of a free upgrade. Our hotel the Park Inn by Radisson was approximately a 30-minute drive from the car rental site into the city.
We had planned to spend just a day in San Jose. And discovered it through a walking tour led by locals. This tour is an excellent way to get an introduction to the city and Costa Rica overall. It guides you to key sites in the historical/central area of the city. And showcases well-preserved Spanish architecture from the colonial era, alongside modern government buildings and residences. The highlight for us was undoubtedly the National Theatre. It feels as if it’s set in a European city and transports you back to that period in this region. Our guide shared fascinating stories about the city, the National Museum and the current culture. And the impact that tourism has on the economy.
He concluded the tour near the Central Market. Here, we paused for lunch and savoured some delicious Ceviche and Costa Rica’s national dish: Gallo Pinto (rice with beans). There are street shops and restaurants encircling the central market in all directions. So we decided to explore the area on our own before eventually visiting some bars to relax. Costa Rica has its own version of rum, called Guaro. It is also crafted from sugar cane and is best enjoyed in a cocktail! Must try!
Overnight stay in San Jose.
Day 2 of Costa Rica road trip: Starbucks Coffee Farm and Poas Volcano
The following day, we began our journey north from San Jose towards La Fortuna. We made two stops along the way. Our first stop was the Hacienda Alsacia Starbucks Coffee Farm, located about an hour’s drive from the city. This is the only Starbucks farm in the world! There are two ways to explore this coffee farm:
- You can book one of the guided tours that takes you through the entire process. It starts with the fruit being picked from the tree to the wet mill, drying, and finally roasting. When you’re in Costa Rica, you must go on one of these tours. They guide you through the coffee-making journey (super interesting for coffee lovers) with some tastings along the way. We had already booked one in Arenal later on a local farm, so we decided to skip this one. Remember to book in advance or arrive at the right time to join a tour.
- Instead, we chose to explore the area on our own. There’s a large café overlooking the farm with a waterfall in the background. This is where we decided to enjoy a coffee while taking in the view. We also listening to some stories about the place from the staff. Be prepared to spend nearly $10 for a specialty coffee! Considering it’s the only farm in the world they own and operate, I can understand the prices.
Poas Volcano
We then embarked on an exhilarating journey to one of the most incredible places we’ve ever visited in our lives! An active volcano – Poas Volcano National Park! It’s just a quick 30-minute drive from the Starbucks farm. Be sure to grab your entrance ticket in advance here and arrive at the specified time. Since it’s an active volcano, only a limited number of people are allowed in the park at a time. From the parking head to the visitor center where you’ll be equipped with safety headgear and receive a security briefing. They show an exciting movie featuring the volcano’s recent eruptions, complete with timestamps and the magnitude of the ash clouds.
Afterward, embark on a mini hike (about 15 minutes) toward the volcano crater with your group. You can only stay at the site for about 20 minutes due to the constant fumes from the crater. As we reached the viewing deck of the main crater, we were engulfed by massive clouds of ash, obscuring everything else. We were informed by the staff that there had been an eruption just the day before, causing the ash cloud! We felt a mix of disappointment for missing it by a day and a bit of fear standing so close to an active volcano!
After soaking in the acidic volcano air, we made our way back to the visitor center as the clouds seemed unyielding. Following our visit, we discovered a live cam of the crater on Google. Make sure to check the eruptions and visibility before planning your trip to Poas!
Overnight stay in Vara Blanca (in between Poas Volcano and La Paz Waterfall).
Day 3: La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park
Next day of our Costa Rica road trip was planned for a day tour to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens! This is an ecological park boasting of the largest animal sanctuary in Costa Rica in the rainforest setting with multiple hikes and waterfall views along the way. You can easily spend several hours here checking out more than 100 species of animals in different exhibits. These are connected by trails through the jungle and lead you to a trout lake on one end of the park. After the animal exhibits we stopped for lunch and cocktails at the Colibries Restaurant (inside the park) and then continued towards the falls.
