Trip planner
Your road trip made to measure: choose your days, your airports and what you like. We pick the towns that fit best and put them in the route with the fewest hours behind the wheel.
Your 14-day road trip from San José
National parks: 7 towns, flying home from San José.
- Length
- 14 days, 13 nights
- Driving
- 730 km · 15 h 30 min
- A day, on average
- About 90 km
- Costs for 2, roughly
- €4,170
- A person
- €2,090
Change the nights at each town (0 skips it) or tick tours, then:
Direct flights from AMS
Flight out: AMS → SJO
No direct flight then: you change planes on the way.
Flight home: SJO → AMS
No direct flight then: you change planes on the way.
Your flights for this trip
Choose a start date above, and the planner looks for the flights on the first and last day.
Your rental car for this trip
Choose a start date above, and the planner looks for a car from the first day to the last.
Day 1 · Land at San José (SJO), drive to Monteverde
1 Monteverde, Puntarenas
Walking in the cloud forest
- Day 1 130 km · 2 h 50 min –
- Day 2 no drive –
- Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
- Hanging bridges through the canopy
- Hummingbirds at the Hummingbird Café
Another night here? With an extra night: the Santa Elena reserve, or a coffee and chocolate tour.
Hotels in Monteverde Comfort: a good hotel (3 stars)
El Nido Lodge
★★★★★ · 10.0
ÉWA Homes Monteverde
★★★★★ · 10.0
Finca Aquarius
★★★★★ · 10.0
The Green Tree Lodge
★★★★★ · 10.0
Villa Golondrina
★★★★★ · 10.0
Day 3 · Monteverde, drive to Rincón de la Vieja
2 Rincón de la Vieja, Guanacaste
The mud pots and fumaroles of Rincón de la Vieja
- Day 3 130 km · 3 h 10 min –
- Day 4 no drive –
- Las Pailas in the national park
- Oropéndola waterfall
- Hot springs and mud baths
Another night here? With an extra night: tubing on the Río Negro, or on horseback through the dry forest.
Hotels in Rincón de la Vieja Comfort: a good hotel (3 stars)
Day 5 · Rincón de la Vieja, drive to Bijagua
3 Bijagua, Alajuela
The sky-blue water of Río Celeste
- Day 5 50 km · 2 h –
- Day 6 no drive –
- Río Celeste waterfall
- Los Teñideros, where the river turns blue
- Sloths in the gardens around Bijagua
Another night here? With an extra night: tubing on the Río Celeste, or a night walk looking for frogs and tapirs.
Hotels in Bijagua Comfort: a good hotel (3 stars)
Cabaña Montezion Bijagua
★★★★★ · 10.0
Paradise Rio Celeste 2
★★★★★ · 10.0
Yarumo Lodge Río Celeste Black Chalets
★★★★★ · 10.0
Mei Tai Cacao Lodge
★★★★★ · 9.9
Casitas Tenorio B&B
★★★★★ · 9.8
Day 7 · Bijagua, drive to La Fortuna
4 La Fortuna, Alajuela
The cone of Arenal volcano
- Day 7 100 km · 1 h 30 min –
- Day 8 no drive –
- Lava trails in Arenal National Park
- La Fortuna waterfall
- Hanging bridges through the rainforest
- Hot springs at the foot of the volcano
Another night here? With an extra night: canyoning or rafting on the Balsa, or a day along Lake Arenal.
Hotels in La Fortuna Comfort: a good hotel (3 stars)
Alojamientos N&S
★★★★★ · 10.0
Cabañas Litos
★★★★★ · 10.0
Jarabacoa Family Hostel
★★★★★ · 10.0
Natural Green Lodge
★★★★★ · 10.0
Fortuna Retreat
★★★★★ · 9.8
Day 9 · La Fortuna, drive to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí
5 Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, Heredia
Toucans and poison dart frogs at La Selva
- Day 9 80 km · 1 h 10 min –
- Day 10 no drive –
- La Selva biological station
- Rafting on the Sarapiquí
- Chocolate tour at a cacao farm
Another night here? With an extra night: rafting on the Sarapiquí, or a second early bird walk.
Hotels in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí Comfort: a good hotel (3 stars)
Day 11 · Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, drive to Orosí
6 Orosí, Cartago
On Irazú volcano, above the clouds
- Day 11 120 km · 2 h 30 min –
- Day 12 no drive –
- The craters of Irazú volcano
- Orosí's colonial church
- The ruins of Ujarrás
- The basilica of Cartago
Another night here? With an extra night: Tapantí park, or Orosí's hot springs.
