2 weeks in Costa Rica - Anyone willing to help fill in the logistics?

[Imabitbusyatthemoment]

I’m planning a trip to Costa Rica this Easter and am going round in circles trying to figure out all the details. So many helpful posts on the other Costa Rica threads so I’m hoping for some help planning the specifics of our trip.

Family of four with two young teens, prefer not to hire a car but would consider picking one up for a day or two if needed, will rely on shuttles for main journeys. Mid range budget.

Itinerary so far:
We land in San Jose - any recommendations for somewhere nice/interesting to stay for one night within an hour of the airport? Not interested in San Jose city and don’t fancy such a long journey to LF after a really long flight.

Then, 3 nights La Fortuna
3 nights Monteverde (boat transfer from LF)
5 nights Manuel Antonio
Fly out San Jose

Willing to adjust this plan if advised.

Things I need help with:

• hotels (or areas to focus search) that are within tour pick up areas, near restaurants (but not necessarily the main part of town which I’ve heard isn’t particularly nice in LF) and ideally other walkable interest points. Prefer garden setting to downtown. The priority for MA is relaxation, so nice pool, near beach, walk to restaurants.
• what is the best way to get around each area without a car?
• best places to do zip lining/walkways? Was leaning towards Monteverde for this.
• Any recommendations for specific wildlife/rafting etc tours?
• how much is it going to cost to feed us all?!

Thanks!

Hi
We did a similar trip to you. 1 night Radisson near airport, 2 nights Tortuguero, 4 nights La Fortuna, 2 nights Monteverde then 4 nights Manuel Antonio.
We didn’t want to hire a car so used shuttles through Interbus, a taxi arranged by our hotel for the San Jose one and a taxi to take us from Manuel Antonio to San Jose airport. You need to prebook shuttles. If you’re a family it may be the same price if not cheaper to use private hire cabs.
We stayed in Hotel La Secreto in La Fortuna. We loved it - within walking distance of the centre and good restaurants and recognised by all the tour companies. We were two adults no DCs so our focus was on wildlife and hiking. There’s also ubers widely available in La Fortuna and very cheaply so it’s easy to get around.

The jeep/boat/jeep from La Fortuna to Monteverde is quite the experience and took us around 4 hours. We did the El Tigre waterfall hike when we were there which was one of my favourite days, it’s quite strenuous but has a few hanging bridges to entertain young folk and you can get a 4x4 or horse ride back to the base. Ubers aren’t available in Monteverde and we found taxis relatively expensive. Same for Manuel Antonio.

Costa Rica is expensive with entrance costs for hiking trails, going to see the waterfall etc. etc. Western style restaurants were roughly the equivalent of what we would pay for a meal out in Edinburgh. Sodas which serve Costa Rican food are a lot less expensive- most had a cassada which was a dish of meat, rice , salad, beans and vegetables for about £10. We stayed in hotels as we wanted to make it easy because we weren’t hiring a car and they seemed to be cheaper than UK equivalent provided you avoided the 5 star resort hotels geared towards Americans. Talking of which you don’t need to do the excessive tipping that the Americans do - meals already include 10% and if you get a good shuttle driver mine was ecstatic when I gave him $10 which led me to think that wasn’t the norm.

It is a lot safer than I anticipated particularly as you’re sticking to the tourist hot spots. I wasn’t hugely keen on Manuel Antonio but it is a nice beach. We had a lovely inexpensive lunch in Monarchs butterfly sanctuary- you don’t need to pay to eat there.

Its a wonderful place and I am glad we went. We actually weren’t too bad - I calculated we spent roughly £5k for two weeks with free flights using Avios.

This is incredibly helpful @rookiemere I was beginning to lose faith in the no car approach so this is great!

It’s been a good few years since I went and we hired a car to get around. I have such fond memories of our hotel in Manuel Antonio. It was a lovely relaxing hotel with a nice pool, and monkeys playing in the trees. Rooms were huge. The pina colada’s (delivered from the restaurant next door) were the best I’ve ever had. I think the hotel was on the main road heading to the national park.

https://www.hotelyara.com/index.html

Along that road was a restaurant that had an airplane in it. That was pretty awesome!

https://elavion.net/

There were quite a few places to eat within walking distance.

