Suggestions for a week trip to Costa Rica
Car rentals & Private bus service

Costa Rica is a small country and easy to explore by car. If you do not want to rent a car, both Greyhound and Interbus have city to city 18 passenger tourist buses that cost about $25/person each way. Below I will list my suggestions for car rentals and Greyhound/Interbus numbers.

To drive from the Caribbean coast to the Pacific coast takes about 8 hours. Most resorts are on the Pacific coast, and for a week trip I would suggest that you split between the interior jungle rain forest area, and the Pacific coast. It is a fairly easy triangle to drive from San Jose to Arenal to Pacific and back to San Jose. Or, those flying into Liberia have the advantage of spending more time exploring the coast or interior since they do not have the drive back to San Jose.

Approximate Driving Times:

Arenal is the most popular rain forest destination in Costa Rica because it has the live volcano, a lake for fishing, and numerous activities such as white water rafting, safari floats, canopy zip line tours, waterfall hikes, volcano hikes, bird watching, plus much more. See Activities.

Where to go on the Pacific Coast?   Truthfully, Costa Rica has many gray sand beaches that are not the best in the world.   They do have great waves for surfing, and lots of great fishing spots. You should get a book and decided where you want to go if these are your goals. My favorite white sand beach is Manuel Antonio, next to Quepos. Quepos is a fun town that is know for its deep sea fishing.   Manuel Antonio has a national park, where you see monkeys, iguanas, and often a sloth.   The beach of Manuel Antonio is long and very beautiful. The waves are surfable, better for boogie boards than long boards, even though you will see both. There is very little undertow and a long stretch of small waves that hit the shore where it is safe for kids to play. Very few rocks make this my best swimming beach anywhere. And the water is warm.  

What I don't like about Manuel Antonio is that there is a main public access area that becomes dirty and smelly. Campers are allowed to camp on the beach so know if you are going during a local holiday. Since this is a very long beach, I have found a hotel at the end of the beach that I like very much because I am on the beach, but not near the congested area. (See hotel suggestions. Karahe) There are a number of very nice hotels in the area, but most are located on the bluffs with great views, but a drive from the beach.

Lots of great restaurants. My favorite is Barba Roja, but there are plenty I have never tried.

Jaco is known for surfing and is a fun busy town.   There are some seriously large waves with undertows so you need to be a strong swimmer. This town is also known for having some problems with theft and drugs, so be careful.   Do not have valuables in your car if you leave it to go swimming.

Tamarindo/Playa Langosto

These two beaches are next to each other.   The main difference is that Tamarindo is a large, busy beach, while Langosto is smaller and much more private.   Swimming is best at Tamarindo.   Because this is only a 3.5 hr drive from Arenal, it makes a great choice to visit if you do not have a lot of time to explore the coastline.   Lots of good restaurants and hotels.   See hotel suggestions.

PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION SERVICE

We highly recommend Carlos Bogarin. He is extremely reliable and fluent in English and has a very comfortable van. Email address:encantados@ice.co.cr

CAR RENTAL SUGGESTIONS;

Both of these companies are in Arenal as well as San Jose: