Backpacking Costa Rica: A Two Week Itinerary!

Day 1: San jose

We landed at the Juan Santamaría International Airport around 3pm and we could immediately feel the heat of Central America! After a slight hiccup finding our diver, we made it to our hostel! We only stayed in San Jose for the evening because there is not too much to do there. Luckily, our hostel was near a lively park so we were able to enjoy some live music!

HOSTEL: We stayed at Alajuela Backpacker’s Hostel during our time in San Jose. We chose this hostel because they offer a free shuttle service to and from the airport. Additionally, it is only a few blocks away from the bus station we needed to go to for our bus to La Fortuna. We enjoyed the ping-pong table and the rooftop bar!

Day 2: La fortuna

After a night in Alajuela we were eager to get to La Fortuna! We walked a few blocks down the street to Central de Autobuses del Norte and bought tickets for an 8:40am bus to La Fortuna for $5. Unfortunately, the bus didn’t arrive until 9:20. This must not be the first stop because the bus was basically full by the time we boarded, so we weren’t able to sit together. However, by the time we made a few more stops, many people had to stand for hours so we were actually pretty lucky!

3 and a half hours later we arrived in La Fortuna! We dropped our bags off at the hostel and immediately headed to La Fortuna Waterfall! We took a $4 Uber and it took about 10 minutes to get there. It costs $18 to enter the park and visit the waterfall. You will walk down a ton of stairs (about 500 of them), which eventually opens up to the biggest waterfall in Costa Rica! We were able to cool down here as there are a few different pools to swim in. The main pool right where the waterfall comes down is very rough and tough to get into due to jagged rocks. However, there are stairs that lead to a calmer sandy section that is easier to get into! After the long climb back up the stairs, we checked out the Orchid Trail, but no flowers were in bloom this time of year. At night we enjoyed walking around the main park and enjoyed a yummy dinner. 

TRAVEL TIP: Uber is pretty popular in Costa Rica, but someone told us it is actually illegal! However, in touristy areas you can use it just fine. We found that we were able to Uber from the center of town to wherever we were going, but we would have to take a taxi home because there would be no Uber’s in the area.

HOSTEL: We stayed at La Choza Inn for 3 nights in La Fortuna. The rooms were very small, but we were only there at night so it wasn’t a big deal. The air conditioning turns on from 9pm to 7am so we would wait until after 9 pm to go into our room! Each morning we were served a delicious breakfast of gallo pinto (ride and beans), eggs, toast, and juice.

Day 3: La Fortuna

On our second day in La Fortuna we headed to the Mistico Hanging Bridges. We called an Uber and it was only $15 for the 30 minute drive. We chose to do a guided tour and we were so happy that we did! Regular admission is $26 and the guided tour was only $40 (including the admission). Our guide was able to spot tons of animals that we definitely wouldn’t have seen on our own. Also, she had massive binoculars so we were able to get close up views of the wildlife. During the tour we saw a sloth, a red eyed tree frog, a sleeping plant (you touch it and it closes), some crescent owls, a rufous motmot bird, an anole lizard, bats, tarantulas, and several white-nosed coatis! We went across 6 hanging bridges where you can see the lush jungle canopy, and when it’s clear, Arenal Volcano. There was a quick detour to a waterfall and we highly recommend it! 

Next we went down the road to Arenal Volcano National Park. Our Uber driver dropped us off at the main view point, but unfortunately the volcano was completely covered by clouds. We walked down the road to the Coladas trail which is about 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) long. Then we did a loop which stops by an old lava field! It started down pouring which made it a little hectic, but it was still cool! We then continued on and saw a Ceibo Tree which was 400 years old and 100 feet (30 meters) tall!!

When we got back to town we went to check out the Bogarian Sloth trail. To walk around by yourself it is only $10 to do a self-guided tour. Unfortunately it’s basically impossible to see anything without a guide, so we would recommend paying the extra money to hire one and actually see some sloths. At the beginning of the trails where you buy your passes, there is a beautiful garden where many birds like to hang out and eat fruit. We were lucky enough to see a toucan!

