Costa Rica: wildlife, cloud forests, volcanos, cities and beaches in 2 weeks
There is a reason why this country is known as the “rich coast”. It has everything from surfing, farming, volcanos, cloud forests, adventure activities and national parks home to 6% of the world’s total biodiversity. It is a small country and easily seen by car or public bus. Although the public bus system can seem a bit chaotic as there is no one local company or central station in San Jose.
From Panama: buses go direct between Panama city and San Jose. If you’re coming from Bocas del Toro you will get a collectivo to the border and from Sixaola catch a bus to Puerto Viejo or further a field.
By air: you will definitely fly into San Jose and this is the gate way to all destinations.
How to spend 2 weeks in Costa Rica:
- La Fortuna (2 nights)
- Monteverde (3 nights)
- Manuel Antonio (2nights)
- Cerro Chirripo (2 nights)
- San Jose (1 night)
- Puerto Viejo (3 nights)
La Fortuna:
The main attraction in La Fortuna is the now dormant, Arenal volcano, bubbling hot springs, stunning lakes and rolling hills that are home to pineapple, banana and sugarcane farms.
My first impression of the town was that it was very touristy with every second shop a souvenir shop or a tour operator. The town has little charm to it but it has plenty of restaurants and shops and you can get anything you need here.
Things to do:
1. Visit the hot springs– some of the resorts have hot springs within them and charge for the day and usually include a lunch or dinner option but are very spenny. The one we wanted to go to costs $90 a day so we opted for the free hot springs which are across the street from Tabacon Thermal Resort, the most expensive of the hot springs in Arenal.
2. Climb Arenal Volcano– you can’t climb the actual volcano anymore due to the danger of it erupting but you can take an easy trail about 2km to the foot of it and take in the view. We went on a tour organised from our hostel which included the Arenal Volcano, the free hot springs, a waterfall and hanging bridge. It was $50 for the whole day and included lunch. It was good value as it included the entrance fees and transport. You can do it all yourself hut transport is the issue, you really need a car to get to see everything or spend the whole day walking.
3. Swim in La Fortuna waterfall– this stunning waterfall was featured in Jurassic Park. The views of the waterfall are incredible from above. There was 500 something steps down to the waterfall but actual stairs with a railing, not like the steps through the jungle you would have to grapple with to get to a waterfall in El Salvador or the less development Central American counties. The waterfall is a cheap taxi ($6) from La Fortuna Town or an hour and 15 mins walk. It’s uphill on the way so we took a taxi there early and walked back. It opens at 7 am so best to go as it opens to have the waterfall to yourself. The entrance fee is $18. There are plenty of tours from La Fortuna such as horseback riding, coffee plantation tours and sloth watching tours.
Where to stay
La Choza Inn Hostel: Great hostel 3 min walk from the main street. Great kitchen, AC rooms with ensuite bathrooms and a good free breakfast. It was cheaper than most in the area at $9 a night and the staff were really helpful organising transfers and tours.
Monteverde
Getting there:
Jeep boat jeep: this is the most popular way of going from La Fortuna to Monteverde and takes about 3.5 hours. We paid $20 after saying we saw it for $20 elsewhere. It is usually $25. Don’t ask you don’t get! Public bus: you can take public bus and of course its cheaper but takes around 8 hours from what we heard so vetoed that.What to do:
We didn’t have time but there are a few other things to do in Monteverde such as visiting the bat jungle, the butterfly garden, food tours of the cheese factory and horse riding.
Where to sleep:
Where to eat:
- Passiflora– lovely vegan and veggie restaurant serving big portions of veggie burgers, quesadillas and burritos with proper french fries.
Where to drink:
Manuel Antonio
This tranquil little village between Quepos and Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio is descended upon during Costa Rican holidays and weekends by locals going to the beach. The town itself is beside the public beach and has an abundance of cafes, hotels and restaurants to cater to the masses that visit Costa Rica’s most popular national park.
The national park is the main draw here, it is the countries smallest yet most popular. It has plenty of well demarkcated trails around the park, wind sanded beaches and plenty of wildlife in the rainforest. We saw sloths, crabs, monkeys and iguanas here.
- The park is closed on Mondays
- Costs $16 entrance
- Opens from 7am-4pm. Get there early, especially on the weekends as they only let in a certain number of people per day.
Where to sleep
San Jose
Getting to San Jose from Manuel Antonio is very straight forward on the public bus. It takes 3 hours and has air conditioning, beware it gets very cold. The bus cost $10.
Chances are the capital wasn’t on your destination list for Costa Rica and it has a reputation for downtown being dangerous and dirty but the city can’t be avoided if you’re traveling from one side of Costa Rica to another via bus or if you’re flying in or out of the country.
One day in the city is plenty of time. I stayed two nights and went to Cartago for a day and spent the other day in the city wandering around. Cartago is a lovely town about a 40 minute drive from San Jose. It was previously the capital of Costa Rica. The main draw here is a stunning white cathedral that changes colour and lights up at night. If you visit volcano Irazu you will pass through Cartago. Both are easily doable on a day trip from San Jose and easily reached by car. Public bus does go to Cartago also from San Jose.
Things to do
- Free walking tour of San Jose. The walking tour leaves from in from tof the national theatre at 9am daily and lasts just over 2 hours. Includes all the city highlights and the history of Costa Rica.
