The honest guide to flying in, renting a car, surviving the roads, and mapping out your route.

There is nothing quite like driving along the single-lane highways of Costa Rica — windows down, the warm jungle air rushing through, palm trees lining the road and green mountains rising in the distance behind the low houses where kids kick a ball in the gravel and an elderly man sits in a crooked chair with a cigarette. You drive past it all. You drive past whole lives. And something about that makes you stop mid-thought and realize how wide the world actually is. How differently people grow up, what your life might look like if you had landed somewhere else entirely.

You pass people you’ll never get to talk to, stories you’ll never hear. But you feel something watching them, and sometimes that is enough.

And then a tractor hauling a horse pulls out in front of you doing 15 mph, traffic is backed up the other way, you still have three hours to go, and the reverie evaporates completely. You try the back roads. They are not better. You grip the wheel, laugh at the situation, and remind yourself: all roads lead to somewhere, and at least you’ll have a story to tell.

That’s the thing about road trips. The frustration is part of it. So is the spontaneity, the hidden beaches you find by turning down a dirt road with no plan, the moment you pull over because the view demands it. Two of the pillars I try to live by when I travel: flexibility and going off the beaten path. Road trips are the format that makes both possible. If you need convincing, go read my Corsica road trip post and count how many places we fit into six days purely because we had a car and a plan.

Corsica Road Trip Itinerary: 6 Days Around the Island

Costa Rica is a completely different beast. Same format, wildly different roads. The traffic, the one main highway threading the whole country, the back roads that looked fine on Google Maps until they very much were not. There was a lot we weren’t prepared for. So before you book anything, here’s what you actually need to know.

For the full breakdown on what to do and where to eat in each city, check out Full Costa Rica Road Trip City Guide [Coming Soon!]

Flying Into Costa Rica 

Costa Rica has two main international airports: 

• Liberia (LIR) in the northwest 
• San José (SJO) in the center of the country. 

Which one makes sense depends entirely on your itinerary.

*Tip: If your itinerary starts in the northwest (Tamarindo, Guanacaste, Monteverde), fly into Liberia. If you’re starting in San José or heading straight to Manuel Antonio, San José is your better bet. Flying into one and out of the other, like we did, also works well and avoids backtracking.

Renting a Car in Costa Rica 

Costa Rica has all the major international companies like Budget, Hertz, SIXT,  plus local options. We went with SIXT because they had the best rates when we were comparing, especially since we were picking up at Liberia and dropping off at San José, which typically costs more.

The pickup process was smooth from the airport. Since the airport is small, the car rentals are all located on the outskirts of the airport so they have bus shuttles for each company that picks you up and takes you to the office. 

The SIXT shuttle bus picked us up and brought us directly to the rental office, where the team was genuinely kind and helpful. The guy who helped us even gave us tips for our itinerary while walking us through the car. 

Things to know before you book:

• Get insurance. We skipped it to save money and while nothing went wrong, Costa Rica’s roads make it a genuine gamble. Just get it.
• One-way rentals (different pickup and dropoff locations) cost a bit more but are absolutely worth it over backtracking.
• If you need to extend your rental, most companies charge a full extra day rather than an hourly rate so plan your timeline accordingly.
• A credit card hold is placed at pickup for the deposit, so not only do you need to have the available balance but have the physical card when you arrive, too.
• Bolt and Uber also work well within cities if you don’t want to drive everywhere.

Driving in Costa Rica: The Honest Truth

Driving in Costa Rica is not for the faint of heart or the inexperienced. I say that with love, but I also say it seriously.

There is essentially one main highway (Route 1) that runs across the country, with back roads branching off through unpaved neighborhoods, narrow hilly streets, and sections where you genuinely need to pull over (if there’s even space) to let an oncoming car through. You can pass on single-lane highways like in parts of Europe, but if you’re stuck behind a tractor or a trailer hauling a horse and traffic is heavy coming the other way, you’re not going anywhere.

