Costa Rica Backpacking Itinerary, Costa Rica. You can not go to central America without visiting to Costa Rica. When I planed my trip, the one hour of online research I did, I was under the impression that Costa Rica is over rated, and more time should be spend on country like Guatemala or Nicaragua instead. Which is true to some extent, because you can have a great experiences in other part of central America at much lower cost. However Costa Rica have its own magic and you actually need to spend some good time in the country to appreciate it beauty, but you have take into the account the higher cost of traveling in Costa Rica. I am going to give you a quick over view of Costa Rica different region so you can have a better understanding of Costa Rica top attractions. Costa Rica is full of beaches such as Samara beach and the surrounding area on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica’s or Puerto Viejo and the surrounding area on Caribbean coast. Costa Rica also have lots of rain and cloud forest Monteverde and Tortuguero are famously known as well as area like La Fortuna & Arenal Volcano and Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio. These are some of the key area in Costa Rica, click on this map, it will help you understand the location of each region.
Costa Rica Backpacking Itinerary
Destination: Central America, Costa rica
Season: December 2017
Length: 7 days
Theme: Backpacking | City | Culture | Sceneries | National Parks | Volcano
Costa rica Itinerary at glance
Peñas Blancas → Liberia city → Samara beach and the surrounding area → Monteverde Cloud Forest → La Fortuna and Arenal Volcano → Tortuguero National Park → Puerto Viejo and surrounding area
Costa rica Backpacking Itinerary
Costa rica backpacking itinerary
- The Icon for the transfer method
- The h for the number of hour of transportation time
- am or pm is the time of departure from the city
- The D for the number of days i spent in the city
- The ←→ for day trip
Depending on were you starting from, In my case I entered Costa rica from Nicaragua via bus. Peñas Blancas was my first city in Costa rica. If we starting from Peñas Blancas, we have number of option, In my case I took a bus to San Jose. My plan had to be changed for various reasons. I only backpacked from Peñas Blancas to San Jose then to Puerto Viejo and the surrounding area. Below what would my itinerary will look like if I did not change my plan.
Peñas Blancas → Liberia city → Samara beach and the surrounding area → Monteverde Cloud Forest → La Fortuna and Arenal Volcano → Tortuguero National Park → Puerto Viejo and surrounding area
Although I did not have the chance to see these area this time, I am plaining to go back to Costa rica and I will update each section in the near future accordingly. However couple of my friends did mange to explore these area and they loved it.
Costa rica Backpacking Itinerary
Costa rica Backpacking Itinerary
Costa rica Backpacking Itinerary
Day 1-2 San Jose
I arrived to San Jose around 7pm. The city is big and there are so many different bus station all over San Jose. My bus dropped me in a bus station few miles away from the center and the area did not have a good vibes. I was confuse for a little while on which part to stay in. After a bit of wondering around, asking the locals and searching online I booked to stay in Hostel Casa del Parque, which was located in 19th street, between 1st and 3rd avenues. I highly recommend you to stay around this area. It is very safe, in the heart of San Jose and within walking distance from all the major attraction in San Jose. I was wondering around this area after midnight with no issue. However, just as a side note, San Jose is one of those cites where you have a bit cautious with safety, So just stay in a safe area and avoid walking in unknown area alone at night.
Top things to do in San Jose
I suggest to keep it short in San Jose as there are many other nicer area to explore in Costa Rica
- City walking tour
- Central Market (Mercado Central)
Accommodation in San Jose
San Jose is not the safest city in Costa Rica, So be careful selecting the area of your accommodation, I highly suggest to stay around the 1st and 3rd avenues area. I have stayed at Hostel Casa del Parque, Which was a nice basic hostel in a safe area within two minutes walking distance from the centre.
Transport San Jose to Puerto Viejo
After two days of exploring San Jose it was time to hit the sea again, best way to travel in Costa Rica is bus or shuttle bus. I booked a public bus from San Jose to Puerto Viejo. There are number of bus station around the city, just check with your hostel the nearest one to you. The buses are quite cheap and it will take you around 5 hours.
Costa rica Backpacking Itinerary
Day 3-7 Puerto Viejo
For various reasons I had to change my itinerary a bit and skip some part of Costa Rica. I only had around 5 days left to spend in Costa Rica before going to Panama. So Puerto Viejo was the most obvious choices for me because of its beauty firstly and secondly it is close to Cahuita National Park and Panama’s Border.
So here we go, After a nice 5 hours bumpy ride from San Jose, we are finally by the Caribbean sea again. Puerto Viejo is awesome town and one of my favourites area in Central America, Its in Puerto Viejo i decided to become vegan, as well as some other life waking up experiences and long chat story with the Caribbean sea. Puerto Viejo is a fairly small area, with a very chilled and relaxed vibe. Puerto Viejo is one of six beaches on the south Caribbean region. All of the other beaches stretch over around 20km road. The best thing about it you can explore all the other beaches by cycling it. I have rented a bike form Puerto Viejo for few days and I explored the entire area. I highly recommend doing that. All of the other beach are very nice too, and if you going to cycle it, you can always find a hidden germs. Also you find lot of backwater channel and small river in the area, which is quite nice to explore too, as well as the verity of animal life. You can click here to see a map of the area which will give you a good idea.
Top things to do in Puerto Viejo
Puerto Vlejo is very nice and chilled out town with a very quite and positive vibe. Its not a place for parting, but if you want to enjoy a quite time with yourself its the place for you. You can find some nice local restaurants with live music and nice cultural Costa Rican vibe. However if you like to party you can do that too as there are small number of local night club by the beach.
- The town is small, so just walk it and explore the area
- Enjoy Puerto Viejo beach, especially sun rise and sun set
- Rent a bike and explore the other beaches near by such us: Cocles, Chiquita, Uva, Manzanillo and Mona.
- You can swim and surf
- Hike in the surrounding areas
- You must visit the near by Cahuita National Park
Accommodation in Puerto Viejo
The key is to stay near the beach, there are number of hostal in the town, I stayed at Kalunai Hostel, which was very nice quite hostel, with nice rooms and and a backpackers vibe. The owner was a very friendly Spanish lady who was very helpful and do arrange a lot of activity for the travellers at the hostal like cinema night, ect . The hostal is only about two minute walk from the beach.
Transport Puerto Viejo to Panama’s border crossing
After an amazing five days by the Caribbean sea in Puerto Viejo, it was time to move on to explore the last country of Central America, Panama. Going from Puerto Viejo to Panama’s border crossing is only one hour bus ride. All you have to do is to try to arrange it a day in advance and make sure you get there the earliest possible. When I was at the Panama’s border crossing the waiting queues was so long, it took me more than three hours to cross. So top tip get there as early as possible.
Once I crossed, I started to plan my next move in Panama which you can read from here.
Costa rica Backpacking Itinerary
Cahuita National Park
Once you are in Puerto Viejo, Cahuita National Park is a must do thing. Costa Rica is well know for its national parks and cloud forest. Cahuita National Park is one of them. Its less than an hour bus ride from Puerto Viejo. Its a good day trip from Puerto Viejo. The park is amazing and its has wide range of animals such as sloths, monkeys, raccoons, viper, and many others. Just be carful by waring appropriate clothes color, The monkeys attacked one of my friends because she was waring a red shirt. Nothing serious but you have to be carful, just check with your hostel for safety tip. Cahuita National Park is on the Caribbean coast and for good part of the walk you will be walking by the sandy beaches of the Caribbean sea. There are different trail you can take, but you should give yourself at lest three or four hours to explore the park. I have attached a map in here for you to see the different trails.
Top things to do in Cahuita National Park
- Explore Cahuita National Park, for at lest 3 to 4 hours
- Look for the animals as you are walking, its not easy to find them as they hide in between the trees
- Take lots of photo
- Walk by the Caribbean sea side of the park
Accommodation in Cahuita National Park
I only did a day trip from Puerto Viejo, So I stayed in Puerto Viejo at Kalunai Hostel, which was very nice quite hostel, with nice rooms and and a backpackers vibe. The owner was a very friendly Spanish lady who was very helpful and do arrange a lot of activity for the travellers at the hostal like cinema night, ect . The hostal is only about two minute walk from the beach.
Transport Puerto Viejo to Cahuita National Park
Local buses are your best bet, I took a bus from Puerto Viejo main street just opposite the beach. You can not miss the bus stop its just on the main road. The trip is less than an hour. Just make sure to check the bus time in advance as they come every hour or so if i remember correctly.
Costa rica Backpacking Itinerary