There is a small hike up the hill (with stairs) to the upper lookout point. From the peak you make your way down walking next to several waterfalls and finally arriving at the La Paz falls! It is definitely the most magnificent of all with water gushing down a 100ft high cliff. The visit ends at the souvenir shop from where a bus takes you back to the parking lot at the entrance.
After this we drove for about 2 hours to get to La Fortuna. Overnight.
Day 4 of Costa Rica road trip: Fortuna Waterfall and Chocolate Tour
Next day our first stop was the Fortuna waterfall which is probably the most visited spot in all of Costa Rica. You do not need to book tickets in advance though and can get them at the entrance. There are washrooms, changing rooms and lockers right at the entrance if you plan to take a dip and swim at the waterfall. After which you can start your descent towards the fall. You have to go down 530 steps to reach the waterfall. But are granted with amazing views on the way to this huge waterfall – 70 meters high!
There is a massive space to swim in the Fortuna river right in front of the fall. If was definitely a refreshing swim and we spent some time just looking at this natural marvel. You have to take the same steps back up which would definitely leave you a bit tired but what waits for you at the top after that swim and hike is Restaurante Rio Lounge with some amazing cocktails and mouth watering guacamole and tortilla chips.
Chocolate Tour
From the Fortuna waterfall we went to experience a Rainforest Chocolate Tour which we had pre-booked. The location was a quick 5 min drive from the falls and had its own parking. It is an interactive and immersive experience of the chocolate making process with tastings at each step. You actually get to know how one of the favourite desserts in the world is not that tasty in the early stages of its production! But has to go through various grinding and refining process to give us the chocolate we all love. You would be able to grind some of those beans and also make your own flavours from the various ingredients that the staff has there. At the store there is an opportunity to buy some of the finest dark chocolates we have had with as high at 90% cacao!
Overnight stay in La Fortuna.
Day 5: Arenal 1968 and Lake Arenal
Next day our first and only stop for the day was Arenal volcano and watch it up close. There are various spots to watch the volcano from far but the one that gets you the closest is the called Arenal 1968. It is just a 20 min drive from La Fortuna. Arenal volcano is one of the youngest active volcanoes in Costa Rica. Its first major eruption was in 1968 and then several others in the following years. The last eruption was in 2010 and it has been ‘sleeping’ since then. At Arenal 1968 you can go on several hikes (with different difficulty levels) circling the volcano. You actually walk on the trails formed by the lava during the eruption. The area has now changed with vegetation and wildlife in abundance with most trails leading upto a panoramic view of the Arenal lake.
At end of the adventure the cafeteria close to the entrance offers amazing views of Arenal while sipping a local beer!
We decided to stay one more night in the area and booked Toucan Lane Hotel and Restaurant. This property is just a 30 min drive from Arenal 1968 has a outdoor pool and bar overlooking the rainforest and Lake Arenal. One our our best stays in Costa Rica! It is run by Jo and Simon who are a Canadian couple and came to Costa Rica for a vacation but fell in love with the place. They decided to settle here and run this hotel. Great property and amazing hosts – one of the best during our Costa Rica road trip!
Day 6 of Costa Rica road trip: Monteverde and Rainforest Night Tour
Next day we embarked on our trip towards Monteverde which is about 2.5 hrs from our previous stop. We get a lot of questions about the road quality in Costa Rica and this was the only section where the quality of the road was not good. There were several sections of just gravel and potholes on the way. That is why a 90km trip takes more than 2 hours! There is an alternate way via Canas and Highway 1 which would be double the distance and more than 3 hours but roads would definitely be better. There is a perfect place to stop for lunch though after this not so comfortable drive. Just as you approach the city, you see the Monteverde Brewing Company. They have some amazing selection of beers and burgers.
Night Tour in the Rainforest
After checking into our hotel we went out for our exciting and suspenseful night walking tour into the rainforest. We had booked through Don Juan Tours which is pretty famous in Costa Rica and have a location in Monteverde just next to the brewery (mentioned above). There is also an option to combine it with a coffee and chocolate tour which is what we did. The tour starts with the process of explaining the making and production of both. We had already seen the chocolate tour in La Fortuna so were more interested in the coffee one and tasting some as well.
After the tour through the manufacturing facility the guide takes you on a a marked path into the jungle to see some animals in the dark. You are provided with a torch to watch your step. The guide would find you some animals unique to the rainforest including the red-eyed frog and tarantula spiders. Its a different kind of adrenaline to explore the jungle in the dark and getting scared at every noise and movement around you! The tour finally ends at the souvenir and gift shop. I would highly recommend buying the sweet coated coffee beans (mango, chocolate, cinnamon and so on). You also get to taste these on the tour to know how good they are!
Day 7: Monteverde Cloud Forest
The final day in Monteverde was dedicated to exploring the cloud forest and the reason we made it to this place. A lot of people skip Monteverde on their trip to Costa Rica but it is truly remarkable. You can buy the ticket at the entrance gate and explore the cloud forest yourself or have an English speaking guide show you around. We went with the later option and booked through Olingo Expeditions. The parking situation is a bit tricky as they have limited number of spots. Rest of the cars were parked on the side of the narrow road leading to the main entrance. Try and get there early to avoid the rush and parking hassle. Our guide met us in the parking and then took us to the ticket counter where we purchased our tickets directly.
Honestly, the cloud forest can be explored on your own as it is pretty well marked and you do not need a guide as such.
However, our guide showed us some unique birds local to the region we would not have seen. We also saw various hidden spider hideouts and the smallest orchid in the world! Finally we went to the famous hanging bridges overlooking the forest. There are several marked trails in the cloud forest and the guide does not take you to all of them. However, your ticket comes with unlimited entrances in that day and you can come back to explore on your own.
One of the smallest trails at the entrance leads to a waterfall – would recommend that. Surprisingly we did not find a lot of people on this one and had the views and the falls to ourselves!
Overnight in Monteverde.
Day 8 and 9 of Costa Rica road trip: Manuel Antonio
Finally came the time for a complete change of scenery from the cloud forest in the mountains to the pristine beaches of Manuel Antonio! Our last stop on this road trip was about a 4 hour drive from Monteverde. After checking into the hotel we went straight to the beach – Playa Manuel Antonio and took it easy for the rest of evening enjoying the sunset and cocktails. It is one of the most famous spots in Costa Rica and hence was super crowded. If you are celebrating an occasion and would like to make it special book a sunset tour on Catamaran. Enjoy and say Pura Vida!! You would hear this term a lot in Costa Rica which means pure life literally but can be used in various situations to express joy and happiness!
Sloth in Manuel Antonio National Park
Next day we had booked our guided tour to the Manuel Antonio National Park to take us around the park. The guide shared stories about how the name came into existence and showed us the final prize of this trip: Sloth! Sloth is the national symbol of Costa Rica. As in Monteverde you can explore the park on your own, buy tickets at the entrance and don’t really need a guide. However, we saw several groups who were unable to see a sloth as they did not know where to look. The guides in the park communicate with each other and know exactly where was it last seen.
Our guide showed us the howler monkey which was sitting high up on a branch and 2 sloths along the way. One of them was with its infant and we had a very close look at this furry and really slow creature! You also get to see several iguanas and squirrel monkeys in this park in their natural habitat. The tour ends at the Escondido beach which is inside the park. There are significantly less people here but it closes at about 4pm. We did not have enough time to take a dip and walked back to the main beach outside (mentioned above).
Overnight in Manuel Antonio. Most of the hotels are about 3-4 kms away from the beach and the national park but you can get a taxi or Uber for $10. Our guided tour did have pick up facility for the hotel as well. We got an Uber when we were ready to leave the beach on our way back.
Day 10: Drive back to San Jose
We drove back to San Jose for our return flight – an easy 3 hour drive. If you have an early morning flight to catch, I would recommend coming in San Jose the night before and stay in the LOP Inn San Jose Aeropuerto. It is super close to the car rental location to get there in the morning. After the car return they drop you back to the terminal and off you go! No doubt with some amazing memories of this unforgettable Costa Rica road trip.
Read about our other adventures here!