Costa Rica Road Trip – The Overview
ST and I have never been to Costa Rica so the first thing we did was research popular points of interest. Then, we chose all the places we wanted to visit. After that, we laid it all out on a map and decided which route would be most feasible over a two-week period.
We selected the following areas based on recommendations by friends and family, and after factoring in distance and time. This was our itinerary:
Liberia – 3 nights: Playa Grande, Playa Tamarindo, Rincón de la Vieja, Simbiosis spa, Guaitíl village
Playa Grande, the most beautiful and tranquil beach I’ve seen to date.
Doing a pretty intense hike at Rincón de la Vieja.
Arenal – 4 nights: Arenal hanging bridges, Fortuna waterfall, Tabacón hot springs, Venado caves
View of the Arenal volcano from La Fortuna de San Carlos.
ST worked out the knots in his back at the Tabacón hot springs.
Jacó – 3 nights: Downtown Jacó, Playa Hermosa (the highly recommended Manuel Antonio was also on the agenda, but we were too pooped to drive one hour each way)
The view of Playa Jacó from our hotel room.
ST enjoying the warm waters of Playa Hermosa, the first black sand beach we’ve visited.
Tamarindo – 1 night: Playa Tamarindo and the surrounding area (our last night)
In total, we drove about 400 miles. 
It didn’t feel like we were in the car for hours and hours, simply because there was so much to see and talk about. We saw a cattle stampede and two cowboys chasing after them. There were also countless chickens, roosters, goats, horses, and cattle roaming free along the road.
Some things to consider if you’re planning on taking a road trip in Costa Rica:
- Rental car agencies charge A TON for insurance. I booked our SUV from Kayak for $312 from Economy. When we got there, the nice man hand-wrote a bunch of prices for insurance and claimed it was mandatory. So, we ended up paying over $200 extra for liability insurance (the cheapest option) and our total was beefed up to $580.
- Gas is expensive. Gas prices in the C.R. are comparable to the U.S. We got an automatic Hyundai Tucson circa 2000 and it cost $65 to fill it up. We only had to do this twice, but it still stung.
- You will get tired of driving! ST loves driving so we didn’t think this would be an issue. However, hours of driving in the hot sun over a very bumpy dirt road can wear down a man’s driving stamina. I’m lucky he was such a champ and very good with directions.
- Book a hotel that offers complimentary breakfast! I cannot stress this enough. It was so nice to not have to worry about paying for a meal. Often they were so filling that we didn’t have to eat lunch. This is helpful when you’re on a long hike and can’t stop to eat.
- Costa Rica is very expensive. ST did some research and found that food was relatively cheap in C.R. Whatever website he found must have been out-of-date because food is definitely not cheap. A simple lunch cost $20-30 while dinner was often $40-60. The prices are comparable to NYC. Additionally, August is the wet season, which is considered their off season. The prices are likely even higher during the dry or high season. They even charge you to leave the country! It cost us $28 per person in “departure tax.” That just made us shake our heads.
This is how we saved $$$:
- Take a break of restaurants at the grocery store. This is our favorite way to save money. Instead of eating out, we hit the local grocery store for sandwich ingredients and breakfast food. Costa Rica has the BEST ciabatta bread. They also sell mayonnaise in bags. We love international grocery stores.
Which leads me to my next point…
- Buy souvenirs from grocery stores. Costa Rica is known for their delicious coffee. The problem was, most souvenir shops charge anywhere from $10-$15 per small bag. We got ours from the grocery store for $5-6! We also got pineapple tea and ST’s favorite salsas.
- Skip the excursion packages. Instead of booking expensive excursions, we drove to each place ourselves and did without the tour guides. You’d be surprised how cheap most places are compared to the packages prices. We saved $488 by doing this. Our car rental cost $785, which includes all fill ups. After subtracting our savings, our rental cost $297. We would have paid the same amount in cabs and shuttles since we visited so many places.
Up next, what we did in different regions. 
Costa Rica Road Trip on a Budget
I love this time of year! Summer is synonymous with vacations!
