10-Day Itinerary in Costa Rica: Rainy Season
Arenal Waterfall, Fortuna CR
How many days do I need in Costa Rica?
8-10 days. If you travel to Costa Rica to stay at a resort, go to the beach, and do the planned activities from the resort, you could absolutely go with fewer days. This itinerary was built around the desire to get out, see the country, and adventure! 8-10 days gives you plenty of time to explore a few days in different destinations and get the most out of your time in CR.
Should I visit during Rainy Season?
HARD YES. I was very concerned about this prior to visiting. We were traveling to Costa Rica end of August. May through November are the rainy months in Costa Rica, with September-October being the wettest. My reasoning for saying yes to visiting during the rainy season comes from my experience only and if you choose to travel to Costa Rica during this time, know that you do run the risk of getting hit with rain...a lot…however here are some benefits of traveling during the rainy season.
Absolutely no crowds (seriously…we were the only people one night at a 200+ seating restaurant near Manuel Antonio)
It rained one (yes, one) day the entire time we were there and for less than an hour…even though the weather app said rain every day.
Everything is cheaper (hotels, rental cars, etc)
Where should I fly into?
The two main airports majority of travelers will fly into are Liberia Guanacaste Airport (LIR) in Liberia and Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) in San Jose. If you are starting on the west coast or just planning your trip around staying at a resort on the beach the best airport would be Liberia Airport. The San José airport is more central and I found flights were cheaper to fly into SJO. This itinerary could be modified by flying into either airport.
Is Costa Rica Safe?
Yes. CR is a very safe country. Crime is low. In fact, this is a true story a woman told me. She went to the beach and forgot her Louis Vuitton bag full of her phone, passport, money, etc. for over an hour. When she finally returned there was a local sitting by it who had noticed she left it and decided to wait for her to return it to her to ensure nothing happened to it. Nothing was missing from her bag.
Days 1-3: La Fortuna
We flew into Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) and rented a car from Budget. I highly recommend a 4x4 car as the roads in Costa Rica are very bumpy and unpredictable. Especially once you are off highways/bigger roads. It is also nice to have a 4x4 to get to secret areas. Download and use Waze as your navigation in Costa Rica. We found it is the most used and had real-time updates. *If you happen to damage your car in any way call the rental car company immediately to report it (we learned this the hard way).
The drive from SJO to La Fortuna is around 2 hr 45 mins. Do not do this drive at night. First off, it is a very beautiful drive with lots of places to pull over for a snack (try stopping at a ‘Soda’ which is a Costa Rican local joint found all over). But it is very curvy and there can be quick stops or unpredictable situations in the middle of the road. It is not overly difficult to drive, you just need to be aware.
La Fortuna is a small town tucked in the Arenal Volcano National Park. The active Arenal Volcano is still laced with lava flows hence the reason there are hot springs in the surrounding area. The area is very lush with rainforest and within the small town, there are restaurants, shops, and many tour companies to choose from.
We stayed at Nayara Gardens which was a few minutes’ drive outside the town of La Fortuna and it is truly a beautiful place. This was our nicest accommodation on the trip because these dates overlapped with my birthday! We had our own private villa with a plunge pool and hammock on the deck. Nayara Gardens has several restaurants on the property with authentic AMAZING breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The Happy Hour deals and poolside food are equally as great. It is not all-inclusive, but the food is incredible. We typically are not ‘stay at the resort all day’ type of people, but we did a lot of hanging and relaxing at Nayara Gardens because there is truly so much to do on the property! You can do yoga each morning, hit the fitness center, swim in the dozens of pools, relax in the private hot springs, go on nighttime nature walks, and do dozens of daily excursions that the resort will plan for you. The staff is so kind at Nayara Gardens. Each person we sat and talked to was welcoming and lovely to get to know. We also saw SO many animals right on the property.
Two highlight activities we did were the La Fortuna Waterfall and a Chocolate Tour.
