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Private Journeys

Self-drive Costa Rica: Coast to coast adventures

14 days from £2,920pp

(based on two people sharing & excluding flights)

Costa Rica

  • Sarapiqui

Overview & Highlights

Costa Rica, with a comprehensive road network is ideal for independent exploration by self-drive 4WD car hire. This action-packed holiday visits off-the-beaten-track national parks with a backdrop of volcanoes, mangroves or jungle. Your hotels are pre-booked.

Much of the enjoyment of self-drive in Costa Rica is getting off the beaten track and onto the dirt tracks and rural roads where you can stop to explore at leisure. Begin your adventure among the mangrove forests of the wildlife-filled Tortuguero reserve. Discover the mysterious bird-filled cloud forest with its misty landscape of ferns and orchids, scramble over hanging bridges suspended over waterfalls and forest in the shadow of Arenal volcano and end your visit on a Pacific beach.

Costa Rica is a peaceful and stable country and its people are among the friendliest in Latin America. The comprehensive network of roads means that the national parks with their extensive trails are always accessible and self-drive is the perfect way for independent-minded, confident drivers and companions to explore.

In line with its respect for the great outdoors, Costa Rica has been at the vanguard of adventure tourism, with lots of activities on offer from zip-lining to white-water rafting. The tiny country is bursting with an extraordinary diversity of landscapes, flora and fauna.

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  • Explore the waterways of Tortuguero National Park
  • Discover off the beaten track rainforests and beaches
  • Zipline or hike through lush jungles

THE UK’S NO. 1 SPECIALIST IN TRAVEL TO LATIN AMERICA

Sallly

Sally Dodge

Travel Expert

Talk to our experts

Things to do

We proudly offer the widest range of activities, excursions and one-of-a-kind experiences across all our destinations, tried and tested personally by our travel experts.

Bartolome, Galápagos

What our clients say

  • Overall it was a wonderful trip with an exceptional tour leader assisted by excellent local guides and drivers. We left with memories that will last a lifetime.

    GC, Fortrose
    Mar 2018
  • Everywhere we stayed the local staff were particularly helpful and cheerful. As an older member of the group I particularly appreciated we stayed 2-3 nights giving me time to relax and enjoy local amenities.

    RI, Shrewsbury
    Jan 2011
  • Overall an excellent trip with many wonderful memories, lived up to all expectations.


    Feb 2015
  • Well organised brilliant holiday. It felt like 2 holidays in one as each week was so different from the other.

    PS, King's Lynn
    Jan 2019
  • Overall an absolutely fantastic holiday. Arranged at last minute, there is no way that we would have been able to organise something like this on our own. Everything ran smoothly, the group leader was extremely helpful and the group got on very well together, in spite of a large age range. Thanks very much!

    RB, Kettering
    Aug 2017
  • It was a fantiastic holiday, visiting really varied and fascinating locations in an amazing country, and well paced too.  One of the reasons I was able to go on the Gaucho tour was that I could fit it into a two weeks holiday from work, but a lot of your tours are a bit too long for that.

    DB, London
    Mar 2018
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Our expert's view

Sallly
Sally Dodge - Travel Expert

A former Journey Latin America tour leader, Sally spent 7 years working, travelling and living throughout Latin America before returning to the UK to help people arrange their own adventures to this wonderful destination.

Inspired by this trip

Our exciting range of articles on Latin America explore everything from iconic destinations and lesser-known cultural gems to delicious traditional recipes. You’ll also find exclusive travel tips, first-hand client reviews and the chance to get your personal questions answered by our travel experts.

Papagaio

Your edit for Latin American inspiration

Our exciting range of articles on Latin America explore everything from iconic destinations and lesser-known cultural gems to delicious traditional recipes. You’ll also find exclusive travel tips, first-hand client reviews and the chance to get your personal questions answered by our travel experts.

View Extraordinary Inspiration
Bartolome, Galápagos

Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

  • Lina
    Lina Fuller - Travel Expert

    Lina's passion for the continent where she was born really took off when she moved to Córdoba (Argentina) to study, spending the holidays travelling between Argentina and her native Colombia.

  • Heloise
    Heloise Buxton - Travel Expert

    Heloise started her Latin American journey as an exchange student in Santiago, Chile. With extended summer holidays this was the perfect opportunity to backpack through Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Brazil.

  • Hannah
    Hannah Waterhouse - Travel Expert

    Hannah had an early introduction to Latin America when her family moved to Ecuador and she returned to study in Buenos Aires for a year before backpacking across the continent.

  • Sallly
    Sally Dodge - Travel Expert

    A former Journey Latin America tour leader, Sally spent 7 years working, travelling and living throughout Latin America before returning to the UK to help people arrange their own adventures to this wonderful destination.

  • Paul
    Paul Winrow-Giffin - Travel Expert

    After graduating in Computer Science, Paul spent seven months travelling from Colombia to Argentina and came home hooked on Latin America.

  • Charlotte
    Charlotte Daubeney - Travel Expert

    Charlotte's fascination with Latin America began with a family holiday to Belize. She went on to study Spanish in school and at university before spending a year living in Santiago, Chile.

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