At a Glance
This Costa Rica Trip by Rental Car offers an almost complete overview of Costa Rica, as only a few regions (like Tortuguero and the Nicoya Peninsula) are left out. You will visit both coasts with Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast and Uvita and Drake Bay on the Pacific. You will also get to know the forests of the Central Cordillera and if everything goes “normally”, you can observe the magnificent Quetzal during a morning tour with a guide. Also the Caribbean lowlands (close to Boca Tapada) near the border to Nicaragua are impressive with their biodiversity. The fact that the region is (still) hardly visited by tourists is worth the somewhat strenuous journey.
The hotels in this schedule are only suggestions, of course (almost) all hotels can be changed on request, as well as the duration of the trip or the number of nights at individual locations.
itinerary as PDF (in German) and request a quote – the trip in pictures
Itinerary of Costa Rica Trip by Rental Car
| Day | Transport to the next destination and number of nights | Hotel |
| 1 | Arrival in San José, Shuttle to Hotel in Alajuela (1 N, B&B) | La Rosa de America |
| 2 | Pick up of the rental car (at the hotel) and drive to Uvita (2 N, B&B) | Cacatua Lodge |
| 4 | Drive to Sierpe and boat transfer to the Drake Bay (3 N, BB&D) | Las Caletas Lodge |
| 7 | Boat transfer to Sierpe and drive to the Mirador Quetzales (2 N, BB&D) | Paraíso Quetzal Lodge |
| 9 | Drive to Fortuna (3 N, B&B) | Rancho Cerro Azul |
| 12 | Drive to Rio Celeste/ Vulkan Tenorio (3 N, BB&D) | Celeste Mountain Lodge |
| 15 | Drive to Boca Tapada (3 N, B&B) | Maquenque Lodge |
| 18 | Drive to Puerto Viejo (4 N, B&B) | La Paz del Caribe |
| 22 | Drive to Alajuela (1 N, B&B) | La Rosa de America |
| 23 | Drive to the airport, drop off rental car and return flight |