Costa Rica Explorer Hidden Gems Self Drive Holiday » Itinerary

You are met on arrival at San José airport and transferred to your chosen pre-booked hotel.

Collect your hire car from the hotel and drive south to the peaceful cloudforest region of San Gerardo de Dota. Stay for two nights.

Wander along secluded cloudforest trails today. Hummingbirds, colourful butterflies, exotic frogs and orchids are common sights.

Visit the flooded forests of the Tortuguero National Park today for a chance to see monkeys, river turtle, river otter, caiman and sloth.

Visit the Corcovado National Park today, the most ‘biologically intense’ region on earth according to the National Geographic.

Visit Cano Island today. Pods of dolphins usually accompany the boat ride across the bay.

Travel north along the coastal road to stay overnight in the Carara area. The national park contains a mixture of tropical dry forest and rainforest, with an incredible variety of flora and fauna.

Drive north to Rincon de la Vieja today, one of the few regions in the country that still feels typically ‘Costa Rican’. Stay for two nights.

Explore the tropical dry forest of the national park today. The trail to the volcano leads past bubbling mud pots, fumaroles and sulphurous vents.

Drive southwest to the Pacific coast to stay for four nights in the unspoiled beach towns of Nosara or Samara.

Free day to relax and soak up the laidback atmosphere.

Day at leisure. In the evenings, people generally flock to the beach to watch the invariably stunning sunsets, enjoy the beachfront bars, restaurants and barbeques.

Final full day to relax at the beach.

After a leisurely start drive back to the San Jose area to stay overnight, ready for your flight home tomorrow.

Return to San José to drop off your hire car at the international airport before flying home.