Costa Rica · Follow your curiosity
Wake to birdsong, walk above the canopy, then slow down by the sea. Choose the Costa Rica route that gives each place the time it deserves.
Find your route
Curated by CatherineFor independent explorers
3curated starting routes
5 or 10days in the saved plans
34curated activities
32places to stay
The journey starts with a choice
A short trip works best with a clear focus. The wider Highlights route needs more time and a lighter daily checklist.
10-day starting planPhoto: Cosmic TimetravelerForest, canals & a Pacific finish
A 10-day starting plan through the Central Valley, Tortuguero, Arenal, Tamarindo and Monteverde. Choose the main outings; this is not a seven-day tour of both coasts.
5-day starting planPhoto: TrailOne coast, with time to settle
Five days around Puerto Viejo and Punta Uva, followed by a San José night. Keep the arrival and return days for travel, with beach choices in between.
5-day starting planPhoto: Dylan GormanA Tamarindo base
Five days with four selected nights at Capitán Suizo. The saved plan is centered on Tamarindo, with an airport choice to resolve before booking.
The saved Highlights plan is ten days. For a week, remove a region and its transfers before shortening the days. The Pacific plan names SJO but starts with Liberia; resolve the actual airport before booking.
Make the days feel like a holiday
The lake, mountains and two coasts can turn nearby-looking pins into a long travel day. Plan around the places that matter most.
Leave room for wonder
Four different ways into the landscape. Choose the main experience before adding another drive.
Photo: Fabio FistarolMistico, near Lake Arenal
Choose a hanging-bridge circuit for a different view of the forest canopy. Confirm the actual route, guide and mobility requirements; a bridge circuit is not a zipline ticket.
Photo: Christopher AustinMonteverde Cloud Forest Preserve
Choose a self-guided forest walk or a booked natural-history tour. The preserve currently recommends online booking and arrival 15 minutes before the timed shuttle departure from its visitor center; a late arrival may miss entry.
Photo: Lars0001Tortuguero canals
Arrange the exact canoe, kayak or motorboat experience and confirm whether park admission is included. Canal wildlife viewing is different from a regulated seasonal nesting visit on the beach; sightings remain uncertain.
Photo: Kyle PearceNear Dominical / Pérez Zeledón approach
Choose the entrance before following directions. Don Lulo’s Nauyaca Waterfalls and Nauyaca Waterfall Nature Park are separate operators with different approaches, tickets and transport options. A booking with one does not establish access through the other.
Somewhere worth waking up
A forest morning or a beach evening? Compare the actual locality before choosing a room.
La Fortuna waterfall approach
A forest setting near the La Fortuna waterfall corridor, selected after Day 4 of Highlights.
Monteverde, east of Santa Elena
A Monteverde hotel selected after Days 8 and 9 of Highlights, suited to giving the cloud-forest area two nights.
Southern Tamarindo beachfront
The saved Pacific and Highlights overnight choice in southern Tamarindo. It anchors a beach stay rather than a tour of the whole peninsula.
Punta Uva, south Caribbean
The Caribbean plan’s selected stay after Days 1–3, in the Punta Uva corridor east of Puerto Viejo town.
A word from your curator
Costa Rica blew our minds when we first visited. Stunning nature, abundant wildlife, scenic beaches, all paired up with incredibly thoughtful stays — a true nature lover's paradise. We invite you to experience this place with our curated activities, hand-picked stays, and crafted plans.
A good place to start
Keep the practical choices close, then check the details again for your travel dates.
The Pacific has a clearer dry season; the Caribbean has no fully dry season and can be relatively drier in September and October. Choose the coast before applying a month label.
December–March is generally drier on the Pacific side. November–January is a wetter Caribbean period. These Tourism Board climate patterns are not a weather forecast.
Tortuguero needs a boat connection, Monteverde needs a mountain approach, and a five-day beach escape includes the airport journey.
Interbus’s published estimates include roughly four hours from San José to La Fortuna or Monteverde, and five hours to Puerto Viejo. Add the actual pickup, traffic, stops and final accommodation approach.
Manuel Antonio uses SINAC tickets and closes Tuesdays. Monteverde Preserve has a timed shuttle. Nauyaca has two separate operators and approaches.
Read the exact date, meeting point, transport and ticket inclusions before paying. Private reserves, national parks, bridge circuits and zipline packages are different visits.
Planning sources read November 5, 2026: Tourism Board climate, SINAC Manuel Antonio, Monteverde Preserve, and Interbus transfer estimates. Confirm weather, admission and access again before travel.
Keep exploring
Explore each area, then open its complete place and stay directory. Curation groups can cover several distinct localities.
Photo: Fabio FistarolChoose La Fortuna for the waterfall, Bogarín and volcano outings. Río Celeste, the western lakeshore and Río Perdido are separate bases within this broad collection.
Photo: Christopher AustinStay around Santa Elena or Monteverde for cloud-forest walks, then choose one reserve or adventure park as the day’s focus.
Photo: Zachary SheaTamarindo and Langosta suit a beach base. Playa Grande and Playa Negra are different localities; Liberia is a mainland gateway, and Manzanillo is much farther south on the peninsula.
Photo: JaimedelamataTown, Playa Negra, Cocles and Punta Uva offer different bases along the Caribbean coast. Choose evening access or a quieter beach setting.
Photo: Christian GarciaDowntown San José works for city walks and food. Poás, Vara Blanca and Bajos del Toro are countryside excursions, not downtown stops.
Photo: Lars0001Make time for the boat arrival, a canal outing and a quiet overnight. River lodges and village guesthouses have different final transfers.
Photo: Etienne DelorieuxThe two selected beaches are inside Manuel Antonio National Park. Nauyaca is a separate outing inland from Dominical, farther south.
Photo: Chalo GarciaJacó is a coastal town base; Bijagual is a separate inland waterfall outing. Use the pair to choose between a beach afternoon and a walking day.
From a good idea to your own adventure
Make a curated plan your own, keep your places together and take Fyno along for the journey.