ULTIMATE Costa Rica Travel Guide 2025 | Where To Go & What To Do

Costa Rica deserves time. Not a weekend, not a layover, time. It's one of those countries that really deserves at least a couple of weeks to explore. When I was 17, I spent five weeks with my family in Costa Rica. I looked miserable in every photo because I had braces and never smiled but believe me, I was loving it. That was one of the most memorable trips of my life that sent me on a path of wanting to travel more. Fast forward 20 years later in kind of a full circle moment, this is where Olivia and I chose to get married. We just spent three weeks here rented a car, road tripped across the country, took a couple ferries, drove across several provinces, hit 10 of the top 20 beaches, honeymooned in Nosara on the Nicoya Peninsula, one of the world's five blue zones where people live longer and apparently serve better. But on this trip, I noticed how much more expensive it's become to travel here. Car rentals, food, excursions, the costs have skyrocketed in the last two decades and also how confusing it can be to get around as a visitor. The infrastructure can be challenging and Google Maps can't be trusted but it's worth it. Every bump, every pothole, every overpriced meal, it's still worth it. In this video, I want to help guide you through how to navigate this country and give you some first-hand advice we gained recently touring here along with where to go, what to do, and how to get around. So why come? Costa Rica's vibe is hard to describe. It's just super electric, like the whole country just feels so alive. You've got the wildlife, jungle, waves, the people, volcanoes. The earth feels like it's breathing here if that makes any sense. The earth feels more alive and you feel more alive as a result. It's definitely something special. To give you guys perspective, for a small country the size of West Virginia, Costa Rica holds five percent of the world's biodiversity. The wildlife is one of the biggest reasons I love Costa Rica. Dude, you'll see red-eyed tree frogs, toucans, monkeys everywhere, and if you're adventurous enough to go on a night tour, I guarantee you, you will see some things you probably haven't seen before. What do you think of this tour? Pretty lit, dude. I feel like I'm in Indiana Jones or something. Yeah, it feels a little scary to be in the dark in the jungle. Oh, you got a good one. It's a good one, right? Go ahead, go ahead. Careful of the ground, guys. Look at the ground, look at the leaf cutter end of the ground. And another thing I appreciate is that you will rarely see a high-rise hotel. The food's fantastic, balanced, and healthy. The ticos are some of the friendliest, kindest, chillest humans on earth. A lot of people also speak English here and the Costa Rican Spanish has a very clean and neutral accent for foreigners coming here to learn Spanish. Where to go? There are many different ways to do Costa Rica. It all depends on what you're after. Beaches, mountains, specific adventure sports, nature, wildlife. Some of our favorite spots that we recommend are the You've got a good blend of bigger beach towns with a solid nightlife and quieter, more relaxed surf towns. The sunsets are amazing. There's lots of great food options and an overall vibrant but laid-back culture. Perfect for if you want that kind of beach bohemian energy after doing all the nature-heavy stuff. Manuel Antonio National Park. Manuel Antonio is a perfect blend of beaches and wildlife. You'll see sloths, monkeys, and iguanas on short easy trails that lead to some of Costa Rica's most stunning beaches. The National Park is incredible. I highly recommend getting a guide and doing a tour there. La Fortuna and Arenal Volcano. Here you'll get to see Costa Rica's most iconic volcano. This area's got hot springs, waterfalls, and lots of adventure sports like ziplining, rafting, and canyoning all under the shadow of the sleeping giant Arenal Volcano. Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. It's a surreal misty world with hanging bridges, rare wildlife like my favorite bird, the colorful quetzal, and lush biodiversity. Truly feels like stepping into a fantasy world. Tortuero National Park. Known as the Amazon of Costa Rica, you can explore this area by boat through jungle canals. It's most well known for its major sea turtle nesting ground. Just make sure to check that it's turtle nesting season before you go. Puerto Viejo de Talamanca on the Caribbean coast. This is a totally different vibe from the Pacific side. Think Afro-Caribbean culture, reggae music, wild deserted beaches, and great surfing. Plus, it's close to Cahuita National Park which has beachside jungle trails and tons of wildlife. Some other spots to consider that we didn't get a chance to explore yet but heard are awesome are Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula and Rio Soleste and Tenorio Volcano National Park. No matter what you choose though, I would recommend blending some time on the coast with some time inland. Quick interruption to thank the sponsor of this video, Brooklyn Bedding. In the last five plus years, we've slept on almost 200 mattresses around the world. We've slept in over 100 Airbnbs, numerous hotels, even on cruise ships. So we've had the chance to test out a lot of different mattresses. And I know there are a lot of mattress companies that exist in the U.S. but just like everything, when you find the one you love, you stick with it. Our mattress of choice is the Signature Hybrid. What I appreciate most about this brand is how easy it is to customize your own mattress online to fit your specific needs. They've