Hotels in Orosí Comfort: a good hotel (3 stars)
Coffee Pickers Village By Hacienda Orosi
★★★★★ · 10.0
Montaña Linda Guest House Orosi
★★★★★ · 7.9
Hotel Alma de Luna
★★★★★ · 6.0
Hotel Reventazon
★★★★★ · 6.0
Hotel Tapanti Media de Orosi
★★★★★ · 6.0
Day 13 · Orosí, drive to Turrialba
7 Turrialba, Cartago
Rafting on the Pacuare
- Day 13 40 km · 1 h –
- The Pacuare gorge
- Guayabo, the ancient city
- Coffee farms around Turrialba
Another night here? With an extra night: Guayabo, or a two-day raft with a night at a river lodge.
Home again
Turrialba to San José airport (SJO), fly home to Amsterdam.
With an early flight, spend the last night near the airport.
Arrange something yourself
A few days with family or friends, a train ride, local transport: a part of the trip you arrange yourself. No hotel and no tours of ours; without the car, no kilometres and no hire those days. Enter what it costs and it counts in the total.
On the road with Google Maps or Waze
Your trip from airport to airport, with the hotels you chose (or else the towns).
- No account needed: find it again under My trips.
- Take it on the road Your trip day by day on your phone, also without signal.
- Download for Google My Maps (KML) In My Maps: create a map, Import, and choose the file. It works in Google Earth too.
- The route in Google Maps
Drive there with Waze one destination at a time
What it costs, roughly
For 2 travelling together: the flights, the rental car, a room for every two at every stop, and the tours you tick in the plan above.
| Day | Date | Night in | °C | Km | Driving | Hotel | Tours | Car hire | Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monteverde | – | 130 | 2 h 50 min | €110 | – | €70 | €180 | |
| 2 | Monteverde | – | – | – | €110 | – | €70 | €180 | |
| 3 | Rincón de la Vieja | – | 130 | 3 h 10 min | €120 | – | €70 | €190 | |
| 4 | Rincón de la Vieja | – | – | – | €120 | – | €70 | €190 | |
| 5 | Bijagua | – | 50 | 2 h | €120 | – | €70 | €190 | |
| 6 | Bijagua | – | – | – | €120 | – | €70 | €190 | |
| 7 | La Fortuna | – | 100 | 1 h 30 min | €130 | – | €70 | €200 | |
| 8 | La Fortuna | – | – | – | €130 | – | €70 | €200 | |
| 9 | Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí | – | 80 | 1 h 10 min | €110 | – | €70 | €180 | |
| 10 | Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí | – | – | – | €110 | – | €70 | €180 | |
| 11 | Orosí | – | 120 | 2 h 30 min | €90 | – | €70 | €160 | |
| 12 | Orosí | – | – | – | €90 | – | €70 | €160 | |
| 13 | Turrialba | – | 40 | 1 h | €100 | – | €70 | €170 | |
| 14 | Flight home from SJO | – | 80 | 1 h 40 min | – | – | €70 | €70 | |
| On the road | €1,460 | – | €910 | €2,370 | |||||
| Flights, 2 return | €1,800 | ||||||||
| Total | €4,170 | ||||||||
| A person | €2,090 | ||||||||
Estimates in euros, to plan with: a return flight from Amsterdam, a mid-size car with insurance, a room for two at each stop, and the tours' usual prices. Fuel and meals are not included. The hotels' real prices are a click away at every stop. Check the flights: not every airport has a direct flight from Amsterdam all year. Prices as of 2026-10.
Add your own budget a day: food, fuel, parking, …
Fill in an amount for every day, or change a single day in the table. Empty is nothing: only what you fill in goes into the total.
| Day | Night in | Food and drink | Fuel | Parking | Entrance fees | Souvenirs | Other | Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Every day | Set in the form above | |||||||
| 1 | Monteverde | €0 | ||||||
| 2 | Monteverde | €0 | ||||||
| 3 | Rincón de la Vieja | €0 | ||||||
| 4 | Rincón de la Vieja | €0 | ||||||
| 5 | Bijagua | €0 | ||||||
| 6 | Bijagua | €0 | ||||||
| 7 | La Fortuna | €0 | ||||||
| 8 | La Fortuna | €0 | ||||||
| 9 | Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí | €0 | ||||||
| 10 | Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí | €0 | ||||||
| 11 | Orosí | €0 | ||||||
| 12 | Orosí | €0 | ||||||
| 13 | Turrialba | €0 | ||||||
| 14 | Flight home from SJO | €0 | ||||||
| Your budget | €0 | €0 | €0 | €0 | €0 | €0 | €0 | |
Our suggestions are estimates a day, greyed in the empty fields: food and souvenirs a person, the rest for everyone, and fuel by the kilometres you drive that day. Change them to what suits you. Prices as of 2026-10.
Your trip as a booklet
The route map, every day with its drive and what to see, the excursions, the costs, a packing list and room for notes: print it yourself, or have it printed and sent as a book.
Have it printed Download (A5, PDF) A4
For a print shop
With 3 mm bleed and crop marks, the fonts embedded, the map in vectors. The whole booklet · The pages inside · The cover (add &spine= and the spine's width in mm from your printer)