Costa Rica looks small, but mountains, traffic, bridges and secondary roads make distances deceptive. Use the planner to adapt an editorial route or build your own, order stops and estimate a budget without creating an account.
Generate a suggestion from duration, pace, interests and saved places.
Build your own route with published destinations or custom stops.
Edit the budget and view the order on an approximate map.
Save several itineraries in your local profile and export them as CSV or JSON.
Integrated trip planner
Build a trip you can actually edit
Generate a route from your preferences or start from scratch. Stops, budget and map remain only in your local profile.
✓Privacy: this plan is processed and stored in your browser; Costa Rica Hub does not receive this data.
Open any itinerary to review or edit it. They remain only in this browser.
Your saved itineraries
0
You do not have any saved itineraries yet.
00 destinations · 6 nights
Your route
Everything saved
⌁
Generate a suggestion or add destinations to begin.
Markers are regional references, not a road route or an exact entrance.
Approximate route map
Add a stop to visualize it.
The first estimate uses editorial scenarios. Replace every amount with your real quotes.
Trip budget
Estimated total
$0.00
Per traveller
$0.00
Per traveller per day
$0.00
01
5 days: Central Valley plus one region
Day 1: arrive and stay near San José, Alajuela or Heredia. Days 2–4: choose one base—La Fortuna, Manuel Antonio, Monteverde or the southern Caribbean. Day 5: return according to flight time.
This works for a focused break. Do not attempt Arenal, Monteverde and a beach together: transfers would consume too much of the trip.
Nature and hot springs: La Fortuna.
Cloud forest: Monteverde.
Beach and national park: Central Pacific.
Caribbean culture and coast: Cahuita or Puerto Viejo.
02
7 days: two complementary bases
Days 1–3: La Fortuna or Monteverde. Days 4–6: a Pacific or Caribbean beach according to airport and season. Day 7: departure.
Alternatively, spend the full week in Guanacaste or the southern Caribbean with short day trips. Staying longer improves the pace and reduces fuel, tolls and hotel changes.
03
10 days: volcanoes, forest and coast
Days 1–2: Central Valley, Poás or Irazú depending on availability and weather. Days 3–5: La Fortuna. Days 6–7: Monteverde. Days 8–9: northern or central Pacific. Day 10: departure.
In a very wet period, replace a long leg with an additional night at each base. If arriving and departing through Liberia, focus on Guanacaste, Arenal and Monteverde.
04
14 days: a route with depth
Pacific option: Central Valley, Arenal, Monteverde, Guanacaste or Nicoya coast, then Central or South Pacific. Caribbean option: Central Valley, Tortuguero, southern Caribbean, Turrialba and a mountain area.
Two weeks support three or four bases and a flexible day. The Osa Peninsula deserves several days and dedicated logistics; it is not a quick day trip from San José.
At least 2–3 nights per base.
One buffer day for weather or transport.
Early booking for capacity-controlled parks.
Return to the airport with a realistic margin.
05
How to adapt any route
Start with arrival and departure airports. Fix the essential experiences, then remove places that require backtracking. Check each road leg for the time you plan to drive, but add margin.
Confirm whether accommodation requires 4WD, whether a ferry shortens the route and whether activities end before dark. In the rainy season, avoid relying on isolated roads at night.
SJO suits the Central Valley, Caribbean, Central Pacific and nationwide routes.
LIR suits Guanacaste, Nicoya, Rincón de la Vieja and Arenal connections.
Without a car: choose fewer bases and coordinate buses or shuttles before booking hotels.
Families or limited mobility: confirm real accessibility, slopes and toilets with each provider.
