Pick-up of the rental car – Boca Tapada

Your rental car will be delivered after breakfast. You need a credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Diner´s Cub) and your valid national driving license.
Start your self-drive adventure heading toward Alajuela, the second biggest town in Costa Rica, to Poás Volcano (entrance fee 15 USD per person). Your car will be safe in the parking lot. After a short walk, you reach the main crater of the volcano. With a diameter of 1,8 km, the crater of Poás Volcano is one of the largest in the world.

We recommend scheduling your visit before 10 am, as it usually clouds over in the afternoon. After visiting the main crater, you can take a 30-minute walk to a side crater. On the way, you will be able to get a first impression of Costa Rica’s rich nature as you admire the plants and birds you’ll see along the way.

Once you get back to your car, the real adventure begins as you start your journey through Costa Rica’s agricultural heartland, the Central Valley. First, head south to San Pedro de Poás, then turn right and continue to the town of Grecia. Visit their local church, which is indeed lovely. This burgundy painted church was built in 1890, entirely in metal to protect it against the tropical climate. Continue through  the towns of Naranjo and Zarcero until you reach Ciudad Quesada, where you will find a various restaurants and grocery stores for your convenience. The journey continues through the towns of Aguas Zarcas, Pital, and Boca Tapada.

Accommodation: in Boca Tapada
Included meals: Breakfast
Total driving distance: about 150km
Total driving time: about 4 hours

Boca Tapada

Enjoy fantastic hikes in an emerald forest, the 300 ha private nature reserve, where you can explore the magnificent plant and wildlife. There is also a lake that extends for 900 meters into the jungle. You can use kayaks to paddle silently through the rainforest – one of the best ways to see animals. Other optional tours are available at reasonable rates.

Accommodation: in Boca Tapada
Included meals: Breakfast
Total driving distance: none
Total driving time: none

Boca Tapada – Arenal Volcano

Today you will be heading for one of Costa Rica’s most iconic places, the Arenal Volcano area. The journey takes you through fruit plantations via the towns of Pital, Aguas Zarcas, and Muelle to La Fortuna, located at the foot of the active Arenal Volcano. We recommend a visit to Ecocentro Danaus with its butterfly garden, snake museum, and medicinal plant garden. Weather permitting, you will be able to enjoy a beautiful view the perfectly cone-shaped Arenal Volcano. Relax in the thermal pools of the hotel, or go on one of the many activities offered at this lodge (optional), if you arrive early enough.

Accommodation: in La Fortuna/Arenal area
Included meals: Breakfast
Total driving distance: about 80km
Total driving time: about 2.5 hours

Arenal Volcano – Monteverde

Today your journey continues to the cloud forest reserve of Monteverde. At first, the road will pass very close to the volcano, before it follows the shores of Lago Arenal around the lake, a beautiful drive through the tropical mountain landscape. Watch out for the wildlife! Gradually the road gets increasingly rugged and you can see potholes all around. This is a sign that you are getting close to the village of Nuevo Arenal. Continue to the northern part of Lake Arenal, an area that is windy all year round and a reason you’ll be able to see a wind farm on the horizon – a dazzling vision of a clean energy future!
Once in Tilarán, follow the signs to Monteverde / Santa Elena. For the final approx. 50km the road may be in quite a poor condition, especially after heavy rain.

Accommodation: Santa Elena area
Included meals: Breakfast
Total driving distance: about 125 km
Total driving time: about 3.5 hours

Monteverde

You have all day to enjoy the many interesting excursions and tours that Monteverde has to offer. We recommend a visit to the Cloud Forest Reserves of Monteverde and/or Santa Elena. Another popular option is a visit to the famous hanging bridges of Selvatura, a system of suspension bridges that leads you on a canopy walk through the cloud forest. Santa Elena, a small village close to Monteverde Reserve, also has a butterfly farm, a snake museum, a hummingbird gallery, a cheese factory and much more.

Accommodation: Santa Elena area
Included meals: Breakfast
Total driving distance: only local, between your hotel and the Cloud Forest Reserve
Total driving time: none

Monteverde – Quepos / Manuel Antonio

Today you’ll make your way from the Cloud Forest to the Pacific Ocean. The first 35 km are quite rough, but after that, you will be joining the Panamerican Highway heading south via Puntarenas and Orotina to Jacó. Here you can stop to visit the Carara National Park, 5 km after the long bridge across the Tarcoles River (entry fee 10 USD per person). This park is special as it is one of the only places let that protects a transitional zone between the wet tropical forest and the dry tropical forest found to the north. The special climatic conditions are perfect for the orchids which you’ll see here in their natural habitat. But, the park’s main attraction is the magnificent scarlet macaw. Carara National Park is a sanctuary for this endangered species. Afterward, continue along the coast to Quepos/Manuel Antonio.

