Costa Rica is a country that truly lives up to its famous saying, pura vida, which translates to pure life. With lush rainforests, misty cloud forests, golden beaches, and abundant wildlife, every stop along the way offers something special. However, compared to other Latin American countries, Costa Rica is quite expensive. So, eating at local restaurants called soda, buying from local fruit and veggie stands and visiting during off-season (May-June, September-November) saves you already some money. Although Costa Rica gets lots of precipitation during this time, it’s still worth going as national parks are quieter and the country is less crowded.

The most common and budget-friendly way to travel around Costa Rica is by bus, with frequent service on major routes. In San José, several different bus stations serve various destinations, and most tickets can only be purchased at the station, so arrive early to secure your seat. Some popular operators include MEPE (San Jose-Puerto Viejo), Tracopa (San Jose-Manuel Antonio), and Transportes Mal Pais (Cobano-Santa Teresa).

For more comfort and flexibility, private shuttles like Ride CR or Interbus are available, along with taxis and Uber (mainly in San José). Car rentals are also an option, but be aware that some roads can be rough. For quicker trips between regions, local airlines such as Sansa and Costa Rica Green Airways serve several domestic airports.

When I traveled to Costa Rica, I already had an idea about where I want to go and what I want to see. However, my plans slightly changed when I met two girls from Austria at the hostel in San Jose on my first day and spontaneously decided to join them on their road trip across the country.

La Fortuna

Since I already booked a shuttle to get from San Jose to La Fortuna, home to the majestic Arenal Volcano, I met the girls again and without even knowing we even all ended up staying at the same hostel, La Choza Inn, in the same room. In La Fortuna, we visited the Sloth Watching Trail, hiked up to the Arenal Volcano and soaked in the nearby natural hot springs, El Choyin.

Monteverde

From here, we made a stop at Rio Celeste in the Tenorio Volcano National Park before taking the road up into the cool, misty highlands of Monteverde. There, it was raining and quite chilly compared to La Fortuna as Monteverde has an elevation of 1,330 m. We only stayed for a night at the Selina Hostel there, but still explored the famous cloud forests by walking along the suspension bridges at Sky Adventures Monteverde Park.

Santa Teresa

Heading toward the Pacific and having one hell of a ride there, Santa Teresa’s laid-back beach vibe was the perfect place to slow down and exactly what I needed. Moreover, I also finally met friends from home there and spent the next five days with them at our amazing vacation house, Costa Va De Villa.

We simply took it day by day, started most of our mornings with breakfast on our terrace, sunbathing, cooling off in the pool and ocean and strolling along and watching the sunset at the beach. And to top it off, we even took our first surf lesson with a personal instructor at Believe Surf Camp (they also offer single lessons) and checked out one of the many great restaurants in the area including Ani’s, Eat Street, The Bakery, Cafca Café, and The Somos Café.

Manuel Antonio

Further down the coast, I joined the girls again on their way to Manuel Antonio which blends beach bliss with incredible wildlife. During our visit at Manuel Antonio National Park, for which we booked tickets on the official SINAC website already in advance, we also spotted some of that wildlife including from crabs and grasshoppers, monkeys swinging through the trees to sloths napping on branches in the sun. As you can also relax at the national park’s beaches and swim in the turquoise waters, it’s definitely a must-visit. Tipp: have dinner and watch the sunset at El Avion and stay at Hostel Plinio.

Puerto Viejo

Although I had initially planned Manuel Antonio to be the last stop on my trip, I still had enough time to visit the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. To get there, I first had to take a bus to San Jose and change to another bus to finally reach Puerto Viejo more than twelve hours later. The small beach town had a completely different vibe compared to the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and is popular for its Afro-Caribbean culture, reggae beats, and pristine beaches.

There, I stayed at Casa Wolaba which was perfectly located to explore the area. Since it was raining most of the time, I didn’t explore much of the area, but walked along Playa Cocles and Playa Negro, sipped fresh coconuts and bought fresh fruits at the market and went to the beach for sunset drinks. But if the weather would have been better, I would have definitely biked along the coast and visit Cahuita National Park.

San Jose

My flight back home left early in the morning from the airport in San Jose, so I spent one more night in the country’s capital city at stayed again at the Selina Hostel. Since I was quite exhausted from the past 2,5 weeks of traveling, I didn’t explore much of the city and only had some late lunch at Café Otoya, grabbed an iced coffee on the way and ended my last evening hanging out on the hostel’s rooftop.