What Makes it Special?
- Spot sloths, toucans, and monkeys in Manuel Antonio National Park.
- Soak in Arenal’s natural hot springs under the rainforest canopy.
- Spot nocturnal wildlife after dark on a Monteverde night walk.
- Fly through the cloud forest on Costa Rica’s best zip lines.
- Explore Manuel Antonio’s mangrove waterways on a peaceful river safari.
- Enjoy traditional Costa Rican dishes on the beach as the sun sets.
Your tailor-made holiday will be as unique as you are. These itineraries are just a starting point – a bit of inspiration to show what’s possible. Your own trip all starts with a conversation with one of our Costa Rica experts, who’ll take the time to understand what matters most to you and design the perfect Costa Rica holiday to match.
This action-packed itinerary is an ideal introduction to the Pura Vida magic of Costa Rica if you’re a little short on time. We’ve designed this trip to avoid too many long car journeys across the country (maximising your time in incredible locations, rather than the car!), whilst still giving you a real flavour of some of the highlights Costa Rica is best-known for. After a night in San Jose to shake off the jetlag, you’ll head straight to the country’s activity heartland – Arenal. Visit the volcano national park, soak your limbs in the natural hot springs and explore the hanging bridges suspended high above the rainforest canopy. Next up is Monteverde, Costa Rica’s most famous cloud forest. Here you’ll have the chance to fly through the trees on a canopy ziplining adventure and brave the trails after dark, looking for the nocturnal creepy crawlies lurking within. Your final stop is Manuel Antonio on the Central Pacific Coast. With jungle-fringed beaches, brilliant hotels, and a national park that’s teeming with wildlife, it’s the perfect spot for a bit of relaxation before you fly home.
11 hours from London
November to August
- Dry season: December to April
- Green season: May to November
Average temperature
- 26°C
Average rainfall
- Dry season: 150mm/month
- Green season: 400mm/month
Itinerary at a Glance
Day by Day
Here's a summary of what you might get up to day-to-day on this Costa Rica holiday. As always, this is just an idea. Every single day of your holiday will be tailored to suit you.
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Your Costa Rica holiday begins with a flight to San Jose today. Sit back, relax and soak up that feeling of leaving your day-to-day behind. When you arrive, you’ll be met with a warm Costa Rican welcome and driven to your hotel in the city for the night.
This morning you’ll hop in the car for a drive to the Arenal Volcano region. Arenal is the heart of adventure in Costa Rica, with so many adrenaline-packed activities to choose from (alongside some slower-paced options too!) This afternoon you’ll take a guided tour of the national park, learning about all of the rich biodiversity and vibrant wildlife from your expert guide along the way. To finish your day you’ll take a soak in one of the natural hot springs, feeling your worries float away in the naturally healing waters under the canopy of the rainforest. Annnd relax…
This morning takes you above the trees as you head off on a guided tour of Arenal's beautiful hanging bridges suspended high in the rainforest canopy. The afternoon is free for you to relax or arrange further activities such as kayaking, mountain biking, zip lining or walking in the tranquil 1968 reserve.
You'll leave Arenal today for you scenic transfer to the Monteverde Cloud Forest. After some time to relax in the afternoon you will be collected for your night tour in the Monteverde reserve, to look for the creatures of the cloud forest after dark.
Today a treetop adventure awaits. You’ll visit a superb cloud forest adventure centre and brave some of Costa Rica’s very best ziplining. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of flying through the air, above the rainforest canopy and often the clouds. You’ll be living like the Costa Rican monkeys do for a few hours and trust us when we say, it’s unforgettable. You’ll also be able to explore the canopy walkways and view the cloud forest from a different perspective. So if ziplining isn’t for you, the beauty of this spot still can be.
It’s time to leave the clouds of Monteverde and head for Manuel Antonio on the Central Pacific Coast. This is a brilliant spot to spend the last few days of your quick Costa Rica holiday, as it boasts so much of the magic of Costa Rica in just the one spot. You’ve got the stunning beaches, the rainforests teeming with wildlife, the river safaris down mangrove-lined waterways, gorgeous hotels and plenty of options to sample the delicious food.
Today we’ll arrange for you to take a morning tour of the Manuel Antonio National Park. The park is home to sloths, colourful toucans and playful monkeys, we couldn’t have you flying home without one last slice of Pura Vida magic now, could we? This afternoon is free to soak up one last afternoon of sun on Manuel Antonio’s pristine beaches, relax by the pool at your fabulous hotel or arrange a snorkelling or kayaking tour if you fancy something a little more active.
