7 Days in Costa Rica: My Solo Trip Journal from Arenal to Manuel Antonio
Day 1: San Jose to La Fortuna — "Why Does Nobody Stay in San Jose?"
Landed at Juan Santamaria Airport (SJO) at noon. The airport is small and the immigration line took maybe 20 minutes. Had my onward flight booking ready — they do sometimes ask for proof of travel out.
Booked an Interbus shuttle to La Fortuna for $55 USD. Three hours through the Central Valley, winding past coffee plantations and small towns. The driver played reggaeton the entire way, which I initially found annoying and eventually found charming.
Hotel check-in near Arenal. I'd splurged on a room at Hotel Lomas del Volcan — about $100/night but the view of the volcano from my balcony was absurd. Like someone had painted it onto the sky.
Evening at Tabacon Hot Springs. This is where the $99 entry fee (includes dinner) felt completely justified. Geothermally heated rivers flowing through a tropical garden at the base of the volcano. I found the cascade pool around 8PM — water about 39°C, surrounded by steam and tropical plants lit from below. Stars overhead. Volcano silhouette in the distance.
I sat in that pool for an hour and didn't look at my phone once. That might be the most remarkable thing that happened all trip.
Day 2: Arenal & La Fortuna Waterfall — "530 Steps Down Means 530 Steps Back Up"
Morning at Arenal Volcano National Park ($15 USD entry). Hiked the 3.4 km loop through lava fields from the 1968 eruption, now slowly being reclaimed by forest. The Peninsula trail had the best volcano views — clear skies at 7:30AM, clouded over by 10. Learned: always go early in Costa Rica.
Lunch at Soda Viquez in La Fortuna town. My first casado. For anyone who hasn't been: a casado is the Costa Rican set lunch — rice, beans, protein, fried plantains, and salad. Soda Viquez does a fried fish version for about 3,500 colones (~$6 USD). It was simple and perfect and I ate some version of this every day for the rest of the trip.
Afternoon at La Fortuna Waterfall ($18 USD entry). The waterfall itself is stunning — 70 meters of white water crashing into an emerald pool. You can swim in it. But here's the thing nobody warns you about: 530 steps down to the base means 530 steps back up. In tropical humidity. At 30°C. I was absolutely demolished by step 400.
Worth it? Yes. Would I do it again? In cooler weather.
Dinner at Don Rufino in La Fortuna town center — red snapper ceviche that was exceptional, mains about $15-25 USD. More upscale than the sodas but still reasonable.
Day 3: Monteverde Cloud Forest — "A Different Planet"
The jeep-boat-jeep transfer from La Fortuna to Monteverde ($30 USD) is one of those travel logistics that becomes the highlight. You take a 4x4 to the shores of Lake Arenal, cross by boat (volcano views the whole time), then another 4x4 up into the mountains. Way better than the 5-hour all-road alternative.
Arrived in Monteverde and immediately noticed the temperature drop. We went from sea-level tropical to 1,400 meters of cloud forest. Grabbed a jacket from my bag and felt grateful I'd packed layers.
Evening: guided night walk ($30 USD). This is where Costa Rica stopped being "nice tropical vacation" and became "Oh. This place is actually magical."
Our guide — a naturalist named Marco who'd been leading walks for 12 years — found a red-eyed tree frog within 5 minutes. Just sitting on a leaf, those insane red eyes reflecting our headlamps. Then a sleeping toucan, tucked into itself on a branch. A tarantula the size of my palm. Bioluminescent fungi glowing green on a fallen log.
I've done safaris in Africa and wildlife tours in Borneo. This two-hour walk through a Costa Rican forest, in the dark, with a good guide, was up there with all of them.
Day 4: Cloud Forest Reserve — "Searching for the Quetzal"
Montverde Cloud Forest Reserve, guided tour. Entry ~$25 USD, guide ~$30 USD per person. Our guide, a different one this time — a woman named Carolina — was obsessed with finding us a resplendent quetzal. "December to April is best," she said. "But they're here. They're always here."
We didn't find one.
But we found everything else. 400+ bird species live in this reserve — 2.5% of the world's biodiversity in a single patch of forest. Toucans, hummingbirds, three-wattled bellbirds with their bizarre metallic call. The forest itself is otherworldly: trees draped in moss, orchids growing on every surface, clouds literally moving through the canopy around us.