TRAVEL TIP: When we visited Costa Rica, this night of our trip was New Year’s Eve! We heard from many people that in Costa Rica, this is the biggest holiday of the year! Basically the whole town gathered in the football stadium where there was live music, dancing, some food vendors, and the most spectacular firework display we have ever seen! Whenever you are traveling on or around a holiday, definitely check out what the local traditions are!

Day 4: La fortuna

Today we had a day full of complete relaxation! We spent the day at Ecotermales Hot Springs. Hot springs are very popular in the area and there are a lot to choose from with varying prices. We chose Ecotermales because it was a mid-range price, but reservations were required and they limit the amount of people so that it is not too crowded. For $44 we were able to stay there from 9-4. There are about 6 different pools ranging from 90 to 106 F (32 to 41 C) degrees! There are also some cold pools, waterfalls, lounge chairs, a restaurant, and full bar. The day flew by and we wished we could have stayed longer!

Afterwards, we headed to the Tabacon River which offers the only free hot springs in the area. They were interesting, but extremely crowded and there was a lot of strong currents and jagged rocks to watch out for. This experience definitely justifies spending the money on Ecotermales!

TRAVEL TIP: Hot Springs are a must-do while visiting this area, but we did a lot of research to figure out which one would be best for us. Some other recommendations are the Tabacon Hot Springs, which are the most luxurious and expensive! The free hot spring is located right across the street and also called Tabacon Hot Spring so it is a little confusing. Additionally, we heard that Baldi Hot Springs is really fun because it has more of a water park vibe and is fun for kids!

Day 5: Monteverde

Today we said goodbye to La Fortuna and hello to Monteverde! To get there we did a “Jeep-Boat-Jeep”. For this, a van takes you to Arenal Lake, then a boat takes you across, and another van takes you the remainder of the way to Monteverde. It took about 4 hours in total including all the stops and transfers. We checked into our hostel, Cabinas Vista al Golfo, which is absolutely beautiful!

After getting settled, we headed over to Don Juan Tours which includes tours for the entire production processes of coffee, chocolate, and sugar cane. The tour was about 2.5 hours and extremely entertaining and interactive! No detail was missed as we saw every single step that went into each of the products. Along the way, we were able to participate by grinding up cocoa beans, smashing the juice out of sugar cane, and roasting coffee beans! We were also able to have many samples (even at points in the process where it wasn’t too tasty yet) but this helped give us a good understanding of what goes into it! There are other tours in the area since coffee is such a strong industry in Costa Rica, but we highly recommend visiting Don Juan!  

HOSTEL: We stayed at Cabinas Vista Al Golfo for 4 nights in Monteverde and this was our favorite hostel of the whole trip, possibly because this was the only hostel where we had a private room! The hostel has beautiful views and great areas to hang out in hammocks. Additionally, there is a restaurant where a free breakfast is served each morning and lunch and dinner can be purchased.

Day 6: Monteverde

Today we spent a lot of time hiking in the cloud forests! We started out the day by going to Reserva Bosque Nuboso Santa Elena. There is a bus you can take from town for $2. The entrance is $16 for self-guided or $33 if you want to do a guided tour. We chose to do a guided tour because we heard that is the best way to see wildlife. However, our guide seemed to only be focused on birds, so we didn’t get much out of this tour. During the 3 hour tour, we walked a little under a mile (1.5 kilometers) and only saw birds - but, Santa Elena itself is gorgeous to walk around, so we knew we still had plenty to see! After the tour, we spent another 4 hours hiking the trails of the reserve. On a clear day, from the lookout tower you can see Arenal Volcano. We also enjoyed the overall mystical vibe of the forest! 

After a quick dinner we headed out to our second cloud forest of the day, except this one would be at night! We did a night tour through Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and it was awesome!! We saw giant crickets, stick insects, bioluminescent mushrooms, a meadow tree frog, a baby common rain frog, a sleeping orange-bellied trogon, flying bats, some massive orange knee tarantulas, and some beautiful emerald glass frogs. Our guide was great at making sure that everyone got the chance to see the wildlife and helped us get some amazing photos! We highly recommend this tour! 