This year, ST and I will be celebrating our second wedding anniversary in Costa Rica. We’re renting an SUV and going on a road trip throughout the Guanacaste region. I can’t wait for twelve days of hiking, horseback riding, tanning on the beach, and spelunking, and exploring. Huzzah!
Arenal volcano, one of our stops, via Geology.com.
Disclaimer: Everyone has a unique travel style. Some people couch surf and others prefer an all-inclusive, five-star experience. ST and I are somewhere in-between. We don’t crash at our friends’ homes and we certainly don’t stay at the Ritz. The guidelines below are how we prefer to plan and budget our trips.
We travel as cheap as possible. Here’s what we do:
1. Set the budget! Flashback to my underclassmen days. I took an African dance class in college. I don’t remember much about the professor (including her name) but her passion for traveling and the valuable lessons taught through experiencing other cultures stuck with me. This was basically her motto:
We decide on our vacation destinations by plugging random airport codes in Kayak to check out prices. A round-trip ticket to Liberia was $412 with an additional $9 off by booking through Vayama. We’ve always wanted to go to Costa Rica and Liberia is a perfect place to start because its close to the beaches. Our grand total was $814 or $417 per person. You can’t beat that price for international airfare with a stick.
2. Plan in advance. Unless you get a last minute deal, planning a last minute trip will destroy your budget. For reference, ST and I purchased our airfare for Costa Rica in May for travel in August. Planning in advance allows you to pay for your trip in manageable bits.
Planning in advance also affords you the time to research, pick, and choose. Research is your friend! I never book anything without consulting Expedia and Trip Advisor.
3. Utilize deal sites. I never, ever make a purchase online without going through Ebates. There is always cash back offers available for popular travel sites such as Expedia and Groupon (the two we use most frequently).
We’re landing in Costa Rica before our actual anniversary. For our actual anniversary, we wanted to splurge on fancy accommodations. Side note: “Fancy” and “splurge” means about $150 per night. It’s hard to get a fancy hotel (or, sadly, a decent one) for $150. Enter Groupon Getaways. We purchased this Groupon for a three-night stay in a luxurious junior suite at Villa Caletas. Hello, giant four poster bed. Hello, huge terrace with epic mountain view. Hello, terrace jacuzzi! At $469 for three nights, we scored this hotel at about $157 per night, which is much lower than their normal rate and comparable hotels.
This was my first Groupon Getaway purchase and I was nervous about getting scammed. Just make sure you thoroughly research the hotel and then email the hotel for availabilities before purchasing the Groupon. Once you get confirmation from the hotel, buy the Groupon and send it to the hotel right away. Villa Caletas responded very quickly to all our inquiries and sent us a confirmation email within 5 hours of my sending the Groupon to them.
4. Consider the best bang for your buck. We use price and ratings as the preliminary determining factors when booking a hotel. After that, we use location and free amenities to narrow it down to one. I always choose hotels with free breakfast and wifi. We use the Internet to compare prices for excursions and even to book excursions, so free wifi is a must. We’re paying $1,135 for four highly rated hotels for 11 nights. That works out to $567.50 per person for lodging.
5. Don’t spend all your money before the plane even takes off. Spend some time to research the types of activities you want to do. After a few hours of Google and discussion, ST and I decided that pretty much all the things we want to do are active and sweaty (teehee) – such as hiking, horseback riding, and swimming. So, that pretty much negates the need to buy new fancy clothes.
6. Be a thoughtful souvenir shopper. During the plane ride, I usually create a list of people to buy gifts for on my phone. This keeps me focused and prevents me from buying random, useless tchotchkes for myself. Guiding questions I ask myself are, “Does Kim need a key chain?” and “Will Melody ever wear this t-shirt?” and “Do I have room for it in my suitcase?”
To be fair, ST and I despise the clutter produced by amassing random trinkets. We limit ourselves to one special souvenir for each of us. This shopaholic has come a long way! *Pats self on back*
7. Consider going on a spending fast a few weeks prior to leaving. I’ve been on a spending fast for the past week. Its so easy to spend tons of money in the summer and the spending fast helps keep us on track.
Do you have any money-saving vacation tips to share?