Accommodation: Quepos /Manuel Antonio NP region
Included meals: Breakfast
Total driving distance: about 180 km
Total driving time: about 3.5 hours

Manuel Antonio National Park

In this region of the Central Pacific Manuel Antonio National Park is the main attraction (closed on Mondays, entry fee 16 USD per person). Although Manuel Antonio is one of the smallest parks in Costa Rica, it is also one of the most popular destinations for both foreign and domestic tourists. The park protects a cherished rainforest area of 1624 ha the last stand of untouched coastal rainforest in this part of Costa Rica. Despite the fact that this is a busy park, there is a lot of wildlife which can be spotted relatively easily along the trails.

Accommodation: in Quepos/Manuel Antonio NP area
Included meals: Breakfast
Total driving distance: none
Total driving time: none

Quepos / Manuel Antonio – Dominical – Cerro de la Muerte – San Gerardo de Dota

Beyond Quepos, you’ll start to see the wilder side of Costa Rica. The road hugs the coast with its many romantic beaches and great surf. Just before reaching Dominical you can stop to visit the private reserve of Hacienda Barú. Soon after, you will leave the coastal road and start heading up into the coastal mountains. In San Isidro del General, where you’ll meet the Panamerican Highway again and here the road begins to ascend into the Talamanca mountain range to cross the highest mountain pass in Costa Rica, known as Cerro de la Muerte, at 3400 m above sea level. A few kilometres further on, turn left to San Gerardo de Dota, a small village at 2200 m above the sea. This area is an ‘El Dorado’ for birdwatchers, as it is the best place in Costa Rica to spot the elusive and magnificent Resplendent Quetzal, a shy and colorful bird, once considered sacred by the Mayans and other native populations. Enjoy a walk through the montane rainforest and watch out for birds and other wildlife until late in the afternoon.

Accommodation: San Gerardo de Dota area
Included meals today: Breakfast
Total driving distance: about 140 km
Total driving time: about 3 hours

San Gerardo de Dota – Cartago – Turrialba

The early morning hours are the best time to take a walk through the beautiful cloud forest – just great for birdwatching. After breakfast r you will continue your journey to Turrialba via Cartago. You want to pay a visit to the Lankester Gardens, located near Cartago, to admire their beautiful orchid and bromeliad collections. Or, you might decide to visit Irazú Volcano (entry fee 15 USD per person). Weather permitting, you may be able to see its jade green crater lake. If you are really lucky and the weather is in your favor, you might even be able to see both, the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean from up there.  (Excursions not included in the distance and time calculation).

Accommodation: in Turrialba
Included meals: Breakfast
Total driving distance: about 110 km (without Irazú Volcano)
Total driving time: about 2.5 hours (without Irazú Volcano)

Turrialba – Limón – Puerto Viejo de Limón

Turrialba is situated in the agricultural heartland of the Central Valley. You could visit a coffee or sugarcane plantation to get a glimpse of the life and work of Costa Rica’s rural population. Afterward, continue to Siquirres on a winding road with occasional glimpses of the Atlantic Ocean. Turn right in Siquirres to continue to Limón and the Caribbean coast where you will finally reach the coastal town of Puerto Viejo de Limón, welcoming you with its distinctive Caribbean flair.

Accommodation: Puerto Viejo area
Included meals: Breakfast
Total driving distance: about 165 km
Total driving time: about 3.5 hours

Puerto Viejo de Limón

The last couple of days of your trip are for relaxing on the Caribbean Beach. While Cockles Beach, just across the road, is closest, you might want to head a little ways further down south to find some really beautiful and solitary white sand beaches, away from the buzz of the tourist hub of Puerto Viejo. Here you can also explore the Gandoca Manzanillo Reserve.

Accommodation: Puerto Viejo area
Included meals: Breakfast
Total driving distance: as you feel inclined
Total driving time: optional

Puerto Viejo de Limón

Another day at your leisure to enjoy the Caribbean coast.

Accommodation: Puerto Viejo area
Included meals: Breakfast
Total driving distance: none
Total driving time: none

Puerto Viejo de Limón – San José – Car return

Enjoy the beaches in the morning, then head back to San José via Limón, Siquirres, Guápiles, and Braulio Carrillo National Park. If you leave Puerto Viejo de Limón early, you could stop for a visit of the Braulio Carrillo National Park and take a ride in the Aerial Tram. Return your rental car before 5 pm.

Accommodation: Alajuela or San Jose
Included meals: Breakfast
Total driving distance: about 220 km
Total driving time: about 4.5 hours

Transfer to the Airport

It is time to say Good Bye to Costa Rica.  At the appropriate time, approximately 3 hours before your flight departs, you will be taken back to the airport, in good time for check-in for your flight back home.