TRAVEL TIP: There are actually three cloud forests in the Monteverde area - Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve, and the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. The Monteverde Cloud Forest is the most popular one, while Santa Elena Cloud Forest offers a bit of a more secluded experience with less crowds. The Children’s Eternal Rainforest has the largest protected area of all three and is funded by children raising money!

Day 7: monteverde

We started out the day by getting our adrenaline going! We headed over to 100% Aventura which is known for the best zip lining in Monteverde. Their canopy tour includes 10 zip lines, a hammock bridge, a rappel, and a mega Tarzan swing! This place is also home to the longest zip line in Central America at just under 1 mile (1.5 kilometers) in length, which you do “Superman style”! The Tarzan swing at the end was absolutely terrifying because it’s a 130 foot (40 meter) vertical drop, but we both did it and survived!

Later in the day, we visited the Monteverde Frog Pond (also sometimes called Ranario) which was so cool! There are a ton of different species of frogs in separate terrariums. Since most of the frogs are nocturnal, it was a challenge to try to spot them camouflaged among their surroundings. All together we found about 15 frogs! The cool thing about the Frog Pond is that your $15 entrance ticket allows you entrance during the day, and you can come back again for a night tour! The night tour was really cool too because the frogs were more active and the guide was able to give us a lot of background info on the different frogs! 

After checking out the frogs, we wanted to see even more reptiles so we went to the Serpentario. Here they have a ton of different species of snakes as well as some frogs, turtles and lizards. We got to see one snake eating and it swallowed a chicken egg whole! It was wild! Like the frog pond, we are allowed two entrances for the price of one (which is $16), one during the day and one at night, so we went back the following night to see the snakes more active! 

TRAVEL TIP: There are a few different ziplining places in Monteverde, so make sure you know which one you are signing up for! As mentioned, 100% Aventura is famous for having the longest zipline in Central America, while Monteverde Extremo Park is known for its bungee jumping, and Selvatura Park is unique because it has hanging bridges along with its ziplines.

Day 8: Monteverde

Today we wanted to get off the beaten path so we headed up to Cerro Los Amigos Cloud Forest. There are two options to get there: the first is to walk directly from downtown to the trailhead then up to the summit which takes about 2 hours and is 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) long. The second option is to take a taxi or drive to Hotel Belmar, where the trail begins, which will save you about 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) or 30 minutes of walking. For full details on this hike, read our blog post here. The walk up is on a dirt road and at the top there are a bunch of TV towers. We were lucky with a clear day and had views all the way down into the valley! There is also the Green Hermit Souvenir Shop where you can purchase coffee, tea, and homemade crafts. A couple men basically live up there as they tend to the surrounding land, and love talking to people! After talking with them for a while, we headed back down. You can also check out our vlog on hiking Cerro Amigos by going here.

In the evening, we went for our second visit at the Serpentario. Even though it was nighttime, most of the snakes were still sleeping. However, we got to see some more lively frogs, most notably, the beautiful and colorful red eyed tree frog, so it was definitely worth it!

TRAVEL TIP: When we go on trips we love buying souvenirs! We found that the souvenir shops in downtown Santa Elena were quite expensive, but we stumbled upon a great one on our walk home from Cerro Amigos. It was actually a small grocery store that was directly next to Don Luis Pizza Restaurant. If you walk to the back of the grocery store, there are lots of beautiful and unique souvenirs!

Day 9: Manuel Antonio

Today started out with a long drive from Monteverde to Manuel Antonio. We booked a private shuttle for $50 which picked us up at 8am and dropped us off around noon at Hostel Plinio in Manuel Antonio. We quickly got dressed and headed to the beach! There is a bus that runs from Quepos to Manuel Antonio every 15 minutes for 335 colones or about 60¢. We swam at Playa Espadilla Norte which is the biggest public beach in Manuel Antonio. Luckily, because the beach is so long, it didn’t feel too crowded. We also bought our entrance tickets into the park for the next day because it is good to buy them one day in advance so you can avoid long lines! 