We woke up very early to beat the crowds at the waterfall. We selected to just drive ourselves there since we had our car. I highly recommend anyone who has a car to do this. It is cheaper and you are on your own schedule. Our early arrival paid off because when we arrived there was no one there and we had the waterfall all to ourselves.
After we swam for a while we left and started driving towards town. We came across a chocolate farm & stopped to do a tour at Rainforest Chocolate Tour. We learned SO much about the process and the history of Costa Rican chocolate. The beauty of La Fortuna is that there are things to do everywhere and if you drive around you will find many things to do.
Days 4-6: Playa Conchal, Brasilito & Tamarindo
Drive to the Pacific Coast
Our next stop was the beach! We drove from La Fortuna to the west coast beaches. Our key destination was Playa Conchal. The drive takes 4 hours give or take. The roads to the western coast are easier to drive & there are larger highways. We went around Lake Arenal where there are lovely places to kayak with gorgeous views of the volcano. This would be a great day excursion from La Fortuna! The entire drive goes through many small towns and has a ton of places to pull over. Take some time to experience the roadside stops and explore! There are people everywhere selling large bags of Rambutan (spikey red balls). This is a sweet fruit that you break apart and eat the meat. They are so fun to have as a snack while driving! The drive takes you through Liberia which is where the other airport Liberia Guanacaste Aiport is located (about 1hr 10min drive from here to the beach).
Playa Conchal, Brasilito, and Playa Flamingo
We stayed in an Airbnb villa tucked right off Playa Conchal. Playa Conchal is a long walkable beach. There is a W Hotel and a Westin Hotel right on Playa Conchal that were stunning and would be lovely options for accommodations. While our Airbnb was private and affordable there were no restaurants or amenities within close proximity so we had to drive to most places. We explored neighboring towns and beaches for food and activities.
On our first full day, we spent the morning walking Playa Conchal then packed up the beach chairs & cooler provided by our Airbnb and went to the more secluded local beaches, Playa Minas and Playa Real. These beaches are fantastic for a relaxing day at the beach with no tourists. There were a lot of locals picnicking and surfing. We noticed there were a lot of howler monkeys in this area and before we knew what was making that sound we were terrified! If you have not heard a howler monkey’s call, do yourself a favor and Google that now. Also, a reminder that monkeys will grab your stuff if you leave it unoccupied for long. Don’t take valuables to the beach and leave them alone!
In the evening we explored Brasilito and Playa Flamingo which are nearby beach towns. We went for sunset and dinner which was a popular choice of activity in this area.
Food & drink places to check out in these areas:
Less Crowded “secret” Beaches around Playa Conchal:
Playa Minas
Playa Real
Playa Roble
Tamarindo
We spent our full second day in Tamarindo. It was one of my favorite days in Costa Rica! We woke up early and drove down (35 mins) to have breakfast at Nogui's Restaurant. It was a yummy place right on the beach. There was also a lot of street parking in this area so we were able to leave our car there all day. Tamarindo is very much a surf town with a lot of tourists, but it was a ton of fun!
We decided to try to surf after breakfast and walked into a surf shop to see if we could rent a board. A nice guy from Nicaragua said he would take us out to teach us the basics for $45. There are a ton of surf shops and places to rent a board if you are interested in trying to surf. You can call ahead to make a reservation, but I would recommend just walking around and talking to people with boards and you will probably get a better deal & experience. Our teacher mentioned that in the busy season it is INSANE how many surfers are out on the water learning, so keep that in mind when deciding to go. We surfed for a few hours and the highlight was taking a break on the beach to have fresh coconut water with our instructor and learn more about his life.
After several hours of surfing, we were exhausted. Time to eat and drink! There are countless bars & restaurants along the beach in Tamarindo to grab food. We bar-hopped to a few places and then had dinner at Pico Bistro Tamarindo They had healthy bowls and other dishes that were very vegetarian-friendly. Volcano Brewing is next door and an absolute must-do. We sat there for a while and had conversations with locals and a few ex-pats. The beer is good and the company is great at Volcano Brewing.