We’re sorry that this day had to come, but it’s time to head back to San Jose for your overnight flight back to the UK. This might have been a quick, whistlestop tour of Costa Rica – but we know you’ll be leaving with a real insight into the country, its people and a desire to return.
Places you'll visit
We have hundreds of partner hotels across the world, with our tailor made trips you can pick from our range of beautiful hotels
What You're Saying
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We had an amazing holiday in Costa Rica which was organised by Holiday Architects. Louise listened to what we were interested in, talked about Costa Rica and suggested places she thought we would enjoy and organised a fantastic itinerary for us which was just perfect. Everything was so well organised and went to plan without any hitches. I would highly recommend HA and would definitely use them again. Thanks Louise.
Julie
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We have just returned from an amazing, stress free trip to Costa Rica. From the beginning Dawn listened to our ideas and offered first hand advice on where to visit. She gave us the confidence and support which allowed us to really enjoy our first major adventure. No question was too silly for Dawn to answer. Costa Rica is a beautiful country packed full of wildlife to explore. The people are so welcoming and hotels surpassed our dreams.
Ian
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We chose to use Holiday Architects mainly due to the prompt and excellent responses from Louise. She listened to our requests and built an itinerary to Costa Rica that suited everyone in our party of four. All questions, queries and frequent changes to our itinerary felt welcomed and we appreciated Louise's expert knowledge and patience in the areas we wanted to visit. In addition, Louise was very friendly with excellent attention to detail.
Brian Whittingham
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Dawn at Holiday Architects put together a wonderful, personalised special birthday holiday itinerary for me. We wanted to see as much diversity as possible in the 10 days that we had available, and were able to experience wetlands, rainforest, cloud forest and the coast. The locations she chose for me were more "off the beaten" track, rather than the standard tourist trails you see from most tour operators. Dawn's vast experience of, and enthusiasm for, Costa Rica and her personal experience of the places we visited were invaluable. She was very patient in tweaking the itinerary until it was "just right" for us, and we are very grateful for her creating this wonderful trip that we will remember forever.
Suzanne
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We went to Costa Rica with Holiday Architects and everything was perfect. Dawn got what we wanted out of the holiday straight away and the hotels and eco lodges were exactly what we liked. The ground staff were also brilliant and very helpful. We're now booking our next holiday with Holiday Architects!
Damien Read
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Wow, our holiday was tip top from start to finish, Louise Mumford you are a real star. We wanted to see wildlife and boy did we. A most beautiful unspoilt country with wonderful people. Cannot praise Holiday Architects enough could not improve in any way.
P Bell
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Dawn at Holiday Architects planned a wonderful holiday for us to Costa Rica. I have used this company twice before and each time their country experts were absolutely lovely, extremely knowledgeable and went out of their way to get the holiday just right. They always listen to what you want and make great suggestions. I would not hesitate to recommend HA to others who want a bespoke holiday created and I will definitely use them again.
Pam Gaskin
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We have just returned from Costa Rica, arranged by HA and it was absolutely fantastic. Louise put together a wonderful itinerary covering differing locations to ensure we could see a variety of birds and wildlife. This was our 3rd holiday with Holiday Architects and we could not recommend them highly enough. Can't wait for our 4th in 2026.
Mrs H
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From early information gathering to ultimately booking and travelling to Costa Rica we could not be more pleased with the attention to detail shown by Dawn and the team, Swiss Travel, on the ground. Everything fitted into place like a well constructed jig saw, we were met and transported on time, our rooms were ideally placed and the venues selected gave a broad picture of the country and differing terrain. No complaints whatsoever, we will have no problem using Holiday Architects again.
Tony
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Holiday Gallery
Meet our Costa Rica experts
We offer tailor-made holidays to suit a wide range of tastes. Our experts Dawn and Louise are dedicated to all things Costa Rica and are here to help you plan your perfect trip.
Dawn Smith
Destination Manager
Costa Rica’s wildlife, landscapes and sense of adventure are what keep Dawn coming back. With a conservation-focused background and years of hands-on travel experience, she’s packed with ideas for making every trip feel special.
Louise Mumford
Destination Manager
Our Lou’s been exploring Latin America for nearly 20 years, and Costa Rica is a firm favourite. She’s drawn to its wildlife, volcanoes and cloud forests, and knows how to shape a trip full of adventure that takes in all the best bits.
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Expert Comment
Louise Mumford
Meet Louise”