The perfect Costa Rica itinerary: 10-12 days in tropical paradise

Costa Rica is renowned for its diverse wildlife - and we found this reputation to be well deserved. Overall we found Costa Rica to be one of the safest place that we visited in Central America, as it was very touristy (and perhaps even slightly "Americanised"). This is of course a blessing and a curse; whilst we felt very safe, a food and activities were pretty expensive relative to the rest of the the region, and it was hard to get to know the real Costa Rica. We visited Costa Rica at the end of August/September which was rainy season but found the weather to be mostly fine! If you have longer than 12 days in Costa Rica, we recommend adding time onto Puerto Viejo and spending longer to relax on the beach!

Our favourite place in Costa Rica was Tortuguero National Park; this really is a jungle paradise that offers biodiversity and access to wildlife that few places on the planet can rival. We think this is an absolute MUST.

The currency used in Costa Rica is the Costa Rican Colon (as of Jan 2025, it is c600 colon to £1 and c500 colon to $1). Spanish is spoken in Costa Rica but we found this to be the most English-friendly place in Central America, so you'll be OK with Google translate!

Summary itinerary: 10-12 days in Costa Rica

Day 1 Land in San Jose and transfer straight to La Fortuna

Day 2 La Fortuna - visit Waterfall

Day 3 La Fortuna - Arenal Volcano

Day 4 Travel to Monteverde AM, Ziplining PM

Day 5 Monteverde - Cloud Forest hike AM, Night walk PM

Day 6 Relaxed morning. Afternoon - travel to San Jose ahead of Tortuguero

Day 7 Travel to Tortuguero National Park, Turtle watching PM

Day 8 Boat ride through park AM, Night walk PM

Day 9 Transfer to Puerto Viejo & explore

Day 10 Beach day in Puerto Viejo

Day 11 Jaguar Rescue centre AM, beach in the afternoon

Day 12 Transfer to San Jose AM & catch flight

Our itinerary can easily be adapted into a 10 day itinerary; we would recommend removing days 6 and 10 in the above itinerary if you wish to shorten your time in Costa Rica.

Day 1 - Arrival and transfer

You should land in San Jose airport and transfer straight to La Fortuna. We found there to be very little to do in San Jose and didn’t find it particularly safe, so we wouldn’t recommend staying here to explore. If you really need to due to timings of arrival, stay one night and transfer early the next morning. We used "Pink Bus" and "Caribe Shuttle" for all of our transfers and the transfers were absolutely excellent. Although they are quite expensive versus other countries in Latin America, you definitely get good service and it makes it much simpler to travel across the country. Click here to book the route from San Jose to La Fortuna. The journey takes around 4 hours and most transfers leave first thing in the morning, though you can get the odd afternoon one.

Upon arriving in La Fortuna, we stayed in Hotel La Vid and absolutely loved it. We got a great night sleep, a large comfortable room, breakfast and it is also in an excellent location. They were even able to do laundry for us for a reasonable price which was super helpful.

Once you have checked in, take some time to explore the local town; there are quite a few shops, bars and restaurants!

Head over to the free Hot Springs in the evening; they are located right across from the Tabacon Resort in La Fortuna or you can find it here on Google maps. If you fancy a more luxurious experience, there are paid hot spring experiences like this one.

Day 2 - Visit La Fortuna waterfall and the Mistico hanging bridges

La Fortuna waterfall

In the morning, head over to La Fortuna waterfall. La Fortuna waterfall is a stunning natural attraction renowned for its 70–75 meter (230–246 feet) drop into an emerald pool. Situated at the base of the dormant Chato volcano within a 210-acre biological reserve, the waterfall is surrounded by lush tropical forest - it is truly remarkable!

Uber is great to get around, or if you’re feeling like a stroll, it is a great chance to try and spot sloths in the nearby trees! The waterfall is open daily from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, with the last entry allowed at 4:00 PM. Admission fees are currently $20 for foreign adults and $9 for Costa Rican adults, and free for children under 8 years old. Proceeds from the entrance fees contribute to the conservation of the area and its rainforests. There is no need for a tour here, just relax, take a dip and enjoy the serenity!

