My friend, Shelley, and I went on a 12-day trip around Costa Rica in September 2017. I have individual blog posts for each city we visited (see below), but wanted to share an overall blog, too, for what we did there.
San Jose
Admittedly, there isn’t much to do in the capital city. It’s the main airport of the city, though, so staying a night or two may be necessary. If we’d spent more time, I definitely would’ve done one of the free walking tours.
Monteverde
Let the adventure begin! Monteverde is the place to zip line, walk around the rainforest both on hanging bridges and at night, and to eat some really classic Costa Rican food.
La Fortuna
Eat your heart out on a chocolate and fruit tour (there are many throughout the country, but we really liked ours with Don Olivio since it wasn’t about coffee which we don’t drink). La Fortuna is also where you need your hiking boots as you can hike around the two volcanos there.
Tortuguero
The best time of year to go to Tortuguero is during the green sea turtle egg-laying season (July-August). The town is surrounded by water, and on one side are the canals where they lead canoe tours to find all sorts of animals and birds.
Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
Right on the beach, Puerto Viejo is really lovely. There are lots of beaches and cute little shops. Rent a bike to get to the Jaguar Rescue Center, one of the many yoga studios, or any of the more southern beaches.
Itinerary
Day 1 – Fly to San Jose
Day 2 – San Jose, Travel to Monteverde
Day 3 – Monteverde
Day 4 – Travel to La Fortuna
Day 5 – La Fortuna
Day 6 – Travel to Tortuguero
Day 7 – Tortuguero
Day 8 – Travel to Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
Day 9 – Puerto Viejo
Day 10 – Puerto Viejo
Day 11 – Travel to San Jose
Day 12 – Fly home