TRAVEL TIP: The location to buy entrance tickets into Manuel Antonio National Park is located right by the entrance of the park and is called Coopealianza. There is also a Coopealianza office in downtown Quepos. While the national park is closed on Monday’s, the ticket office is open every day from 7am-3pm. The entrance ticket is $16, and there is supposed to be a limited number sold, so we were told to make sure we buy them in advance. Additionally, during busy seasons, the lines can get very long, so if you go to the ticket office the afternoon before, you should be able to save a lot of time!

HOSTEL: We stayed at Hostel Plinio for 5 nights while we were in Manuel Antonio. Hostel Plinio is actually located much closer to Quepos, but it is only a 10 minute bus ride to Manuel Antonio, and there is a bus station right near the hostel. There are hostels that are actually down by the national park and in walking distance to the beaches, but they are much more expensive. We chose to save some money and take the bus whenever we wanted to go somewhere.

Day 10: Manuel antonio

We were so excited to explore Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica’s most visited national park! Luckily, we bought our ticket the day before so we did not have to wait in the long line to purchase them. At the entrance we were greeted by many people trying to sell guide services. We ended up going with someone for $20 per person after making sure he had an Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) card, meaning he was trained and certified. We were super happy because the group ended up being only us and one other couple, while many other groups we saw had at least 8 people. Also, our guide, Chino, was extremely knowledgeable. He knew all of the good places to look and did a great job avoiding the crowds. During the 2 hour tour we saw bats, tons of white face monkeys, a Jesus Christ lizard (can walk on water), a helmet lizard, a three toed sloth, a tropical land crab, a giant grasshopper, some baby golden tail hummingbirds, whipped tail lizards, a three toed sloth with its baby, banana spider, several two toed sloths, a rainbow grasshopper, and raccoons! Without our guide we would have only seen the monkeys (more on that later!). We highly recommend getting a guide because it made the experience! 

The tour ends at Playa Manuel Antonio. We chose to walk a bit further to Playa Espadilla Sur because it is bigger and less crowded. Along the short path between the two beaches there are TONS of white faced monkeys. They love to take people’s food, so they actually enjoy being around people! We had so much fun watching them run around; just be sure to watch your stuff! Even while we were swimming at the beach, there were a bunch of monkeys and iguanas scurrying around!  

After cooling down in the water, we walked the Cathedral Trail which is a short loop right by the beaches. At the top there are several beautiful lookout points to soak in the beautiful ocean views! To learn more about Manuel Antonio Park, check out our blog post here and our vlog here. For dinner, we went to Barba Roja for dinner which does 2 for 1 burgers on Tuesday’s and has a beautiful view of the sunset!

TRAVEL TIP: In order to protect the wildlife, there are a lot of restrictions on what can be brought into the park. Because the monkeys are so talented at stealing food, only sandwiches and fruit are able to be brought in. Items like chips, cookies, and granola bars are not allowed because the monkeys can die from eating it. There is a cafeteria inside of the park but it is very expensive. Right outside of the park, there are several small convenience stores where you can grab cheap sandwiches in the morning before entering and have them at lunch time!

day 11: Manuel antonio

Today we visited Damas Island Estuary which is home to a beautiful mangrove ecosystem. You can experience the mangroves via kayak or boat; we chose kayaking so we could get up nice and close! It is very common to see white faced monkeys here, and they will actually limb onto your kayak! But unfortunately, we didn’t encounter any furry friends. We paddled for about two hours and then we were treated to a delicious lunch. In the evening, we explored Quepos, which has beautiful ocean views and a nice Marina. We found one of the only inexpensive restaurants, Double Hook Bar and Grille, that had a beautiful sunset view! 

