Last spring, I took a very healing trip to Costa Rica. Costa Rica is known for its lush rainforests, volcanos, and beautiful beach towns. We wanted to see a little bit of everything on our trip, so we planned an 8-day road trip to visit 6 different cities. We were able to see so much of the country this way. This guide breaks down the destinations we visited and some recommendations for planning your own Costa Rica getaway. Pura Vida!

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My Costa Rica Itinerary

San Jose

We started our trip by flying from Newark to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. San Jose is a large city with plenty to see and do. Here, you’ll find many museums that showcase the history of this beautiful country, parks, and other attractions.

Uvita de Osa

We flew from San Jose to Uvita de Osa, on the Pacific coast. I’d had my eye on the Kurà resort in Uvita for some time, and I could finally check it off my bucket list with this stop. We rented a car in Uvita and road tripped to the rest of the cities on our itinerary.

Jacó

From Uvita, we traveled to the cute beach town of Jacó, a destination for surfers and active tourists. There’s lots of nightlife and tons of hostels and vacation rentals. Jacó is also the gateway to multiple national parks where you can see animals, rivers, and impressive waterfalls.

Bagaces

On our way to the Liberia area, we visited the town of Bagaces. There are tons of hidden gems here; one that we found was Rio Perdido. There are multiple national parks in the area as well as lakes, rivers, and volcanos that create incredible views.

Las Catalinas

Before flying out of Liberia back to the states, our last stop was Las Catalinas. This was the cutest little beach town that was so lowkey we almost missed it. We only stayed one night here, but there is so much more we want to go back and explore. Las Catalinas was designed to be an entirely walkable tourist town with uncrowded accommodations and incredible beach views. We can’t wait to visit again and spend more time here!

Hotel Recommendations

Rio Perdido – Bagaces

Rio Perdido is an incredible hotel and wellness sanctuary situated on a 600-acre natural preserve. The accommodations are beautiful bungalows. There is a river with natural hot springs, ziplines, organized hikes, and a spa on the property. You can also book private dining events here, like a romantic dinner on a floating platform or a riverside picnic with a local menu.

Selina – Jacó

For working professionals, I’d recommend staying at Selina Jacó. This beachfront hostel has private and shared room options and all of the amenities you need in a beach hotel. There’s a coworking space, wellness center, bar, swimming pool, and lots of excursions available at Selina.

Airbnb – Jacó

In Jacó we stayed at a beautiful Airbnb property. There is also an incredible Airbnb experience where you can hike 10 local waterfalls that I recommend!

Airbnb Experience: Hike Ten Waterfalls With Locals

Airbnb: Beachfront Modern Home

Airbnb & Hotel Ideas – Monteverde

Hotel: Monteverde Lodge & Gardens

Airbnb: Holistic House Diamond

Airbnb: Magic House Monteverde

Finding Cheap Flights to Costa Rica

We found flights from Newark to San Jose (SJO) for under $200 per person. This was a crazy steal that isn’t available all the time, but there are still flight deals to be found. San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica and the biggest city in the country. Most flight deals arrive in San Jose, but you can also find flights into Liberia (LIR), where we departed to fly back to the states. The cheapest way to fly into Costa Rica is on airlines like JetBlue, Spirit, and Frontier. You can occasionally find roundtrip flights for under $200 on these airlines from major cities like Philadelphia, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, Washington DC, Nashville, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, and New York. If you are flexible with your dates, I recommend using a Google flights flight calendar to find the best days to fly!