Costa Rica: Your Ultimate City & Nature Guide.

Costa Rica is one of my favorite countries to visit in Central America. It's one is the most beautiful, fun, and adventurous places you'll ever see. There you can find relaxation and adventure all in one.

Costa Rica has a dry and wet season. Although most people would think to go during the dry season, I went during the wet season and it was quite manageable. The rains were very localized and it was possible to escape them if you just used a weather tracking app. During the times we saw that it would rain in the city, we ventured further outside the city and vice versa. Even if you get caught, the rains only last for a few hours at a time and were more of a drizzle than torrential downpour.

If you are planning on going well I hope this travel guide helps you with your trip 😄

Day 1 & 2: Arrival in San José, Costa Rica

Morning and Afternoon: Head downtown for the perfect day soaking in Costa Rica's culture.

San José is a beautiful and vibrant city where you can get lost in the rich culture of both the past and present. Heading downtown is a great first step to experiencing this as it is completely walkable and wonderful to explore on foot. There you will find statues and monuments that represent a diverse culture of artists and architecture. My first stop was at Teatro Popular Melico Salazar— one of the most iconic cultural landmarks in the city. Located in the heart of the capital, the theatre is known for hosting a variety of performances, including plays, concerts, dance recitals, and operas. The architecture of the theatre is neoclassical with elegant interiors reminiscent of early 20th-century European opera houses.

It was a very old building that had a lot of character on the exterior. I remember walking towards it and seeing a massive building with columns and surprisingly "neutral" colors. It reminded me of old films, which really stuck out to me as something surprising in a city in latin America. If you're not too shy, make sure you ask one of the employees to give you the history of the theater— they were more than happy to do it for me.

From there you can stop at the Mercado Central de San Jose for a bite and try some traditional Costa Rican cuisine. As someone that grew up in Mexico and going to Mercados, I wouldn't say its much different than any other mercado you'd find in Latin America, but that doesn't mean it's not an authentic window into the day-to-day Costa Rican way of life. Filled with artisans, produce vendors, and local cuisine, this mercado is a must-see and must-eat for any visitor.

After that if you are still up for a little more walking, then you should absolutely head towards the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica which is one of the country's most important cultural and historical institutions. There you can learn about Costa Rica’s history, archaeology, anthropology, and biodiversity. One of my personal highlights was the garden with all of the native plants and flowers, almost like a gigantic greenhouse that tells the story of Costa Rica's beautiful biodiversity

A fun fact about the museum—it's housed in the Bellavista Fortress, a historic yellow building that once served as a military barracks. The fortress played a significant role in Costa Rica’s history, particularly in 1948, when the country abolished its military and you can still see the bullet holes from the civil war.

I would say that if you a really want to soak up this countries culture, you should spend a couples hours in these museums and in the afternoon you can walk around downtown and get some of the street snacks before heading back to wind down and sleep.

Day 4: Head towards La Fortuna and Arenal Volcano National Park

One of the most epic places to visit in Costa Rica is The Arenal Volcano National Park! It's located in the northern part of the country, near the town of La Fortuna, and it’s home to Arenal Volcano, one of the most famous volcanoes in the world.

The park itself is a mix of rainforest, lava fields, and incredible wildlife, making it an adventure lover’s dream. Some of the things to do around the park are:

• Hiking

  • There are several trails through the park that take you through old lava flows, dense jungle, and viewpoints of the volcano. I opted to do a dense jungle one instead of the hard lava one since what I really wanted from my hike was to observe wildlife. It was absolutely worth it since I got my wish as well as seeing the perfect cone shaped volcano (which is jaw-dropping) at the end of the trail.

• Hot Springs

  • Around the park you can find hot springs and jump into the water for a nice relaxing time. There's many springs in the area around the Arenal volcano since the lava flows underground and warms up the rocks and the water flowing around it.

• Wildlife Watching

  • It’s one of the best places for birdwatching, especially if you want to see toucans or the famous resplendent quetzal. I wasn't quite lucky enough to see it but I got to see lots of toucans, frogs, a jaguar and crazy wild birds.

• Adventure Activities

  • Other things you can do nearby, is zip-lining, hanging bridges, canyoning (waterfall rappelling), and even white-water rafting.

How to Get There?

• It’s about a 3-hour drive from San José, and the roads are pretty good.

• Most people stay in La Fortuna, the nearby town, which has great hotels, restaurants, and tour options.

This is an absolute must-see place away from the city so make sure to give it a full day to really take your time here.

Day 5: Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Something else to do while being in La Fortuna is Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park (or Puentes Colgantes Arenal) which is one of the coolest ways to explore the rainforest near Arenal Volcano! It’s a private nature reserve (you'll need tickets which go from $39.18 to $65.89) there you will find a series of hanging bridges and trails that take you above the jungle canopy, giving you an insane bird’s-eye view of the forest and wildlife.

This is a pretty incredible experience to see the rainforest and its wildlife. If you are lucky, you can see howling monkeys, spider monkeys, sloths, toucans, parrots, hummingbirds and maybe even a snake or a jaguar.

How to Get There?

• It’s about a 20-minute drive from La Fortuna, making it super easy to visit if you’re in the Arenal area.

When you're done with La Fortuna I would recommend to get back closer to San Jose and stay around there in preparation for the next day of adventure as we go from lush jungles to beautiful beaches

Day 6: Jaco Beach and el Miro

Jacó beach is one of those places where you can do a little bit of everything. This is one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. It's black sand and clear water before the wave breaks will give you the most stunning and picture-perfect views. It's not as crowded as other beaches, but there's plenty of life as some people surf while some others enjoy laying on the sand.

Along the beach there's plenty of spots to eat around and rest from the sun for a bit but my absolute favorite is La Playa de Clarita. It's a delicious seafood restaurant where I recommend getting the seafood platter that comes with fish, crab, lobster, shrimp, calamari, orange slices and sauce.

When you are done with the beach and food, you can adventure on a little hike to "El Miro" which is great overlook to see the natural beauty of the area. The hike is super fun with a ton of stopping places that overview the ocean and many picture-perfect spots.

Day 7: Going Back to Reality

Depending on your flight time on the last day, you can drive back the night before or wake up and grab some breakfast before starting your drive towards the airport. The drive back can be an experience in itself as you can roll down your windows at certain points and hear the nature around you.

Day 3: Hacienda Alsacia Coffee tour and Coffee Time

45 minutes North of San Jose in the province of Alajuela, the Alsacia Hacienda is Starbucks first and only coffee farm. As a coffee lover, it was very exciting to see this operation. And even if you're not a Starbucks fan, it's exciting to see the heartbeat of a global operation as impressive as Starbucks. Located right on the slopes of Poás Volcano is where Starbucks studies sustainable coffee growing techniques to help small farmers worldwide. It also offers a coffee tour where you get to see the entire process; you’ll walk through the coffee fields while learning about sustainable farming and you will also get to see the coffee beans being processed.

There's also an on-site cafe which is one of the cutest cafes I've been to, with a spectacular view overlooking the coffee farm and the mountains, there's no better way to try their coffee than with a pastry and a view.

Getting There

• It’s about a 45-minute drive from San José, making it a perfect day trip if you’re heading to Poás Volcano or nearby waterfalls like La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

• Super easy to get to, and again, you don’t need to be a coffee expert to enjoy it—it’s just a really cool experience in a beautiful setting.

If you are not interested in this specific coffee tour there's more that you can find around this areas as well as cacao tours where you can learn about the cacao trees and plants and the process of chocolate making.

Google maps link with all the places from this post