Oh and this is where we stayed in San Jose the night before we flew home to the UK. It was quite a reasonable price if memory serves me well.

https://www.villasanignacio.com/

I’ve been twice and never had a car. First trip was Tamarindo, Monteverde, La Fortuna. Second was San Jose, Manuel Antonio, La Fortuna, Tortuguero, La Cahuita, Puerto Viejo, San Jose.

I’m trying to remember the names of all the hotels, but I know that in San Jose I spent my last two nights after a tiring trip at https://www.thealtahotel.com/ and it was gorgeous. Manuel Antonio seems to be (from google maps) Hotel Manuel Antonio, on the edge of the resort but fine. I also went to the airplane restaurant!

Monteverde I’ve stayed in Monteverde Lodge & Gardens which was very nice but £££ and then a much hostel type place I can’t recall the name of. Restaurant Morphos stands out as being great, and if it’s still there Taco Taco Taqueria for a great and cheapish lunch.

In La Fortuna I stayed at Nayara Lodge which was £££££ and very ‘honeymoony’ and a hotel that I think was just called La Fortuna right in town, and was basic but fine. Loads of places to eat in town, and bakeries to get cheap sandwiches / empanadas for lunch.

It’s my favourite place in the world OP, I’m jealous!

@Imabitbusyatthemoment it’s perfectly doable without a car and the road from La Fortuna to Monteverde was frankly terrifying so I am very glad we weren’t driving. It might be trickier if you stray off the tourist route, but for a first visit we found it fine and it was nice to talk to other tourists. Also I had read not to leave any valuables in your car when parked and I wasn’t sure how we could achieve that when traveling so it got rid of that issue. We packed fairly light and just had cabin sized bags for our two week trip - the La Fortuna hotel had same day laundry service with a local company for around £10 a bag.

@mrschocolatte we had originally booked to stay in that hotel for our first night, but the Tortuguero trip only picked up from big hotels, maybe next time.

One recommendation is to take a guide for at least one walk in each national park. You can just go in and walk yourself in most but the guides will spot things you never in a million years would have, and they usually carry good binoculars and scopes.

I did a night walk in Monteverde and that was stand out.

I’m on a roll now, using my instagram archive to remind myself! Ecoglide ziplining outside La Fortuna was really good, and I did the hanging bridges in Monteverde. If you want to get involved with some conservation look at https://institutoasis.com/ It’s a sanctuary outside La Fortuna and you can (pay to) do half day volunteer sessions with them, or just visit and learn about what they do.

One last thing, don’t write off SJ city, I was there a day and booked a group walking tour that ended up being just me, it was really interesting and there’s loads of cool street art if you’re into that at all.

Thanks everyone for all the great tips - I’m googling furiously! Unfortunately all the hotels that I’ve looked at so far have been full but still helpful as starting points for locations.
@FettleOfKish that’s interesting re San Jose, I might add it back in again at the start. We had originally planned a night at each end but I was put off by negative comments.
One thing I keep coming back to, is there enough variety in our itinerary or are we going to be fed up with rainforests? I would have liked to have ventured to Samara and the Caribbean coast but we don’t have enough time - I’d rather be able to go at a slower pace and have some chill time than racing between destinations.

With 2 weeks, you've got plenty to do already.
We did 3 weeks and included Samara and Carribbean coast, but not MA. I don't think you have time.
We did zip lining in Monteverde and hanging bridges in La Fortuna.
Teens will love the rope swing in la Fortuna (El Salto).
I second the jeep-boat-jeep transfer between la Fortuna and Monteverde. Great way to travel. Great views.
La Fortuna is very spread out, so either book a resort or stay central.
Exploradores were great for minivan transfers.
Also for a white water rafting trip (teens loved that). You can actually book it so they pick you up in SJ, take you rafting, then drop you off in la Fortuna - brilliant way to not waste a day travelling.

I think you’ve definitely got some good variety there. Monteverde is unlike any other rainforest, and the most AMAZING beach I’ve ever seen is inside the national park at MA (we didn’t realise so didn’t have beach stuff with us, and didn’t have time to go back!). There’s loads to do around La Fortuna / Arenal too.

According to my email archive I booked all my transfers with Caribe Shuttle and they were great. I even popped back to SJ from La Fortuna on my 2nd trip to run the half marathon there, all very straightforward and always felt safe even travelling alone.

We want to do exactly the OP's destinations without a car, however, DH put off by the long minivan transfers between destinations. 3, 4 and 5 hours I believe, then 3 hours back to SJO before the return evening international flight.

