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Costa Rica

You can visit Costa Rica anytime, all-year-round as it is a tropical destination.

Best Travel Time

The mountain ranges spanning the country from the northwest to the southeast form a barrier that divides the country into two larger climatic zones, the Pacific and the Caribbean. That’s why weather conditions on the Pacific side are usually the opposite of the Caribbean and vice versa. Independent of the climatic zones, several days of consecutive rainfall are rare. You will usually experience sunny mornings and a refreshing tropical thunderstorm in the afternoon. There is a period of less rain from December to April on the Pacific side and from August to October on the Caribbean side.

From July to November is the perfect time if you want to experience three great natural wonders in Costa Rica: The observation of humpback whales on the Pacific coast, the sea turtle nesting season, and the bird migration from North America on the Caribbean side. Costa Rica’s flora literally explodes and shows its most diverse side from May to November. In our opinion, it is a pity to only lay around on the beach in Costa Rica, but if you are looking for a pure beach holiday, December to April is perfect for the Pacific side and August to October on the Caribbean side.

Safety

Costa Rica is a comparatively safe holiday destination. Costa Ricans are very open-minded, helpful and friendly people, making their guests feel at home right away. Nonetheless, it is important to be aware of possible safety risks. Considering some general precautionary measures, you can travel Costa Rica without problems:

Expensive jewellery should be left at home, and - just like anywhere else in the world - openly displayed valuables can be a target of theft. Please use the hotel safe in your room or at reception. Do not leave any valuables on display in your rented car and only park the car in guarded, official parking areas rather than leaving it next to the road. Avoid walking at night in the cities.

Armed robberies have sporadically occurred. Even though it is very rare, this risk cannot be completely excluded. Should you become the victim of such an assault, make no resistance and keep calm. Documents and material loss can be replaced.

Costa Rica is located on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire and is thus exposed to natural risks like earthquakes and volcano eruptions. The country itself and the touristic infrastructure are well-prepared for such events. Due to climate change, there is also an increasing number of floods. Should any of these occur, please pay attention to the information provided by ARA Tours or the local population. Do not hesitate if evacuation is requested. This also applies in case of a tsunami alert.

Direct flights to Costa Rica

Fortunately, Costa Rica has a wide range of flights from many parts of the world. You can find direct flights from North, Central and South America.

Also, several European airlines offer direct connections in their flight plans, and so a comfortable journey to Costa Rica. Panama City and various U.S. hubs are the most used, but other countries could offer the best flight connection for your travel plans.

Following, please find information on direct flights available from Europe:

  • British Airways: LGW-SJO-LGW; During November 2023 to March 2024 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
  • KLM: AMS-SJO-LIR-AMS; During November 2023 to March 2024 on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, return flight with stop at Liberia Airport (LIR)*
  • Iberia: Direct flights MAD-SJO 1 flight daily.
  • Iberojet: MAD-SJO-MAD; Flights on Tuesday and Saturdays. Probably in between June and August 2024 flights on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
  • Lufthansa: FRA-SJO-FRA 1 Flight Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
  • Edelweiss: ZRH-SJO-ZRH: 1 Flight Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays. Monday and Wednesday return via Liberia Airport (LIR)*
  • Air France: CDG-SJO-CDG1 flight on Monday, Wednesday, Friday Saturday and Sunday. From December 2023 to March 2024 daily flights. From April 2024 onwards again on Monday, Wednesday, Friday Saturday and Sunday.

*Pending confirmation if stop over Liberia (LIR) will operate in high season 2023/2024 due to runway quality issues.

Other airlines flying to Costa Rica are:

  • USA: American Airlines, Delta Airlines, United Airlines, Frontier, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, Spirit
  • Canada: AirCanada, AirTransat
  • Mexico: Aeromexico
  • Latinamerica: LATAM (from Perú on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) Avianca, Copa, Wingo and Volaris from different North, Central and South American countries to San José.
     
  • Useful App: FlightRadar24

Airports


Sustainability in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a country pioneering in a sustainable tourism economy. The foundation for this was laid in the 1970s with the creation of the first national parks. Today, more than 30% of the country’s surface area is subject to nature conservancy protection.

Another equally important step was the sustainable organisation of the tourism industry. This was secured by introducing the Sustainability Certificate CST which is awarded by the Costa Rican Tourism Board.

Today, many hotels, destination area agencies, car rentals and tourist attractions are certified with the CST, and we would like to ask you to consider these providers during your trip to Costa Rica. You can specifically search and filter for CST certificated products on ARA Tours product platform www.latinconnect.com. Each company is checked again every two years, and the goal of all participants is to reach the highest category of CST.

ARA Tours is proud to have the highest certification, Elite category for taking into consideration, within its operations, its impact within the environment in which we operate and all the actions we take to mitigate the social, cultural, environmental and economic impacts in all different tourist regions not only today but in the future, therefore is highly sustainable.

Here learn more about sustainability:


Greenhouse Gases

Air travel is one of the actions that most generates greenhouse gases that influence global warming, such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. To mitigate these effects, we invite you to calculate the gas emissions generated by your international air travel, entering data such as: Origin, passenger number and destination in the following link: https://www.fonafifo.go.cr/en/calculadora/

The result is shown in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent and can be offset through the purchase of Carbon Credits, which are administered through the Costa Rican organisation Fondo Nacional de Financiamieto Forestal (FONAFIFO), developed based on recognised international methodologies. This payment made to FONAFIFO is used to finance payments for environmental services to small and medium landowners who protect the forests that are producing oxygen and absorbing these pollutant gases. Help us mitigate and be part of contributing to cleaner air!

Videos of each region

Let yourself be inspired by our short films about Costa Rica’s different regions! You will learn about the enormous variety of this country and decide more easily what priorities to set during your travel planning.