Afternoon at Selvatura Hanging Bridges ($55 USD for 3 km of canopy walkways). Looking down from 40 meters above the forest floor, watching the cloud roll in below you, is an experience I still think about.
Coffee at Cafe Monteverde afterward. Costa Rica's cloud forest produces exceptional coffee, and this cooperative cafe does single-origin brews for about $3 USD. Bought two bags of beans.
Day 5: Transfer to Manuel Antonio — "Coast to Coast Mood Shift"
Four-hour shuttle to Manuel Antonio ($55 USD via Interbus). The descent from cloud forest to Pacific coast is dramatic — you drop 1,400 meters and the temperature climbs 10 degrees. By the time I checked into my hotel near Quepos, I was back in tank-top weather.
Evening at Playa Espadilla — the public beach just outside the national park. Free. Warm Pacific water, soft sand, and one of those sunsets where the sky goes through every shade of pink and orange.
Dinner at El Avion — a restaurant built around an actual C-123 cargo plane from the Iran-Contra era. The ocean views from the open-air terrace are incredible. Seafood mains $14-22 USD.
I sat there with a beer and watched the sky go dark and thought: this trip was a good idea.
Day 6: Manuel Antonio National Park — "The Monkey That Stole My Banana"
Manuel Antonio is Costa Rica's smallest national park and its most visited. Entry ~$18 USD (buy online at sinac.go.cr — limited daily visitors). Closed Tuesdays.
Hired a guide with a spotting scope ($25 per person). This is essential. Without a guide, you'll see monkeys and iguanas. With a guide, you'll see three species of monkeys, two-toed sloths hidden 30 meters up in the canopy, toucans, agoutis, and green iguanas the size of your forearm.
Within 15 minutes, our guide Manuel (yes, Manuel in Manuel Antonio) had his scope trained on a three-toed sloth that I never would have spotted with bare eyes. It looked like a clump of leaves until it moved its head and stared at us with that weirdly serene sloth expression.
Spent 2 hours on the beach at Playa Manuel Antonio — inside the park, crystal-clear water, white sand. Beautiful. But guard your bags. I made the mistake of leaving a banana visible in my daypack and a white-faced capuchin monkey unzipped it, took the banana, and ate it on a branch directly above me while making eye contact.
The guide said: "They do this every day. They're better at zippers than most children."
Lunch at Emilio's Cafe in Quepos — fresh ceviches and smoothie bowls, $8-14 USD. Quepos itself is a small, colorful town worth walking through.
Afternoon by the hotel pool, hammock, book, sunset. Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing.
Day 7: Return to San Jose & Departure — "Would I Go Back?"
Early morning birdwatching from the hotel balcony. This is the thing about Costa Rica — you don't have to go anywhere to see wildlife. Toucans, scarlet macaws, and hummingbirds were just... there. At 6AM. On the railing.
Interbus back to SJO airport, 3.5 hours. Picked up Costa Rican coffee and Centenario rum at the airport duty-free.
The Verdict: Would I Go Back?
Unequivocally yes. And I'd do three things differently:
Add the Caribbean coast. Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, on the Caribbean side, is apparently a completely different Costa Rica — reggae vibes, Afro-Caribbean culture, reef snorkeling. My 7-day itinerary didn't have room for it. A 14-day trip would.
Spend less on hotels, more on guides. The Tabacon hot springs and my volcano-view room were nice, but every dollar I spent on guides (night walks, national park spotters) returned more in actual experiences. A $30 night walk guide found me things I'd never see in a lifetime of walking alone.
Embrace Tico time. Costa Ricans use "pura vida" as a greeting, farewell, and life philosophy. Things move at a relaxed pace. Buses run late. Restaurants serve when they serve. On day one, this stressed me out. By day seven, I got it. The whole point of Costa Rica is slowing down.
If you're torn between Central American destinations, read our Costa Rica vs Panama comparison. And for another incredible wildlife destination, Nairobi is the gateway to East Africa's safari circuit.
Budget Breakdown (7 Days)
Category
Total
Accommodation (mix of mid-range)
$560
Food (sodas + 2 nice dinners)
$180
Activities (parks, tours, guides)
$280
Transport (shuttles, colectivos)
$220
Total
$1,240 USD
Could be done cheaper. Could definitely be done fancier. But for a solo week with genuine wildlife encounters, volcanic hot springs, and cloud forest magic, I'd call that fair.
