Certainly you are full of anticipation about your discovery trip through Costa Rica. We would like to give you some recommendations to help you planning your very personal itinerary.
Please plan enough time for each stage of your tour. Costa Rica has a widely spread road net, but it often is in a very bad shape or consists of gravel roads. Trucks are slowing down traffic on main streets and it is very difficult to pass these vehicles on the narrow pass roads. Please double the driving time you calculate for a drive on country roads at home. For stages leading to remote areas you better triple the estimated time. There are no highways in Costa Rica with some exceptions near San José.
Here are some examples for driving times:
San José - Limón: 3 hours
Limón Puerto Viejo Caribbean Coast: 1 hour
Puerto Viejo Caribbean Coast - Puerto Viejo Sarapiquí: 3 ½ hours
Puerto Viejo Sarapiquí - La Fortuna/Arenal Volcano: 2 hours
San José - Poás Volcano - La Fortuna/Arenal Volcano: 3 hours
San José - Sa Ramón - La Fortuna/Arenal Volcano: 3 hours
La Fortuna - Tilarán - Monteverde: 3 hours
La Fortuna - Tilarán - Cañas - Monteverde: 4 hours
Monteverde - Liberia: 2 ½ hours
Monteverde - San José: 3 ½ hours
Monteverde - Rincón de la Vieja: 3 ½ hours
Liberia-Rincón de la Vieja: 3 ½ hours
Liberia - Tamarindo: 1 hour
Liberia - Sámara: 2 hours
Liberia - Puntarenas: 2 hours
Puntarenas - Jacó: 1 ½ hours
San José - Jacó: 2 ½ hours
Jacó - Manuel Antonio: 1 hour
Manuel Antonio - Dominical: 1 ½ hours
Dominical - Palmar Norte: 1 hour
San José - San Gerardo de Dota: 2 ½ hours
San José - San Isidro del General: 3 hours
San José - Dominical (via Cerro de la Muerte): 4 hours
Palmar Norte - Golfito: 1 hour
Palmar Norte - Puerto Jiménez: 2 ½ hours
Instead of rushing from region to region, we very much recommend to spend at least 2 nights at each location. This allows you to enjoy the attractions of each region for at least one full day. However, this is not the case for San José. The art of a well-planned itinerary is to avoid the busy capital and just stay there for the first and the last night.
It becomes dark at 6.00pm in Costa Rica all year round, while the sun already rises at around 5.00am. Poor illumination of roads and cars, pot holes, cattle and other unexpected obstacles make driving at night a real challenge. We therefore recommend to arrive early to your destination and to avoid driving at night as far as possible. During rainfalls, the situation gets even worse. The tropical rainfalls during the day can be so strong, that its worth to stop the car and wait until the storm is over.
It is relatively safe to discover Costa Rica with a rented car if you respect the internationally valid safety measures. Theft is the nerve-racking crime that might happen in Costa Rica if you are not attentive enough. Together with your documentation, you will receive a complete information about safety measures for your trip. At this point, we would only like to mention the most important tips to plan your itinerary. You have to be especially careful in and around San José and should only use the public parking lots “Parqueo Público”. Most of the national parks, hotels and restaurants on the road do offer guarded parking spaces as well, which you should use by all means. Never park your car just on the road, much less if the whole luggage is inside your car. Please take into account, that your luggage is visible inside the 4WD cars through their windows and it is recommendable to cover the luggage with a blanket or a large bath towel. During your trip you should always use the guarded parking lots at all sites. However, do not leave any valuables back in the car. Please take special care to your valuables if you have a flat tire and somebody offers to help you. It is always better to prevent than to regret.
Please also consult our reservation assistants for a GPS and the respective conditions! Prices from 10.-USD per day.
Our FlexiVOUCHER program includes over 130 hotels all over the country. We especially offer a considerable amount of hotels in regions with a high demand in order to offer enough availability. Availability is almost unrestricted during low season (after Easter, May, June, August, September, October, November until mid December). During high season (from mid December to Easter and July), the choice might be a bit reduced and we therefore recommend using the possibility to make reservations, maximum 3 days in advance.
Climate and weather conditions do have a lot to do with your travel planning. Costa Rica has may different climate zones and it is surprising that it might rain somewhere and just a few miles away, there is plenty of sunshine. That’s one of the main reason, why our FlexiVOUCHER program is so successful. You are completely flexible to travel towards the place where the sun is shining, if it rains where you are at the moment. It is nothing than normal that it rains sometimes in a tropical country with rain forest. However, those rainfalls are very local, of short duration and usually very heavy. In general it is possible to differ some clear climate trends, which are helping you to plan your itinerary. Thanks to the mountain range that crosses Costa Rica from northwest to southeast, you have the advantage that it will be sunny at either one of the coasts. Even during the rainy season, it is mainly sunny until afternoon, when thunderstorms appear. That’s why we talk about the green season and not about the rainy season in Costa Rica. Everything is even greener than it already is thanks to the short rainfalls.
The following is a table of general weather conditions in each region. This will help you to plan your itinerary in advance:
Northern Pacific Coast from the Nicaraguan border until Manual Antonio, including Rincón de la Vieja and Monteverde: Dry season: December - May Green season: June - November Rainiest months: September/October/November
Southern Pacific Coast from Manuel Antonio until Panama border, including Osa Peninsula, Dominical and San Gerardo de Dota Dry season: December - April Green season: May - November Rainiest months: September/October/November Notes: Rainfalls are possible even during the dry season. There is a lot of rainforest.
Central Valley Dry season: December - April Green season: May - November Rainiest months: September/October/November Notes: Visit Poás and Irazú volcanoes in the morning, as they are in clouds in the afternoon all year round.
Caribbean Coast including the northern lowlands, Arenal Volcano/La Fortuna, Tortuguero and Sarapiquí Dry season: February - May and September - October Green season: June - August and November - January Rainiest months: January and July Note: some rainfalls are possible even during dry season.