been crafting top-tier mattresses for 30 years, all designed, assembled, and shipped from their Arizona factory. This means they're able to use premium materials at a reasonable price for you and no middleman bringing up the cost. And they make it convenient to try them out, offering 120 nights sleep trial along with a limited lifetime warranty and free shipping to your door if you live in the U.S. So if you're looking to upgrade your mattress, visit brooklynbedding.com slash onworldtravel and use our code onworldtravel for 30% off your entire order. They're running big sales for Memorial Day throughout the month, so definitely check them out. All right, back to Costa Rica. When to go. The best time of year to go depends a little on where you are in the country specifically. Costa Rica has got a lot of microclimates where you can literally travel from warm beaches to chillier mountain cloud forests in a matter of hours. There's no winter or summer. Costa Rica has primarily just two seasons, wet or dry. Dry season is from December to April and is considered high season. Wet season is from May to November and is quieter, greener, and typically much cheaper. This time is also best for turtle nesting, whale watching, and night wildlife tours. Surfing, fishing, wildlife watching are pretty solid all year round. We were there in May at the start of the wet season when it was pretty humid and we experienced daily showers where it would just dump for a couple of hours and then stop. It was actually really nice. It cooled things down and there were a lot less tourists during that time. Getting around. If you're planning on touring Costa Rica and seeing multiple cities and provinces, then I hope this is the most helpful part of this video. Driving here is an adventure. Infrastructure is rough. Roads are often narrow, unpaved, and full of potholes, especially in the rainy season. Renting a car is definitely the best way to explore, but watch out for those hidden fees. Our rental was $55 a day in low season. In high season, you can expect to pay well over $100 and a 4x4 is a must in my opinion. And as I mentioned earlier, navigating this country can be pretty confusing. It was really hard for us to find information online about the route we wanted to take for our road trip. We learned pretty quickly that Google Maps can steer you in the wrong direction and also tell you your route will take less time than it actually will. Locals use Waze. But depending on road closures, some routes are only accessible by small plane or ferry. We made sure to ask locals which routes to That's how we learned that the best way to get from Manuel Antonio to Nosara was to take the ferry. Costa Rica is like the Wild Wild West. It's actually pretty hard to find information online, so asking locals is your best bet. To get to our first stay, we flew into San Jose Airport, overnighted at a hotel near the airport, then van transferred to Manuel Antonio the next day to take us to our first hotel called Shawna by the Beach. After our wedding, we rented a car in Manuel Antonio with airport drop-off and ferried from Punta Arenas to Naranjo and then drove from there to Nosara. We also took a local's recommendation to get to the ferry at least 45 minutes early to ensure we got on with our car. So here's the thing about the roads, some of the roads in Costa Rica. These potholes, these big divots in the road, which are only going to get worse now because it is raining. You're either going to think that they add to the charm of Nosara, that's the city we're in right now, or you're going to be constantly annoyed while driving. I would say, what, 80% of the roads, Nathan? Maybe 90% of them are potholed like that and you're just kind of doing this, you know, the whole time. And in the beginning, it feels like Indiana Jones, you know, you grab your own handle and you're like, yeah, this is great. And then after a little while, you're kind of like, this is annoying. You see a lot of people using like motorbikes or quads, like the big quads. Everybody has a quad. Yeah, I mean, if you need a jeep or a truck or a Land Rover, that's the way to go. But obviously those are going to cost more money. This is a 4x4, but it's the bare minimum 4x4 you can have. We fill every little box. So what does it all cost? Costa Rica is the priciest country in Central America. You'll feel it right away. They add a 13% VAT tax to everything and often a 10% service tax. But a little tip, you can sometimes avoid paying the VAT tax if you ask to pay in cash. For a mid-range traveler staying at hotels or Airbnbs, I would give yourself an average daily budget between $100 to $200 a day to cover your rental car, shuttle, excursions, and meals. That said, it can be done on a budget, especially if you're staying at hostels or only eating at local sodas for food. But that would definitely take a bit more planning. For those wanting more luxury, they've got a lot of nice boutique hotels and resorts with the fine dining and spa days, etc. Final thoughts. We had a dream of having a destination wedding slash honeymoon slash road trip slash vacation over a three-week time period and Costa Rica really ticked all the boxes for us. If you have time and want to see the best of Costa Rica, I'd recommend at least four weeks so you can hit every major region at a relaxed pace. And if any of you are considering having a destination wedding and want to know everything that goes into that, all the costs and logistics, etc., expect to see that video on our channel very soon. We've also linked our actual wedding video below. Hope this helped. Pura Vida and Bon Voyage!