To reach the waterfall’s base, you need to go down a staircase of over 500 steps which typically takes 15–20 minutes. Along the way, there are rest areas and lookout points providing beautiful views of the waterfall - perfect for that insta shot! At the base, swimming is permitted in the stream and small rapids below the falls, with lifeguards on duty for safety. Facilities at the entrance include bathrooms, showers, a restaurant, and a gift shop.

Mistico Hanging Bridges

Visit the Mistico Hanging Bridges in the afternoon. Again, we just grabbed an Uber over here. The main loop is approximately 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) long. It includes 15 bridges, six of which are hanging bridges, providing amazing views of the forest. The tallest bridge stands at 148 feet (45 meters) above the ground, the views of the Arenal Volcano and Lake Arenal are amazing - although it does make you a bit jittery! You can encounter a wide range of animals here, including monkeys, sloths, toucans, frogs, and even wild cats like pumas or jaguars.

We found the Hanging Bridges to be quite touristy and overpriced, but also found that it was a really cool experience walking on the bridges over the forest. We also got to have our closest encounter with a spider monkey in all of Costa Rica here - so all was not lost! In short, this isn't a "must do", but it's a good experience if you have spare time.

Details:

• Hours: Open daily from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM, with last entry at 3:50 PM.

• Entrance Fees: Adults: $26 USD, Teens (10–18): $16 USD

If you fancy a guided tour, this is of course more helpful to spot local wildlife since the locals have got incredible skill at this! This tour is a good option if you want some help spotting monkeys and sloths [affiliate link].

Day 3 - Visit Arenal Volcano

Grab an Uber over to Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal (Arenal Volcano National Park) in the morning. Hiking near Costa Rica’s Arenal Volcano is a great way to explore nearby wildlife, secondary forests and ancient lava fields. The National Park has very well-maintained trails, and has several routes you can choose from - we opted to do the 3.4 km and 2 km paths which were great fun, but there really is something for all fitness levels here. These trails provide views of the volcano and Lake Arenal, with chances to observe local wildlife like white-faced capuchin monkeys and a variety of bird species. Don't feed the Agoutis as they honestly do bite.

The park is open daily from 8:00am to 4:00pm, with the last admission at 2:00pm. As of September 2024, entrance fees are $17 for adults and $6 for children aged 2-12. You can pay on arrival and there is no need to pre-book.

You can do a guided tour here but we opted not to as we wanted to explore at our own pace, however a guided tour does make it much easier to spot wildlife - particularly sloths which are very well hidden. This tour looks like a great option if you are looking for a guide! [affiliate link]

Side note: If you want to combine with a trip to a natural hot spring, this tour looks like a great option too! [affiliate link]

Night walk

The jungle comes ALIVE at night - you can see so many more animals including snakes, toucans (sleeping), turtles (on coastline), spiders, scorpions and many more. Night walks are SUCH a fun experience. We were a little nervous before embarking on our first one - walking through a forest which has jaguars in, in the pitch black doesn't seem like such a clever thing to do, but it is very safe and the guides are very experienced so rest assured. If you fancy a night walk through the jungle to spot more wildlife in the evening, this is a great option [affiliated link]. We opted to do this in Monteverde and Tortuguero instead, but wish we had done it here too!

If your nerves can handle it, you can head to La Fortuna Pub in the evening for a little tipple!

Where to eat in La Fortuna

• Bamboo Gardens: Delicious grilled meat on offer - they cook it really well, and the service was excellent.

• Ristorante La Forchetta: If you want a good pizza, look no further! Great prices too.

• La Street Bistro: Burgers, tacos and much more - delicious food and amazing cocktails with a great vibe. Also has good lunch options.

• Soda Las Delicias de Leo: If you did a lot of walking, you're tired and you want a BIG Costa Rican buffet, and you want it now - look no further. This restaurant offers delicious Costa Rican food at a very affordable price.

Tight on time?

If you are tight on time and can only spend one full day in La Fortuna, there are full day tours that combine the 3 key highlights into one day [Arenal Volcano, Hot Springs and La Fortuna Waterfall] such as this one [affiliate link].

Day 4 - Transfer to Monteverde & zip lining

You can book a transfer to Monteverde from La Fortuna here (busbud does not have transfers but Bookaway does). This only took around 3 hours and was a mix of minibus and a boat ride which was good fun - keep your eyes peeled for crocodiles!

