This summer, we both went on the holiday of a lifetime. We had mulled over the idea of a Costa Rican adventure since covid and finally bit the bullet and booked our trip. We had just 2 weeks in Costa Rica and wanted to see as much as possible. Here is our itinerary to arguably our most magical trip to date.
2 Weeks in Costa Rica | An Epic Itinerary
Day 1 – Getting There
Costa Rica is a very long way away. Add in the fact that flights are only direct from London for about 3 months each year and you have a long trip ahead of you. Our trip was pretty easy, but we did have a few delays…
We flew from Heathrow with a stop-over in Newark. This was quite a cool little break; we both enjoyed eating pizza with the New York skyline in the distance. The layover here was about 3 hours, which was more than enough time to get through the long custom lines in the USA.
Eventually, we boarded the 5 hour flight from New York to San Jose. Our landing time was about 10pm due to the delays. I would say though that there really isn’t much to see in the Costa Rican capital, so don’t feel you need to give it a day. We stayed at Hotel Presidente in the heart of the city; a truly lovely hotel.
Day 2 – Tortuguero
Today is your first opportunity to explore Costa Rica and the first stop is Tortuguero. This enchanting National Park is nicknamed the Amazon of Costa Rica. It is hope to some truly iconic animals, including macaws, caiman and, if you are lucky, jaguars. At the heart of the park is the small village of Tortuguero. This gets it’s name from the mass migration of green turtles that nest here each summer.
Our transfer here was through our (incredible) hotel, the Evergreen Lodge. We were picked up at about 07:30 in the morning, before we were taken on to a large coach. The journey took us through the Costa Rican countryside and we even stopped for a traditional breakfast enroute. Before long, we were at the docks to board a 90-minute boat into the park. I should say that this is a mandatory part of the journey; there are no roads to Tortuguero.
I really liked the river cruise. We saw lots of monkeys and iguanas and it was a fantastic chance to acclimatise to our new surroundings. The journey flew by for us and I cannot recommend this experience enough. We arrived at our hotel, had a tasty lunch and then went on a short hike around the reserve. After that, and some delicious lunch, we headed out on our first night tour where we watched turtles laying eggs.
Day 3 – Tortuguero
The next morning, we were woken up at 05:30 by the resident howler monkeys. This sound is one you’ll get familiar with over your two weeks in Costa Rica! After a delicious breakfast and some wildlife-spotting by the river, we then went on the second tour from the Evergreen Lodge. This time, we were heading to explore the town, Tortuguero Village. I wouldn’t say that there is loads to see in Tortuguero village, but it is certainly an experience. Plus, it is a great place to stock up on cheap beer and snacks!
When we got back and rested a while, we then disembarked on our final tour; the boat tour. This was the one we had been waiting for and was the perfect way to spot the wildlife. I think that it certainly delivered and we were lucky enough to see lots of the animals on the list. I cannot recommend this enough and think that it is a must-do when in Costa Rica.
In the evening, we relaxed and got ready for another busy day.
Day 4 – Tortuguero to La Fortuna
This day started with another boat journey to the docks, where we had begun our Tortuguero adventure. From here, we had a delicious lunch at the same place we had breakfast on day 2, and then were picked up by our transfer.
We drove for about 3 hours deep into Costa Rica and eventually arrived at the town of La Fortuna. This was easily the most touristy town we had seen so far. It had a properly cool vibe and I really liked it.
Our hotel, Lomas Del Volcan, was just outside of the town. It was hidden up the slopes of Arenal, an ancient and iconic volcano. The hotel was a paradise and it was one of my favourite ever and we spent the afternoon exploring the extensive grounds. We also then treated ourselves to a fancy dinner in their gorgeous restaurant.
Day 5 – La Fortuna
Out of the 2 weeks in Costa Rica, we had planned to spend only two days chilling and doing nothing. Day 5 was not meant to be one of these; we had planned to hike around Arenal. However, a thunderstorm had hit and we were left relaxing on our balcony for the day.
This was not as bad as you would think though. Around us were hummingbirds and toucans, along with so many more bird species. We spent the day drinking coffee and watching the wildlife come to us.
When the rain subsided late in the afternoon, it was time to do some more exploring and make our way to the bar. We were really lucky as the clouds had parted, so we could finally see the summit of Arenal. Apparently only 30% of visitors manage it! So, in the shadow of the volcano, we drank cocktails and feasted on pizza.
Day 6 – La Fortuna
We had kept our fingers crossed that the Arenal hike would be able to go ahead on Day 6. However, we woke up to the pitter patter of heavy rain. Thankfully though it was on-and-off today and the tour went ahead.
We were picked up by a guide from Swiss Travel called Carlos. He was really knowledgeable and enthusiastic and, with our driver, took us to the Arenal National Park. We were going to walk the 1968 Trail, named after the year when the local area found out that Arenal was a volcano during a large, surprising eruption.
The walk was about 5km and took us around 2 and a half hours. Thankfully, the rain held off for the majority of the time. However, the clouds still hid the majority of the volcano, so we sadly couldn’t see the summit. The walk was really nice and we were treated to stunning scenery and buckets of wildlife. I would certainly recommend doing this, but I regret not visiting the thermal springs nearby.
When we finally returned, we once more headed to the bar and enjoyed some delicious food and, of course, cocktails.
Day 7 – La Fortuna to Monteverde
Despite it only seeming like we had arrived, we left La Fortuna on Day 7 of the holiday. In hindsight, I could have spent an extra few days here. It was dreamy. Today we were driving up to the mountainous region of Costa Rica called Monteverde. Famed for the pristine cloud forest, the temperatures here are much cooler. Very reminiscent of the UK, to be honest!