TRAVEL TIP: There are many different tour operators who offer kayaking tours in the Damas Island Estuary. We chose to go with Iguana Tours because they are known to go at different times as other tours to avoid crowds. Also, the time of your tour will depend on the tides, so make sure you check in a few days before to see what time your tour is!

day 12: Manuel antonio

We didn’t get to see everything during our first visit to Manuel Antonio National Park, so we decided to head back for another day! First, we went down the Waterfall Trail which leads to a seasonal waterfall. Seasonal, because in the rainy season it is a pretty strong flow, but when we visited in the dry season it was a small trickle. Next, we walked down the Mangrove Trail which is a trail made up of elevated bridges so it does not disturb the vegetation. This was a nice trail because it runs parallel to the main trail that is used for guided tours, so there is not as much traffic. This trail leads into the Sloth Trail which is a gravel path. Despite the name, we were unable to locate any sloths, but it is very difficult without a guide. Next, we went past the cafeteria area and up the Mirador Trail, which is the most difficult trail in the park but also leads to a gorgeous outlook! We explored a few more places in the park including Puerto Escondido and Playa Gemelas. Over the course of the two visits we hiked every trail in the park and visited every beach, so you can learn more about the National Park in detail on our blog post here and in our vlog here!

Even though the beaches inside of the National Park are quieter and less crowded than the public beach, we chose to spend our afternoon at the public beach, Playa Espadilla Norte, because of the amenities that it has. There are lounge chairs and umbrellas set up that you can rent from the locals. So, we spent $15 to rent two chairs and umbrella for the afternoon, and since the sun was so strong it was totally worth it. People were walking by selling snacks and crafts, and we highly recommend buying the coconuts, they are delicious! Adam was able to find a man selling really beautiful homemade paintings so he bought one that he fell in love with!

TRAVEL TIP: If you are going to the beaches inside of Manuel Antonio National Park, be aware that the monkeys there are ravenous and will try to steal your stuff! They are so smart that they can even unzip your backpack! To protect your food, and more importantly, the health of the monkeys, do not leave any bags with food unattended while you are at the beach!

Day 13: manuel antonio

The day after we were going to return home from this trip, Adam started his new job and Emily started her last semester at school, so we wanted to make sure that our final day in Manuel Antonio was full of relaxation and fun! We spent the morning swimming at the pool at our hostel waiting until our afternoon catamaran cruise! There are many options to go on a catamaran cruise in Manuel Antonio because they are extremely popular. However, we kept hearing over and over again that the best and biggest one to book is the Ocean King. Trust us, it did not disappoint. We were originally hoping to go on the cruise in the morning at 8am, but we got switched to the 2pm cruise which turned out to be a much better option for us, mainly because the sun isn’t as strong at that time.

The cruise is $79 and includes about 3 hours on the boat, 8 alcoholic drinks, and a delicious dinner. On the cruise, we got really lucky because even though it was not the right season to see whales, we actually saw 3! After riding around for about an hour, the boat docked and we were able to go for a swim! We had a blast jumping off the top of the boat, riding down the water slide, and seeing some tropical fish! At the end of the trip, we were fed a great meal of fish, rice, and veggies, and got a front row seat to one of the most beautiful sunsets we have ever seen! This was definitely the perfect ending to our trip!

day 14: travel day

We knew that this was going to be a very long day of travel. We had to travel from Manuel Antonio to San Jose for our flight to Boston at 11pm. A bus leaves from Quepos to San Jose almost every hour. However, there are two different routes, directo and collectivo. The directo takes 4 hours and is quicker because it makes no stops on the way to San Jose, but where it drops off is actually about a $30 taxi drive to the airport. We chose to take the collectivo, which we heard takes anywhere from 5 to 6 hours, but makes a stop at the airport. We were picked up at the Quepos station at 3pm, and were pleasantly surprised when the collectivo bus only took 3.5 hours to get to the airport, despite predictions of much longer! We are not sure if this had to do with traffic at the time, but the bus was only $5 each so it was definitely worth taking the collectivo! We chilled in the airport as we waited for our flight and officially said goodbye to Costa Rica!

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

FEELING GENEROUS? HELP SUPPORT US: