Day 1: Arrive San Jose — Welcome to Costa Rica
Land at Juan Santamaria International Airport, where your driver transfers you to your deluxe hotel in San Jose’s Escazu district. The afternoon is at leisure to rest after your international flight or to explore the neighborhood’s galleries, boutiques, and excellent restaurants. In the evening, meet your On The Go Tours guide and fellow travelers for a welcome briefing and dinner at a traditional Costa Rican restaurant, where you will sample the country’s comforting cuisine — perhaps a casado of grilled fish with rice, beans, and sweet plantains. San Jose’s elevation of 1,170 meters provides a refreshing climate that is the perfect introduction to your Central American adventure.
Day 2: Irazu Volcano & Orosi Valley — Highlands to History
Rise early for the drive to Irazu Volcano National Park, climbing through agricultural highlands to the park entrance at 3,432 meters. Stand at the edge of Diego de la Haya crater, a vast depression with an otherworldly green lake at its center, and on clear days scan the horizon from the Caribbean to the Pacific. After exploring the park’s lunar landscape, descend to Cartago, the colonial capital abandoned in 1823, to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, Costa Rica’s most sacred pilgrimage site. Continue to the Orosi Valley, a landscape of coffee fincas, colonial churches, and lush green hillsides, and visit the Iglesia de San Jose de Orosi, the oldest functioning church in Costa Rica at over 280 years old. Enjoy a farm-to-table lunch at a local coffee plantation before returning to San Jose for the evening.
Day 3: San Jose to La Fortuna — Journey to the Volcano
Depart San Jose for the scenic 4-hour drive to La Fortuna, the town at the foot of Arenal Volcano. The journey crosses the Continental Divide and passes through the town of Zarcero, famous for its whimsical topiary garden in front of the pink-and-blue church, where cypress bushes have been sculpted into elephants, dancers, and spiraling arches. Upon arrival in La Fortuna, check into your hotel with views of Arenal’s perfect cone and spend the afternoon exploring the town at leisure. As dusk falls, take a short walk to a volcano viewpoint where the golden hour light transforms the landscape into a photographer’s dream.
Day 4: La Fortuna — River Safari Float & Hot Springs
The day begins with a gentle safari float on the Penas Blancas River, drifting silently beneath towering trees as your naturalist guide points out wildlife along the riverbanks. Howler monkeys shake the branches with their deafening calls, blue herons stalk the shallows, and Jesus Christ lizards sprint across the water’s surface. After the tranquil morning, the afternoon is dedicated to pure relaxation at one of Arenal’s premier hot springs resorts, where a network of pools ranging from warm to hot are fed by the volcano’s geothermal waters. Sink into the mineral-rich pools as steam rises around you and the sun sets behind Arenal’s peak, painting the sky in brilliant shades of orange and crimson.
Day 5: La Fortuna Free Day — Custom Adventures
Today is yours to design your own Arenal adventure. Options include hiking to the Cerro Chato crater lake, rappelling down canyon waterfalls, mountain biking through the rainforest trails surrounding the volcano, or simply relaxing poolside at your hotel. Your guide can arrange any activity based on your interests and fitness level. For those seeking a cultural experience, visit Maleku Indigenous Reserve to learn about the traditions and crafts of one of Costa Rica’s eight indigenous groups. Tonight, gather for an included group dinner featuring the best of Costa Rican cuisine, with views of the volcano illuminated under the stars.
Day 6: La Fortuna to Rincon de la Vieja — Geothermal Wonderland
Travel northwest through the savannah landscape of Guanacaste, passing herds of Brahman cattle grazing beneath Guanacaste trees, to reach Rincon de la Vieja National Park by midday. After settling into your eco-lodge near the park, hike the Las Pailas interpretive trail, a 3-kilometer loop that winds through a surreal geothermal landscape. Walk among bubbling mud pots that plop and gurgle, steaming fumaroles that hiss from cracks in the earth, and mineral-stained streams colored yellow and orange by volcanic chemicals. Your guide explains the geology behind these phenomena and points out how the area’s heat-loving vegetation has adapted to thrive in this extreme environment. In the late afternoon, hike to the Oropendola Waterfall, a 75-meter cascade where you can swim in a crystal-clear pool surrounded by lush tropical vegetation.
Day 7: Rincon de la Vieja to Samara — Pacific Beach Bliss
After a morning at leisure to enjoy the eco-lodge’s trails or hot springs, board your coach for the scenic 2.5-hour drive to the Pacific coast. The landscape transitions from dry forest to coastal vegetation as you approach Playa Samara, one of Costa Rica’s most charming beach towns. Arrive in the afternoon and check into your beachfront hotel, where the sound of waves provides a constant soundtrack. Take your first walk along the 4-kilometer crescent of pale sand, wade into the calm, protected waters, and settle into the rhythm of coastal life. Dinner tonight is at a beachfront seafood restaurant where the catch of the day was likely swimming in the Pacific that very morning.
Day 8: Samara — Surf, Sun & Sea
Embrace the Pura Vida lifestyle with a morning surf lesson on Samara’s gentle waves, widely considered the best beginner surf beach in Costa Rica. Professional instructors guide you through the basics, and most first-timers are riding waves by the end of the session. After lunch, join a guided sea kayaking excursion to Isla Chora, a small uninhabited island just offshore, where you can snorkel among tropical fish and relax on a pristine beach. The afternoon is free to explore Samara’s laid-back town center, with its surf shops, smoothie bars, and artisan markets selling handcrafted jewelry and Guanacaste pottery.
Day 9: Samara — Free Day or Optional Adventure
Today is completely yours to enjoy Samara at your preferred pace. Sleep in and enjoy a lazy breakfast, book a deep-sea fishing charter to chase marlin and dorado, join a horseback ride along the beach at sunset, or sign up for a yoga class at one of Samara’s renowned wellness centers. For nature lovers, the nearby Werner Sauter Biological Reserve offers excellent hiking trails through dry tropical forest with the chance to spot howler monkeys and tropical birds. Your guide is available to arrange any activity, or to recommend the best spots for doing absolutely nothing at all — which in Costa Rica is a perfectly legitimate activity.
Day 10: Samara — Last Day in Paradise
Enjoy your final full day in this Pacific paradise. Take one last swim in the warm Pacific, stroll the length of the beach collecting shells, or find a hammock and a good book beneath the coconut palms. For those seeking one more adventure, consider renting a bicycle and pedaling the coastal road to Playa Carrillo, a pristine beach just 7 kilometers south that is often named among Costa Rica’s most beautiful. In the evening, gather with your group for a farewell dinner on the beach, toes in the sand, toasting with tropical cocktails as the sun sinks into the Pacific on your final night in Costa Rica.
Day 11: Departure — Adios Costa Rica
After a final tropical breakfast, transfer to Liberia International Airport for your homeward flight. The 2-hour drive takes you through the Guanacaste countryside, past ranches and dry forests, allowing time for reflection on the journey you have completed. From the 3,432-meter summit of Irazu to the geothermal wonderland of Rincon de la Vieja, from the perfect cone of Arenal to the gentle surf of Samara, you have traced the volcanic spine of Costa Rica and explored its Pacific soul. This is a country that stays with you long after you leave, its landscapes and its people imprinted on your memory, its mantra of Pura Vida a reminder to live life fully and joyfully.