2. Visit the museo Nacional de Costa Rica- here tthe history and culture of Costa Rica is really well presented.
3. Sip a cocktail Barrio Escalante in the evening. This area is full of trendy bars and good restaurants. At night the area lights up with fairy lights. This is the only area in Central America I’ve been able to get an aperol spritz.
Where to sleep:
Costa Rican backpackers: Lovely hostel near downtown, 10 minute walk to everything. Good kitchen and nice free breakfast. I paid $8 for a dorm bed which is very reasonable for Costa Rica. Comfy beds and sheets. The pool is lovely and big, great for hanging out in. Computers for use too. Really friendly and helpful staff.
Where to eat:
- Alma de cafe: expensive and not backpacker friendly budget wise but worth treating yourself here. Beautiful restaurant with lovely decor, good cocktails and sweet treats.
- Costa Rica beer factory inn: a bewery serving great food, its own beer and the best sangria I’ve ever had. They have a gorgeous beer garden outside too to dine in or grab a drink.
- Nacionsushi: excellent for sushi. Not the most expensive but also not the cheapest but then again it is sushi in Costa Rica. The sushi rolls are very generous portions!
After San Jose I headed to the Caribbean Coast to the beach town of Puerto Viejo. It is about a 3 and a half hour drive from San Jose and the roads are pretty good most of the way. The bus leaves from the MEPE terminal and costs $10. There are two Puerto Viejo’s so make sure you say Puerto Viejo de Talamanca which is also Puerto Viejo Limón.
I was about to get my bus ticket when a man asked me if I had already bought it and if I was going to Puerto Viejo. I said I hadn’t yet and I was headed that way. He said he had a car and was looking to do a collectivo if he could fill the car and it would be the same price. If he couldn’t fill the car, I could just get the bus. I said OK, I would wait and see if two others wanted to join in the car.
José rounded up two Argentinan backpackers and they turned to me and asked if I knew him. I said no, was just going to get into the car if he managed to find two other tourists to fill it.
The three of us loaded our backpacks into José small car. Thankfully the girls could translate for me and I got that José was a teacher and was taking a vacation to the coast but wanted to save on fuel costs by spliting it with others. He dropped me right to the door of my hostel and saved me a taxi ride of 20 min walk from the bus station to the hostel. I really have done very well with my 5 days of Spanish lessons in Guatemala. I don’t know how but I’m now the translator of the group and Aoife thinks I’m basically fluent.
Puerto Viejo
This Caribbean town is very near the Panama border and usually a stop of for travelers coming from or going Panama’s Bocas del Toro. It’s a small village that is very popular with holiday makers and backpackers and famous for surfing. The town has lots of bars, backpacker hostels, restaurants, cafes and Boho style boutiques.
Things to do
- Visit the Jaguar Rescue Centre. This is a must do in PV. It was my favourite thing I did in Costa Rica. The center rescues animals and either releases them back into the wild or keeps them in the center of they cannot be released due to injury or other reasons such as they have been too domesticated like some monkeys that had been kept as pets for over 20 years and were rescued by the center. The center is run on donations and by the entrance fee solely, they do not receive any government funding. All the workers there are volunteers. Despite the name, there are no jaguars there. A jaguar was the first animal taken in by the center. Here you can see baby sloths, monkeys, crocodiles, deer, toucans and parrots just to name a few.
- Two tours run a day- 9.30am and 11.30am.
- You must go on a tour.
- It costs $20.
Where to sleep:
Selinas has a gorgeous pool, big kitchen and AC dorms which are a must in PV. It gets very hot! And it’s right on the beach. A dorm room here cost me $14.
Where to eat:
- Bread and chocolate: great salads, breakfasts, sandwiches and even better chocolate. Loads of chocolate treats from drinks, truffles, tarts and cakes. Best place to eat in Puerto Viejo.
There is so much to do in such a small country and the landscape is so diverse. Unfortunately I just didn’t have time to do everything. I planned to climb Cerro Chirripo, Costa Rica’s highest volcano but this requires a ticket to enter the national park and they tickets were sold out for the next week so I had to move on.
I looked 5 days in advance online, this is the only way you can reserve a place in the national park and it was booked up almost 2 weeks in advance. Advice if you plan on climbing Cerro Chirripo- plan well in advance and book your ticket and lodge (it requires one night in a lodge at the foot of the summit) a month or so in advance.
Leaving Costa Rica:
We were headed for Bocas Del Toro, an archipelago off the coast of Panama very near the border. You can book a shuttle for $33 but public bus was as easy and cost $15.
- Take a bus from PV to Sixaola. 30 minutes and $2.
- Pay exit fee of $8 in what looks like a shop in someone’s house before crossing the bridge.
- Get stamped out, cross the bridge, fill in an immigration form and walk to a desk to get stamped into Panama.
- Take a collectivo to Almirinte to catch the boat to Bocas. They charge $10 but you can get them down to $7. Takes 45 minutes.
- Boat to Bocas leaves every half hour. $10 return or $6 each way.
That is the end of my short but sweet trip to Costa Rica. Places I didn’t get time to visit but will come back to:
- Cerro Chirripo
- Corcovado national Park
- Tortuguero National Park
- Tamarindo
- Rio Celeste
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