Could we do just one or two destinations? Or is there not enough to do in one/two places/ it would be a waste not to see more of the country?

@HandSAnxiety Over 2 weeks I’d say that less than 3 would be a waste. Bear in mind that you’re often passing through gorgeous scenery, not just 4 or 5 hours on a motorway looking at nothing. The van / boat / van between Monteverde and La Fortuna feels like an adventure in itself.

Thanks @FettleOfKish . I've done so much research that it seems a waste not to go now too but the transfers don't feel relaxing enough for DH. Think he'd like to fly and flop, an All Inclusive with great historical or outdoorsy excursions nearby.

I can't think of where else in the world I'd like to go instead. Favourite past holidays include Xcaret Mexico, and Japan. Any ideas???

@Imabitbusyatthemoment there are 2025 posts on the Holidays thread recommending CR hotels which should help you shortlist.

@HandSAnxiety I agree with @FettleOfKish . And within the minivan timings given, there was usually a loo / snack stop and potentially viewpoint stops too. It was a great way to travel around. 4 nights was plenty for each of La Fortuna and Monteverde.

@HandSAnxiety maybe point out to him that the excursions would involve (long) minivan journeys? It's definitely an active holiday destination with a few beach days rather than fly and flop. And so much to see as you travel. Not boring UK motorways.

Costa Rica is definitely not a relaxing holiday. DH and I commented that we were glad we did it before we were much older as the long transfers and early mornings for excursions were tiring. However it was so worth it and Manuel Antonio at the end is a beachy destination- if you get a taxi to San Jose it doesn’t feel too long.

Wow, so much great info here. Thanks everyone. I’ll definitely look into the rafting en rout from SJ to LF, thanks @House4DS.
The cost of all the activities is pretty eye watering so I’m trying to find a balance of lots of variety and not completely blowing the budget.
Definitely doing the El Tigre water falls @rookiemere mentioned.
@FettleOfKish thanks so much, you’ve really put my mind at rest that it’s the right decision to take the trip. We were planning on doing Colombia but it’s not safe at the moment so have had to change destination. Affordability was a factor in choosing Colombia and CR is anything but that but looks like it will be worth it.

@HandSAnxiety if you decide not to go with Costa Rica, Thailand could be a good option. Flop on an island (I love Koh Lanta - can do side trips to Krabi & Phi Phi) for a week and then up to Chang Mai for incredible temples, elephants etc. Really good mix of culture and relaxation.

Just a quick one for now, but I also highly recommend Villa Ignacio for the first night after arriving, it’s lovely , great value and has fabulous gardens to wander around with huge spiders in the trees. In La Fortuna we enjoyed the North fields coffee and chocolate tour. The Ecotermales hot springs in La Fortuna was great, but pricey, but my son (who came with us but stayed in hostels to save mine due to cost), went to the public natural hot springs where locals go and said that was different, but also great. Manuel Antonio town beach is lovely, but the beach in the national park is amazing. We wondered why one side was empty…. And then realised there were crocs in the sea! There is a town called Quepos about a 20 min bus trip from Manuel Antonio which is worth visiting for a few hours, we stayed between the two which I wouldn’t recommend as the road can be treacherous for pedestrians in the dark, and there is nowhere to eat within walking distance, try to stay somewhere in Manuel Antonio if possible. We booked all transfers with ILT Costa Rica, mainly excellent.

Ps I also totally agree with recommendation of considering Chiang Mai and Koh Lanta if you don’t go to Costa Rica . Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai is an absolute must! Overall we preferred the Thailand trip to Costa Rica.

@crabby I don’t want to hijack the thread, but we are also considering a Thailand holiday and would prefer to self organise than go on a guided tour, so I would love to know your itinerary.

Hey everyone, great thread – we're planning a similar shuttle-based family trip to Costa Rica this summer and your itinerary looks perfect for keeping things relaxed with teens.
One thing that helped us budget the "optional car for a day or two" idea: fuel prices in CR are noticeably higher than in Europe, so we quickly checked expected costs with kalkulatorpaliwa.com.pl – just pop in rough daily km, average consumption of the rental (most are 8-10L/100km), and current CR fuel price (~1.40 USD/liter for regular). Gave us a realistic extra cost before deciding on shuttles vs short rental.
Definitely sticking mostly to Interbus and jeep-boat-jeep like you all mentioned – sounds way less stress than driving those roads!
Pura Vida and happy planning!