San José – Monteverde

After breakfast, your car will be delivered to your hotel and you can start your Costa Rica adventure. Head south on the Panamerican Highway towards the Pacific. Eventually, the route turns north. At the intersection in Pitahaya follow Ruta 606 to Santa Elena in Monteverde. The last 35km or so are a bit tough, as the road is not very good, but the beautiful scenery and the adventures in the Cloud Forest make the journey very worthwhile.

Accommodation: Santa Elena/Monteverde
Included meals: Breakfast
Included activities: none
Total driving distance: approx.150km
Total driving time: approx. 3h

Monteverde

The Cloud Forest is full of mystery. The trees are draped in mosses and epiphytes, and the canopy is in the clouds. This is a great area for bird watching and to explore this special eco-system in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. The most popular attraction of this area is the canopy walkway, a system of hanging bridges that allows you to view the cloud forest at eye-level with the wildlife that lives in the canopy.

Accommodation: Santa Elena/ Monteverde
Included meals: Breakfast
Included activities: None
Total driving distance: only local
Total driving time: depending on hotel location and distance to the reserve

Monteverde – Arenal

Continue your journey to the Arenal region, on the other side of Lago Arenal, an area that is dominated by the presence of the beautiful, almost perfectly cone-shaped Arenal Volcano. The first part of the journey, to Tilaran is again, a bit rough, with many potholes marking the road. After Tilaran the road improves as it makes its way to La Fortuna, hugging the shoreline of Lago Arenal. A beautiful drive.

Relax at your hotels hot spring pools or explore the area. There are many activities available in this region, which has developed into a kind of outdoor adventure hub.

Accommodation: La Fortuna/Arenal
Included meals: Breakfast
Included activities: None
Total driving distance: 125km
Total driving time: approx. 3h30min

La Fortuna (Arenal Volcano)

After breakfast, you have all day to explore this magnificent region and all that it has to offer: adrenaline buzzes like canopy zip-line, whitewater rafting, inner tubing, night safaris, horseback riding, rappelling, mountain bicycle tours; hiking, spelunking, visiting waterfalls, or hanging bridges, or more relaxing activities, such as taking a rejuvenating dip in the thermo-mineral waters that come from a volcanic vein.
Accommodation: in La Fortuna (Arenal Volcano).
Included meals: Breakfast
Included activities: None

Arenal – Boca Tapada

Continue your journey to the northern lowlands of Costa Rica. Take Highway 4, then switch to Highway 250 towards Pital and keep going north until you reach the remote village of Boca Tapada. Here you will find a forgotten world, off the beaten track, hidden in the Lowland Rainforest. Despite the fact that this fertile, wetland area is home to innumerable fruit plantations, it also still harbors quite extensive tracts of tropical forest and its resident wildlife. In fact, it is a significant link in the chain of the nature reserves that for the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, an important interconnected habitat chain that enables the free and continuous movement of wildlife. 

Accommodation: Boca Tapada
Included meals: Breakfast
Included activities: None
Total driving distance: 80km
Total driving time: 2h30min

Boca Tapada

This place is particularly interesting for those who want to get close to nature. Depending on the lodge you choose, there are different activities available. Always an option is a hike in the rainforest, but you may also have the opportunity to take a boat tour or kayak tour, which is usually the best way to see the wildlife. This is a virgin area of natural forest, where many animals are repeatedly seen.

Accommodation: Boca Tapada
Included meals: Breakfast
Included activities: None
Total driving distance: None
Total driving time: None

Boca Tapada – Sarapiqui

Today you continue your journey up to the Caribbean hinterland around Sarapiqui. You will pass many fruit plantations along the way. But once in Sarapiqui, you’ll find another interesting area. Among other things, there is one of the most important pre-Columbian archeological sites in this area. 
Accommodation: Sarapiqui
Included meals: Breakfast
Included activities: None
Total driving distance: 90km
Total driving time: 2h30min

Sarapiqui

Time for optional local activities. Our recommendation is to visit La Tirimbina for a cultural and ethnobotanical experience: the chocolate tour, where you can learn everything you ever wanted to know about how chocolate is made from the beans of the Cocoa Tree. Or you can take wildlife-walk. Don´t forget your binoculars, they will never leave your face! 
Accommodation: Sarapiqui
Included meals: Breakfast
Included activities: None
Total driving distance: None
Total driving time: None

Sarapiqui – Puerto Viejo

When you are ready, continue your journey to the Caribbean, where you can relax for the next couple of days. The journey takes you first via Guapile, then Siquerres to Limo. Here you head south to Puerto Viejo, a typical Caribbean town with a laid-back atmosphere. The hotels are located a couple of miles or so away from the town, and close to the beach.

Accommodation: Puerto Viejo/Limon
Included meals: Breakfast
Included activities: None
Total driving distance: approx. 200km
Total driving time: approx 4 hours

Caribbean Beaches

Relax by the beach or explore the area. Although it seems like you have reached the back of beyond, there are places waiting to be discovered. You can go and explore the Cahuita National Park, visit a native community or go kayaking or horseback riding. Or visit the Jaguar Rescue Center which rescues and rehabilitates not only jaguars but many species of animals that have gotten into accidents or have become orphaned. 
Accommodation: Puerto Viejo Limon area
Included meals: Breakfast
Included activities: None
Total driving distance: only local
Total driving time: depends on your appetite for adventure

Caribbean Coast – Turrialba

Today, head back to Siquerres, then turn off onto Ruta 10 to Turrialba. Here you are back in the Volcano country of the Central Valley. This area of Costa Rica is a quiet, rural region, but there are also some great places for watching wildlife or to pursue some adventurous activities, such as white-water rafting, mountain biking or horseback riding. There is also a lodge that specializes in birding. Ask, if you are interested in staying there.

Accommodation: Turrialba
Included meals: Breakfast
Included activities: None
Total driving distance: 175km
Total driving time: approx. 4h

Turrialba – San José

Start early, if you want to visit Irazú Volcano on the way back to San José, as it usually gets cloudy after about 10 am. before heading back to the capital, you might also like to visit Cartago, the former capital of Costa Rica and its Basilica Church, or the beautiful Lankaster Botanical Garden, with its interesting orchid collection and many other tropical plants. If you return to San José early, you might still have time to explore the capital and visit the museum.

Accommodation: San Jose or Alajuela
Included meals: Breakfast
Included activities: None
Total driving distance: approx. 60km (without side trips)
Total driving time: 2h (without side trips)

San José International Airport

After breakfast, at the appropriate time, head back to the airport. It is recommended to get there 3h-3h30 before your flight’s departure in order to allow for plenty of time to drop off your rental car and get through the check-in and security procedures. The rental car offices are located a little bit away from the airport, but they will give you a lift to the terminal after you have dropped off the car.  It’s time to say goodbye to Costa Rica and board your flight home!

Included meals: Breakfast
Included activities: None