The journey to Monteverde took about 3 hours. We broke up the transfer with a ferry crossing over Lake Arenal, which was worth the short detour. By midday, we arrived at Hotel Belmar, a gorgeous luxury lodge looking over the town of Monteverde. We had bagsied a canopy room, complete with a gorgeous balcony, outside bath, panoramic shower views and much more.
We spent the day exploring the hotel grounds, including their nature trail through the cloud forest. When dusk finally arrived, we were whisked off to a nearby farm to carry out a night walk. We were lucky enough to see a variety of pit vipers, scorpions and more. This was a highlight of our Costa Rican adventure and I couldn’t recommend enough… Even if it was in the middle of a storm!
Day 8 – Monteverde
Breakfast at the Hotel Belmar was an incredible way to start off a day. On Day 8, we were going to the Santa Elena reserve. This is home to some of the best cloud forest in the world and we were eager to explore.
The route that we took was about 5km again, and the entire journey lasted a few hours. We had a really knowledgeable guide who was able to explain the complex ecology of the place. I don’t think I learnt so much about plants in one day, to be honest. He was also pretty adept at finding tarantula burrows, much to our delight. We did this tour through Swiss Travel, who once again exceeded our expectations.
We arrived back at the hotel late afternoon, so we decided to enjoy the room and hotel grounds. Of course, we had to relax on our private balcony and enjoy some of the hotel-brewed beer (aurora was the best) and the cool juice bar. As the sun set, we headed to the hotel restaurant. From the balcony we could see the Pacific coast; a perfect backdrop to enjoy the delicious, locally-sourced food.
Day 9 – Monteverde
For the final full-day in Monteverde, we were headed to Treetopia. This is home to the best zip-lines in Costa Rica, as well as the best canopy walkways. In fact, some of the walkways were over 150m tall, meaning that we could join all of the creatures in the cloud forest.
I really liked this day and would say that it is a must-do in Costa Rica. As I wasn’t feeling 100%, we decided not to zip-line, but instead spent hours walking around the extensive paths, looking for wildlife. Unlike Tortuguero, where it is more obvious, the cloud forest is really thick. This meant that we had to work hard to find any animals. After a busy day, we were treated to some nice (but basic) food at the park, before heading back to the hotel.
Treetopia is a cool place and I wish we had done the zip lines. Make sure that you have one of their alcoholic hot chocolates; it is pretty special.
Day 10 – Monteverde to Nosara
Our final destination was the surfing-paradise of Nosara, on the Pacific. Ahead of us was a 5 hour journey but, there was a problem. The main bridge over to the peninsula was closed, meaning that we had to cross the sea by ferry to get there. This added a bit of time to our journey but, as we left early, it wasn’t the end of the world.
The journey was long, but I did enjoy seeing new parts of the country. Costa Rica has so many different biomes and each destination looked so different. By early afternoon, we made it to the Lagarta Lodge in Nosara. The hotel boasted arguably the very best view from a hotel I’ve ever seen. From the pool you could see rainforest, complete with crocodile-infested rivers, and the raging Pacific coast.
Our room was also quite special. Whilst the decor was slightly dated, we had a small balcony which sat right next to some trees. The wildlife just came to us and, within an hour of sitting here and avoiding the heat, we had seen so much. This was one of my favourite spots during our 2 weeks in Costa Rica. If you follow this itinerary, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Day 11 / 12 – Nosara
I decided to throw these two days together as they were quite similar. After a busy itinerary so far, we wanted time to relax and enjoy the sunshine!
Lagarta Lodge boasted 3 pools, most of which were silent during the day whilst the tourists were exploring. We enjoyed some incredible cocktails, iced coffees and snacks here and watched the wildlife around us. Vultures, howler monkeys, lizards and whole-host more were everywhere, and we got closer to them here than ever before.
Evening ,meals were also very special. Our hotel had a great restaurant called the Gecko, which looked out onto the Pacific coast. This means that the restaurant is the perfect place to be at sunset. What made it better was that the waiters would bring their telescopes to you and show the extensive wildlife around.
If you don’t fancy relaxing, there are plenty of things to do. Lagarta Lodge has plenty of tours on offer and the village of Nosara is just a short shuttle away.
Day 13 – Nosara to San Jose
For the final full day, we had a long journey ahead of us. The ferry was still the only option to get back to the capital, so all-in-all we had about seven hours ahead of us. However, if you want to see as much as you can in your 2 weeks in Costa Rica, this is sadly a must.
The journey was good and uninterrupted and we got back to San Jose late afternoon. We decided to just relax and have dinner on the Hotel Presidente roof. However, there are also places in the capital to explore, such as the National Theatre. What I would say though is that the Hotel Presidente had an amazing restaurant, complete with great views of the city. With local food and a cocktail in hand, it really was the perfect way to end the holiday.
Day 14 – Home and the End of the 2 Weeks in Costa Rica
At 03:30am (yes, really) we woke up to begin our journey home. We again had to make a layover in the States (Houston this time) and the journey was long. However, it was the perfect time to look through all our pictures and remember arguably the best holiday we have ever had.
Final Thoughts | 2 Weeks in Costa Rica
To be completely honest, I wish I had had longer than 2 weeks in Costa Rica. With almost half of the days being travel, I would have added on an extra week. What I would say though is that it is surprisingly expensive over there, so you will need to play about to get the best deal. Overall, even with the swiftness of 2 weeks in Costa Rica, it was one of my favourite holidays to date. The wildlife, culture, food and scenery was just everything I had imagined and I can’t wait to return. Pura Vida!
