Costa Rica Coast-to-Coast

itinerary map

Table of Contents

  • 27 days
  • 2022 Winter

COVID-19 was still disrupting travel plans and causing stress so we decided to return to a country we’ve been to before — and enjoyed — that was open to travelers. We were able to go as planned, and it was less stressful since we were somewhat familiar!

We visited two places we’ve been to before and enjoyed and experienced a couple of new locations. We may have found our ideal Costa Rica itinerary: wildlife viewing sandwiched in between beach time. And we have two candidates for go-to beach destinations: Cahuita and Samara.

Food & Beverage $30 per day*

Average per person per day. We ate one meal out most days and bought breakfast from bakeries or supermarkets.

Lodging $55-$103 per night*

Most lodgings ranged from $73-92. Arenal was the least expensive and Monteverde the most expensive.

Transportation $414 per person*

Cost includes shuttles to get from place to place and the odd taxi when it was too far to walk. Interbus in our favorite shuttle company in Costa Rica.

Entertainment $242 per person*

Entertainment includes hot springs, a guided cloud forest visit, hanging bridges, and a rental car for sightseeing.

* Costs in US dollars at time of trip

Days 1-6: Cahuita

The Plan: We haven’t been to the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica yet. Cahuita sounds like a good base for us for exploring the southern part of the coast. 

The Reality: We didn’t get around to exploring the coast further south because we were enjoying Cahuita. The national park had interesting hiking and Playa Negra was good for walking. And we saw wildlife right on the hotel grounds. We spent our first night in San Jose and took a shuttle from there.

  • Hiking in the national park
  • Visiting local wildlife places
  • Checking out nearby beaches
  • Hanging out at the beach

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 7-8: Arenal

The Plan: This will be our third trip to Costa Rica and we haven’t been to Arenal yet because it sounded too touristy for us. However, it breaks up the long trip to Monteverde and we’d like to try out the hot springs.

The Reality: We came here for the hot springs and that’s what we did!

Days 9-11: Santa Elena

The Plan: This will be our second time visiting Monteverde. We’d like to revisit the cloud forest we enjoyed so much and might just go ziplining again or if not, at least the hanging bridges we enjoyed.

The Reality: We skipped the ziplining this time. The rest of our stay was similar to our first time here. We took the shuttle-boat-shuttle from Arenal. That was fun.

  • Cloud forest reserve tour
  • Cloud forest hiking
  • Ziplining and hanging bridges

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 12-15: Playa Grande

The Plan: We’re still looking for that perfect beach location in this hemisphere. We plan to use the rental car to explore a bit of the Nicoya peninsula while we’re here.

The Reality: Playa Grande is a little small for our ideal location and based on our drive up the coast, nowhere else in that area is either. We did enjoy our four days there.

  • Driving the coast
  • Hanging out at the pool
  • Walking on the beach
  • Turtle nesting tour?

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 16-19: Montezuma

The Plan: This will be our second time visiting Montezuma. Last time we stayed in the hills outside of town. This time we’ll be in town which will be more convenient for getting to the beach and any other activities.

The Reality: We didn’t have any activities planned and ended up not doing any, other than walking over to Playa Las Manchas, which we enjoyed on our last visit here. Staying in the village was a lot more convenient to shops and restaurants.

Days 20-27: Sámara

The Plan: Check out another beach location to see if it’s THE place for us. I looked at Sámara for our previous two visits to Costa Rica. Now it’s time to see how we like it.

The Reality: We liked Sámara a lot. We didn’t do a lot other than walk on the beach and hang out by the pool, but we were content with that.

  • Hanging out at the pool
  • Walking on the beach

We took a shuttle back to San Jose and spent the night before our flight home.
book cover

Resources

We used Costa Rica: The Complete Guide (Kindle version) as our primary resource. It had a wealth of information about activities, culture, and dining, and a separate web reference for lodgings. Highly recommended.

*As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. We get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. There is no extra charge to you. The commissions help cover the costs of this blog.

Christmas Ornament

ornament

Yes, we bought a sloth to commemorate this trip.