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Private Journeys

Self-drive Costa Rica: Coast to coast adventures

14 days from £2,170pp

(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

Lina

Lina Fuller

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

  • The trip of a lifetime. It was a great privilege to be able to visit somewhere as unique as The Galapagos. There are two things that we most appreciate about…

    AF, Alderley Edge
  • Very satisfied with Journry Latin Americas service in the UK and a wonderful tour which was turned into an excellent experience by our tour guide and driver.

    JE, Southwell
  • Ever since hearing of Tierra del Fuego when I was a child of 8, I have longed to visit. The 'Land of Fire' sounded so magical. Now at 74, I…

    RH, Macclesfield
  • We cannot pick out one most memorable part of our trip as every day provided us with a new and exciting experience. We saw and experienced things we had only…

    TC, Hayle
  • 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…

    DB, London
  • I saw truly unique scenery and interesting historical buildings & monuments but for me it was wonderful to see all that I did and stay in clean comfortable hotels on…

    MS, Lymington
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Our Expert's Opinion

If you consider yourself a confident driver who enjoys exploring off-the-beaten-track spots, then this holiday is an excellent choice for you. The exhilarating feeling of adventure from driving from the Caribbean coast to the Pacific perfectly captures the spirit of Costa Rica.

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.

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

  • Chris
    Chris Rendell-Dunn - Travel Expert

    Anglo-Peruvian Chris grew up in Lima and spent much of his adult life in between London and Cusco as a tour leader, before settling permanently in our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours sales team.

  • Sophie
    Sophie Barber - Travel Expert

    Sophie lived in Chile before joining us and has travelled extensively across Latin America, from Mexico to the furthest tip of Patagonia and beyond to Antarctica.

  • Paul Winrow Giffin
    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.

  • Ben
    Ben Line - Travel Expert

    Ben fell in love with Latin America on a six month backpacking trip from Colombia to Mexico in 1995. Since then he has explored most of South America, including living in Peru for a year. He is now Head of Sales.

  • Millie
    Millie Davies - Travel Expert

    Having caught the travel bug as a child, Millie has travelled all over Latin America before making her home in Buenos Aires for 3 years.

  • 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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