Once we arrived in Monteverde, we got dropped off at our hotel. We stayed at Cabinas Eddy and again, absolutely loved it. It's in a fantastic location, super quiet for a good night's rest and the staff were super helpful - it also had quite a cool hiking cabin vibe in the hotel, which was great when doing lots of outdoorsy activities!

In the afternoon, if you’re feeling adventurous, why not try zip lining in the place where zip lining was created (apparently)?! We recommend booking this zip lining adventure [affiliate link].

Background on ziplining in Costa Rica: Zip lining, as a recreational activity, doesn’t have a single inventor but evolved from techniques used by scientists and adventurers. Donald Perry, a biologist studying rainforests in Costa Rica during the 1970s, is often credited with pioneering the use of ropes and pulley systems to explore forest canopies. This then inspired the transformation of zip lining into a commercial, tourist activity in places like Monteverde, Costa Rica, in the 1990s. Cool eh?!

Day 5 - Cloud Forest hike

The Monteverde Cloud Forest reserve is a lush, mist-covered sanctuary in Costa Rica, famous for its incredible biodiversity and serene beauty. It truly feels like you are walking through a cloud!

We headed over here in the morning on the public bus (which is effectively a minibus), which our accommodation helped us to book. You need to book beforehand so they know to stop at your accommodation, which does sound a bit odd for a public bus! If you're struggling, there is a tourist information kiosk in the centre of Monteverde you can go to for help with booking the bus. You need to take cash and they have set journey times for both departure and return (about $2USD each) - they depart roughly once every 1h 30 mins and the last bus is around 4pm - your driver will give you a card that gives you all of the return times on the day. It's not very frequent so do not miss it back!

Entrance fees for the Cloud Forest are $26 per person for adults and $13 for children aged 6-12. Tickets can be purchased online or in-person and you can pay with card or cash. The park is open everyday from 7am to 4pm.

We spent most of the day here, doing the different available routes. There is around 13km of hiking trails across four trails; you can find a detailed breakdown of all the routes, difficulties and attractions here. The many bird feeders hung on the outside of Cafeteria El Colibri attract many hummingbirds and you can visit here for a snack and a drink - you are allowed to exit and re-enter the forest to see these amazing birds! There is also a restaurant at the forest entrance if you get peckish.

We did not do a guided tour but these are always helpful for animal spotting - we recommend booking this one if you need some help spotting the many animals. In hindsight, we should have got a guide as due to the fog, it is very hard to see much without a local to help you; without a tour, we saw birds, frogs, and a lot of agoutis!

Night walk

Doing a night walk in Monteverde is an absolute must; we recommend this one. This isn’t as scary as it sounds, but IS extremely thrilling. We saw toucans, sloths, snakes, scorpions, and various birds. We truly had the time of our lives and it was one of the better trips we did during our time in Costa Rica! Keep an eye out for the jaguars of course [affiliate link].

Where to eat in Monteverde

Monteverde had some fabulous little eateries. Our favourites were:

• Taco Taco: Delicious tacos, nachos and many more TexMex favourites. Go Large at your own risk - it nearly finished me off the portions were so big.

• Soda La Amistad: Great place to try Costa Rica's infamous Gallo Pinto.

• Tree House restaurant: A very cool setting that does a broad range of dishes including grilled meat, pasta, fried rice dishes and more. Live music too some nights, if that's your jam.

Day 6 - Have a slow morning and transfer to San Jose

Annoyingly a transfer to San Jose for one night is necessary to get to Tortuguero National Park, as there is no direct route. Book your transfer here on Bookaway; this transfer will take about 4 hours. Once you're here, there are some things to do like visit the Teatro Nacional and the Gold Museum. But honestly, we didn't really like it here - we ended up spending half of our time organising flights and eating lots. Sorry San Jose.

Where to stay in San Jose:

• Barrio Escalante - lots of delicious eateries. Meant to be reasonably safe, but apply normal safety precautions at all times! If you're feeling fancy, you can always stay at The Residence Inn by Marriott which is a safe bet. For more budget-conscious travellers, consider staying at Casa Escalante Hostel.