We ended our night with a bike ride to the beach (bikes courtesy of our Airbnb host), wine, and an evening dip—the perfect way to end a perfect day.
Days 7-10: Quepos + Manual Antonio
The last leg of the trip was to the Quepos & Manuel Antonio area. It is about a 5hr 30min drive from the Playa Conchal area to the Manuel Antonio area. Once again, there are many places to pull off during the road trip down. We stopped for lunch in Jaco and coffee in Playa Hermosa. Jaco has many options for lunch to choose from and is well-known for surfing. We noticed each town in Costa Rica has a fun colorful sign announcing the name of the town, so on the way out of Jaco grab a photo at the Mirador de Jacó. It is a beautiful view of the beach and the town. Playa Hermosa also has many restaurants and beautiful beaches to choose from. Two places to check out in Playa Hermosa are Cafe Bohio and Ginger Restaurant Bar.
Quepos is a harbor town located in the central Pacific region of Costa Rica. It is the gateway into Manual Antonio National Park and the surrounding rainforest. Between Quepos and Manuel Antonio, there are beaches to explore, hiking, sportfishing, sunset cruises, and dozens of excursions to partake in.
We booked an Airbnb right next to Makanda Pool Lounge, which is a luxury boutique hotel that allows you to buy day passes if you want to use their pool and eat at the cafes. Our Airbnb had beautiful views of the ocean and Manuel Antonio National Park. I highly recommend staying at an Airbnb in this area as it is much more intimate and private. We saw more animals sitting out on the patio at our Airbnb than we did in the National Park.
On our first full day in Manuel Antonio, we did a catamaran out on the ocean. The boat came with drinks/food and a spot to snorkel and swim. We had dolphins swimming alongside us, humpback whales, and sea turtles. It was a full morning to afternoon on the water. The boats leave from Quepos and there are a lot of different companies to choose from if going out by boat interests you. There were sunset cruises, smaller private sail rides, as well as deep-sea fishing tours.
We spent the next day on the beaches around our Airbnb. We could walk to Espadilla Beach and the more private “secret” Biesanz Beach. At Biesanz Beach, you must hike down a muddy rocky path to get to the beach. The shore is rocky compared to others, but it is more secluded and we saw sloths, monkeys, and macaws.
Manuel Antonio National Park
Manuel Antonio National Park requires reservations to get in. We purchased ours a day before, but keep in mind it was slow season. Tickets can be purchased on the National Park Website. Manuel Antonio National Park is closed on Tuesdays. As you drive towards the park there will be people trying to sell you parking and flagging you down saying there is no parking up ahead. This is not true and you can keep driving all the way to the end to find a spot.
Make sure to bring your walking shoes and swimsuit as we spent an entire day walking around the park and swimming at Escondido Beach. There are miles of trails you can zig-zag through the park looking for animals and admiring the beauty of the rainforest. Within the park, there is so much to learn about the area.
We did not get a guide inside the park and I personally do not think it is necessary. As you walk around you will see heaps of groups with guides and it is easy to just walk up to where they are and see the same animal they have spotted. I will say, they hold a ton of knowledge about the animals and the park, so once you are in the park you can always change your mind and get a guide. We saw several three-toed sloths and dozens of white-faced capuchin, spider, squirrel, and howler monkeys.
Food & drink places to check out in Manuel Antonio:
Café Milagro and Emilio's Cafe (Fantastic breakfast places!)
Manuel Falafel Bar (we were very pleasantly surprised at how tasty this place was)
El Avion (The food isn’t that great but the restaurant is built in an old C-123 cargo plane which is very cool to see)
El Wagon (Pizza and visits from monkeys)
Our last day in Costa Rica was the day it rained which seemed fitting for our departure. We had breakfast at Emilio’s Cafe and then drove from Manuel Antonio back to Juan Santamaría International Airport which takes about 3 hours.
Costa Rica is a beautiful country rich in culture and if you have the opportunity to visit please go for it. The people of Costa Rica, Ticos, are some of the kindest and most welcoming I have met. I hope you get a chance to experience the beauty of Costa Rica.
