My favorite parts about\u00a0Costa\u00a0are the remote beaches, roadside restaurants (“sodas”) and fruit stands. I recommend getting away from the crowds to experience why this country is so special. It’s safe, relatively easy to navigate during the dry season, and\u00a0the locals in these small towns are eager to show you the Pura Vida lifestyle.<\/p>\n
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I don\u2019t have much advice on the Caribbean side, but there\u2019s a lot more to see on the Pacific. This 12-day itinerary will allow you to see quite a bit of\u00a0Costa Rica:<\/p>\n
Day 1:<\/strong> Arenal Volcano Transportation<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Lodging \/ Housing<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n There are hotels and resorts everywhere; however, I typically rent a place when staying on the beach. I\u2019ve rented places in Tamarindo from the following two companies and would highly recommend them both:<\/p>\n Blue Water Properties Day 1: Arenal<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Highlights: Waterfall Hikes and Spas<\/strong><\/p>\n Day 2: Monteverde<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Highlights: Zip line (Canopy Tour)<\/strong><\/p>\n Monteverde is famous for its cloud forests and canopy tours (i.e. zip lining). Beware: Monteverde is usually pretty wet and cold. I\u2019ve spent a several days in Monteverde and Arenal over the years, but I have never seen the top of the volcano on a clear day. It\u2019s a cloud forest for a reason.<\/p>\n Days 3-5: Guanacaste<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Highlights: Beaches, Surfing and Nightlife<\/strong><\/p>\n Tamarindo is where I spent the most time in\u00a0Costa\u00a0Rica; it is touristy, but it caters to the American surf scene. There are a ton of hostels in town and the nightlife is pretty fun. It\u2019s worth making this a hub for 2-3 days because there are many beautiful beaches in the area (see my post on the Top 10 Beaches in Guanacaste<\/a>).<\/p>\n Days 6-7: Nosara<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Highlights: Beaches & Yoga Retreats<\/strong><\/p>\n Nosara is about halfway between Tamarindo and Mal Pais. If you\u2019re looking for remote beaches, this is where you\u2019ll find them here. This could be a good way to break up the drive from Tamarindo to Santa Teresa (you\u2019ll pass dozens of beaches you\u2019ll want to stop and see). Stay here a couple nights if you have the time.<\/p>\n Days 8-10: Mal Pais<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Highlights: Surfing, Waterfalls & Snorkeling (Isla Tortuga)<\/strong><\/p>\n Mal Pais is a great contrast from the hustle and bustle of Tamarindo (far less Americans here, too). In Mal Pais, you can\u2019t see buildings from the beach\u2026it\u2019s what all of\u00a0Costa\u00a0Rica\u00a0should be like. In Mal Pais there are several connected beaches (Playa Carmen, Santa Teresa, Playa Cocal, and Playa Hermosa); they\u2019re each different and worth seeing.<\/p>\n Days 11-12: Manuel Antonio<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Highlights: Nature & Wildlife<\/strong><\/p>\n From Puntarenas it\u2019s a few hours\u2019 drive to Manuel Antonio,\u00a0Costa\u00a0Rica\u2019s first National Park. It\u2019s the most touristy part of the country, but an absolute MUST-SEE.<\/p>\n San Jose<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve only explored San Jose with locals, so I’m unsure what’s safe for tourists. If you have a few hours in the city, here’s what I’d\u00a0recommend:<\/p>\n By the time you hit Manuel Antonio, you\u2019ll pretty much have seen it all. Keep in mind that this is still a pretty rugged country when you get the beaches (dirt roads only), and everything is a 2-4 hour drive. Have fun, be safe, and relax. Pura Vida!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Almost every travel agent will\u00a0give you the following itinerary:\u00a0 San Jose \u2192\u00a0Arenal \u2192\u00a0Monte Verde \u2192\u00a0Manuel Antonio. While that trip will allow you to see a ton (cloud forests, waterfalls, national parks, wildlife, beaches, etc.), these places are also the most touristy. In my opinion, Arenal and Monte Verde can by skipped without a ton of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[14,109,92,111,97,110],"class_list":["post-38","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-costa-rica","tag-beach","tag-central-america","tag-costa-rica","tag-hiking","tag-puravida","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/aweekendabroad.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/aweekendabroad.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/aweekendabroad.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aweekendabroad.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aweekendabroad.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/aweekendabroad.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1181,"href":"http:\/\/aweekendabroad.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions\/1181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aweekendabroad.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/aweekendabroad.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aweekendabroad.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/aweekendabroad.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nDay 2:<\/strong> Monte Verde
\nDays 3-5:<\/strong>\u00a0Guanacaste
\nDays 6-7:<\/strong> Nosara
\nDays 8-10:<\/strong> Mal Pais
\nDays 11-12:<\/strong> Manuel Antonio<\/p>\n\n
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\n<\/a>RPM\u00a0Costa\u00a0Rica<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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