• San Pedro - a little cheaper and a bit of a student/young person's area, but a good option. Apartotel Tairona looks like a good option here!

Warning: Do not stay near Plaza de la Cultura like we did - it sucked, it felt dangerous and the main piece of "cultura" was trying to survive. No ty.

Day 7 - Transfer to Tortuguero National Park. Turtles laying eggs in PM

It is now time to head over to the Caribbean side of the country! Transfer to Tortuguero National Park which you can do so by booking your transfer here. We absolutely loved this transfer, it was almost like a tour in itself; we saw the famous banana farms (and bananas crossing the road), which even caused traffic to stop! Tortuguero is only accessible by boat, and the boat ride to the National Park was amazing; we saw crocodiles, caymans and got a great insight into the park, wildlife and ongoing conservation efforts from the lady running our transfer. The boat will drop you off at Tortuguero town right next to the park - this is the only real place you can stay and it is where all the trips leave from.

Once you have arrived, grab some food from El Patio restaurant and head over to the Sea Turtle Conservancy Museum to get some background on the turtles in the area and the various conservation projects going on.

We booked all our tours in the park with the same company, Tortuguero Nature Native Guides "Jungle Jon" (not an advert) and all 3 tours that we did were absolutely fantastic. He is one of the very few people in Tortuguero (about one of 5) who have lived in Tortguero itself for generations; most of the people living there now, including most guides, have moved there in the last 10-15 years or so for tourism purposes. You can find his website here. He also has tour packages available so definitely have a flick through his website and see what you fancy - he's a great guy!

In the evening, head out for the turtle nesting tour on the beach. They have two different slots, 8 and 10pm. Remember to wear dark colours and no phones are allowed. When you get to the beach, you will wait whilst your guide finds a turtle which is digging a hole in the sand ready to nest. Once the turtle starts nesting, they enter a ‘trance’ which is when you can start observing the process, watching the turtle pop out hundreds of eggs which look like ping pong balls is surreal! You then also get to watch them cover the eggs and head back down to the sea to complete the nesting process. The tours are observed by conservation experts, so it is ran in a very eco-friendly manner so that the turtles are not impacted by tourists observing. This is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen and is a must do in Costa Rica.

Where to stay in Tortuguero National Park

You are best staying in Tortguero itself. We stayed in a private room in El Patio Hostel and it was excellent (it shows up as a restaurant on Google maps but it is both a restaurant and a hostel - both of which are very good). Although it was a shared bathroom, don't let this deter you - it was immaculate! This area is where all of the Night Walk, Turtle watching and boat tours leave from and so I would highly recommend using this as your base to stay in.

Day 8 - Canoe Ride in the park am, Night walk pm

AM: We booked this Canoe ride which lasted 3 hours through the park. Thankfully we didn’t have to do any of the rowing ourself, since it was very hot! A canoe ride through Tortuguero National Park is a surreal way to immerse yourself in one of Costa Rica's most biodiverse ecosystems. Gliding through the narrow canals and waterways is an experience that will stick with me forever, and you'll be surrounded by lush rainforest teeming with wildlife. We saw howler monkeys, sloths, caimans, crocodiles, colourful birds like toucans and herons any many, many more.

In the afternoon, you should head over to Tortuguero beach and grab a coconut to relax with. You can also have a mooch around the trees looking for sloths - we managed to spot a couple!

PM: We booked this night walk which is another must do experience here. Since there are jaguars in the area and it is extremely dark, a guide is a must here. The locals really do know the area and their ability to spot wildlife is incredible! Plus, if a jaguar did pop its head out, I'd like a local there to (hopefully) help me.

Where to eat in Tortuguero

• El Patio: We had a gorgeous seafood/meat rice here and the views over the park are beautiful, especially to watch the sunset.

• Taylor's Place Tortuguero: A broad menu, but the food was absolutely delicious.

Day 9 - Transfer to Puerto Viejo ready for some beach time!

Thankfully you can transfer from Tortuguero straight to Puerto Viejo - the journey is 4 hours and you can book here.

We recommend staying at Cabinas Montesol. Once you’ve checked in, explore the local area and head down to the beach in the centre of Puerto Viejo for sunset. There are lots of amazing shops, bars, restaurants here to keep you busy. I bought a gorgeous sloth scrunchie from the local market for £2! This is also a great place to try one of Costa Rica's infamous cocktails - the Coco Loco.