The bigger issue: traffic. Standstill, out-of-nowhere, adds-two-hours-to-everything type of traffic. 

We were not prepared for it and it affected nearly every driving day. Build at least 2 extra hours into any drive time you see on Google Maps. Seriously.

A lot of people told us public transport is actually more efficient than driving here. I’m not fully convinced, but it’s worth researching if you’re not set on a road trip. That’s a future Costa Rica experiment for me.

Key driving tips:

• Add 2+ hours to every Google Maps estimate. Traffic is unpredictable and frequent.
• Start driving early in the morning before traffic builds up.
• Download offline maps since cell service can be spotty on back roads.
• Buy National Park tickets ahead of time since there is no service on the roads to order on the way
• Expect unpaved roads to some destinations (a 4WD or higher clearance vehicle helps).
• Gas stations exist along the main highway but get sparse in rural areas, so fill up when you can.

The Route at a Glance

Here’s our full six-day route with drive times, nights in each stop, and the highlights at a glance.

Stop 1: Tamarindo — 1 Night

Drive from Liberia: 2 hours

Vibe: Touristy beach town with great surfing, long beaches, and lively nightlife

Highlights:

• Surf lesson on Tamarindo Beach
• Fire show at Tama Onda Beachfront Restaurant
• Dinner at El Mercadito de Tamarindo
• Coffee at Nordico Coffee House or Pico Bistro
• On the drive to La Fortuna: stop at Rio Celeste Waterfall in Parque Nacional Volcán Tenorio (don’t skip this!)

Stop 2: La Fortuna — 2.5 Days

Drive from Tamarindo: 5 hours (including Rio Celeste stop)

Vibe: Jungle adventure headquarters filled with wildlife, waterfalls, volcanoes and hotsprings

Highlights:

• La Fortuna Waterfall, Arenal Volcano & Hot Springs full day tour (book via Viator)
  • Wildlife spotting: toucans, spider monkeys, white-faced monkeys, wild sloths
• Private hot tub at Hotel Rancho Cerro Azul, one of the best stays of the trip
• Dinner at Tierra Mia on arrival night
• Morning coffee and breakfast at Tayakiry Café before hitting the road

Stop 3: Jacó — Drive-Through

Drive from La Fortuna: 3.5 hours + traffic

*There is a lot of backup around Jaco so prepare for standstill traffic! 

Vibe: Dark sand beaches and lively town with a variety of food options and coffee shops, making it an ideal stop along the way to Manuel Antonio 

Highlights:

• Jacó Beach for a sunset stop
• Go off-road and find a quiet spot for a private sunset (the best decision we made all trip)
• Push on to Manuel Antonio (1 hour 15 min further)

Stop 4: Manuel Antonio — 2 Days

Drive from Jacó: 1 hour 15 min

Vibe: Clifftop restaurants, national park, ziplines, beach. Mix of adrenaline and beach lounging for the perfect trip finale!

Highlights:

• Zipline at El Santuario Canopy Adventure
• Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio. You will need to  buy tickets ahead HERE
  • Arrive at opening, find the hidden beach
• Sunset dinners on the clifftops above the ocean
• Rafaeles Las Terrazas for the best seafood dinner of the trip

✈ Manuel Antonio → San José Airport (SJO)

Drive time: ~4 hours + traffic. Plan for it. Leave early. Seriously.

Final Verdict: Is 6 Days Enough?

Honestly? No. Six days is not enough for a Costa Rica road trip and I say that as someone who always maximizes. Between the traffic adding hours to every drive, the spontaneous detours that are absolutely worth taking, and everything this country has to offer, this itinerary is realistically a two-week trip. 

Did we still have an incredible time? Yes. We saw wildlife we never expected, stayed in places that felt like a dream, and came home with a much better sense of what Costa Rica is and where we want to go back. 

Ready to go deeper? Head to Part 2 for the full city guides — where to stay, what to do, and where to eat in Tamarindo, La Fortuna, Jacó, and Manuel Antonio.