Where to eat in Puerto Viejo

• Paradise Comida Caribena: Amazing Carribean food. We loved the jerk chicken dishes!

• Cocomar Comida Caribena: Delicious chicken rice dishes that is popular with locals.

• Como en mi Casa: A great brunch menu with lots of options - we loved the avocado!

Day 10 - Beach day

We recommend heading over to Playa Cocles. Either grab a tuktuk, hire a bike or simply just walk! It's a circa 40 mins walk from the centre of Puerto Viejo. There are plenty of restaurants and bars here so you can easily spend the day here relaxing, swimming, eating and drinking! Make sure to try a coconut - there are lots of vendors on the beach here.

Day 11 - Jaguar Rescue Center AM, Beach PM

In the morning, head over to the Jaguar Rescue Centre. There are shared tours available at 9:30am or 11:30am, the cost of which is $26 per person and lasts 1.5 hours. Click here to book. The Jaguar Rescue Centre is a wildlife rehabilitation facility dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing injured or orphaned animals. Despite its name, the centre cares for a wide variety of species, including sloths, monkeys, reptiles and birds, and even an ocelot! It's great learning about the centre’s conservation efforts and to meet animals that cannot be released, supporting the vital work of protecting Costa Rica’s biodiversity. This is an absolute must do when in Puerto Viejo and it is well worth the entrance fee!

In the afternoon, stop off at Playa Cocles for a couple of hours of R&R!

We walked to both the Jaguar Rescue Centre and the beach, but you can rent a bike or travel via taxi/tuktuk, just ask your hotel to arrange for you.

Day 12 - Departure

Catch a morning transfer back to San Jose for your departure flight, which you can book here. This will take about 5.5 hours so make sure you leave enough time ahead of your flight!

How long should I spend in Costa Rica?

We recommend spending at least 10 days in Costa Rica. If you enjoy travelling at a slower pace, 2 weeks will give you plenty of time to see all that Costa Rica has to offer at a leisurely pace.

Is Costa Rica expensive?

In short, yes, Costa Rica is quite expensive, particularly versus other Central American countries. It has been a busy tourist hub for many years and it does feel quite touristy in most places that you visit. A budget traveller will be able to travel on around $55-65/day, whilst a mid-range traveller will likely need to budget up to $75/day.

Is Costa Rica safe?

Yes, Costa Rica is safe particularly relative to other Central American countries. However, normal safety precautions are advised. Puerto Viejo and San Jose a little more dangerous versus other areas in our opinion, particularly at night. Monteverde and La Fortuna are incredibly safe. Food hygiene was not a problem for us there.

Do I need a visa to enter Costa Rica?

British passport holders do not need a visa for up to 180 days, however you do need proof of an exit flight. We were sat by someone on our flight who did not have an outbound flight booked and they were refused entry at the border.

Best places to visit in Costa Rica

• La Fortuna: The home of waterfalls and volcanoes. It's a fantastic place to swim in hot springs and take a dip at the bottom of a waterfall!

• Monteverde: The cloud forest is spectacular and the night walk here was a very unique experience. It's very biodiverse, so a great place to observe wildlife on one of the many tours on offer.

• Tortuguero: Truly incredible. The amount of wildlife we saw in such a short space of time is something which few places on the planet can offer. Put this place on your bucket list!

Must try foods in Costa Rica

• Gallo Pinto: Costa Rica's national dish; a delicious medley of white rice, black beans, peppers, onion and spices (such as coriander) which is often served with meat (such has beef). It's delicious and very filling!

• Plantain: They are EVERYWHERE - and who can blame them with the amount of fruit that Costa Rica grows? They are often served fried as a quick snack - great to boost your sugar levels in that mid-afternoon lull.

• Grilled meats: We saw lots of grilled meats during our time in Costa Rica. It was always delicious, so it's a great place to get some amazing cuts of beef for a reasonable price.

• Coco Loco: Whilst this is not food per se, this is Costa Rica's infamous cocktail. It's sort of like a pina colada, but more coconut and less pineapple. Great to sip one of these after a long day of seeing Costa Rica's many amazing sites.