Costa Rica Map

1 - San José

2 - Orosí - Turrialba

3 - Caribbean Beach

4 - Selva Bananito

5 - Tortuguero

6 - Sarapiquí

7 - Boca Tapada

8 - Caño Negro

9 - Arenal Fortuna

10 - Rio Celeste

11 - Monteverde

12 - Rincón de La Vieja

13 - Northern Nicoya

14 - Southern Nicoya

15 - Manuel Antonio

16 - Dominical Uvita

17 - Osa Peninsula

18 - San Gerardo de Dota

ARA Tours Testimonials-FeedBack

Feedback

  • Janaina & Dieter, Brazil

    The trip was wonderful! Your help was invaluable and without your choices it would not have been so good! I am very very satisfied and very happy with the choices you made!

    Thank you very much for everything!

    Janaina & Dieter, Brazil
  • Kathrin, Ines, Matthias & Ingo, Germany

    Hello dear Aline, many thanks to you for the great compilation and organization of the trip. We were able to spend eventful, interesting and wonderful days in Costa Rica and will keep them in good memory. A thank you also goes to the ARA Tours team, which was available 24/7 for problems and questions, which were solved and answered quickly and reliably. The punctuality of the transfers offered should also be emphasized. In summary, it was a wonderful holiday.

    Kind regards

    Kathrin, Ines, Matthias & Ingo, Germany
  • Carina & Thomas, Germany

    Hello dear Aline,
    Now we have arrived back at San Jose Airport after a great trip. Everything worked out great and the tour was just perfectly planned and organized. Thank you very much. We take a lot of positive memories with us.
    Best regards.

    Carina & Thomas, Germany
  • Yvonne, Switzerland

    The Costa Rica trip together with my family is already behind us - it was wonderful!!! Everything went smoothly from A to Z, we had a wonderful time, no incidents and wonderful experiences.
    We all enjoyed it very much; the nature is enormous, but also the warm-hearted people, the cleanliness, the food - we are very enthusiastic!
    At this point I would like to thank you very much for your support in the preparation, for all the bookings, clarifications and enquiries!!!
    We visited the waterfall in La Fortuna and had a great view of the Arenal. In Monteverde we did a Hanging Bridges and Zipline tour and in Nosara a surf course. In Finca Rosa Bianca we did the coffee tour, it was all great, fun and interesting 😊. All in all, we saw lots of animals, always ate well, enjoyed the beaches....even in rainy weather 😊. Often we were even glad that it was overcast, otherwise it would have been almost toouuu hot for us.
    So THANK YOU again so much for everything!!!!

    Yvonne, Switzerland
  • Christina, Switzerland

    Many thanks for the extensive support (before, during and after the trip) and the professional handling of our concerns. With your support we had a smooth and unforgettable vacation in Costa Rica! Our favorite hotels: Hotel Plaza Yara and the Poas Volcano Lodge - a dream!
    All the best
    Christina

    Christina, Switzerland
  • Jeanne, Bernd & Bill, USA

    Yay! I´m glad we are back on track. Thank you again for helping us with all these changes.
    I´m glad we choose ARA-you are amazing! Thanks for all your help! It made it a very memorable visit!

    Jeanne, Bernd & Bill, USA
  • Janka, The Netherlands

    Hi Eli & ARA Team,
    We have spoken to the guest and they are super enthusiastic about their Costa Rica roundtrip! Everything was well organized, nice hotels, nice mix of activities & beach and they have big compliments for you guys!!
    Many thanks for all the good work!! The guest highly appreciate it!!
    They had lunch nearby in Ara Ambigua Lodge, and they loved this place. Friendly staff and good food!
    Do you work with this accommodation? If so, we would love hear 😊
    Once again, heads off for this amazing trip!
    With warm regards

    Janka, The Netherlands
  • Thomas, Deborah, Eva & Paula, Switzerland

    Dear Priska
    Happily I write some words to you in English, so you can easily forward them also to Ara Tours, please. Thank you all, we spent a magic time in Costa Rica! Baumeler's and Ara Tours organisation and logistics were perfect, everything worked out even better than we expected. The tours were brilliant, we really enjoyed everything very very much!
    All the accomodation was absolutely wonderful... the setting, the quality, the food, with happy helpful friendly staff everywhere. It was a wonderful way to experience this beautiful country the way we did, on a private tour with personal guide and drivers. We saw and learnt sooo much - it would have been impossible to do so on our own.
    Especially we praise our brilliant guide Fernando Perez, we benefited so much from his truly wide knowledge and deep love for his Country which he passed on in lovely encouraging way. We even became friends and we will meet in Switzerland coming September! Also our driver Carlos Sandi was great, not only as a driver but also as a compagnion, animal spotter and photographer. Thank you!
    So.... now we just enjoy our last day...
    Sunny greetings, pura vida

    Thomas, Deborah, Eva & Paula, Switzerland
  • Yvonne & Andrea, Switzerland

    Hello all
    Unfortunately, our wonderful trip is already over and everyday life has caught up with us again. We would like to thank you very much for everything. The trip was planned exactly according to our wishes and we have seen so many beautiful places.
    Thank you Stefanie!
    We have felt completely comfortable and top cared for by you. Via Whats App we got immediate answers to our questions, with the car everything worked out great. In all locations we were treated very warmly and nicely. It was just so indescribably beautiful, we will dream of the beautiful experiences for a long time. In any case, we will warmly recommend you and hope for a next time. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
    Best regards.

    Yvonne & Andrea, Switzerland
  • Anita, Switzerland

    We have arrived safely in Switzerland and have already returned to work.
    It was a wonderful trip you put together for us.
    Your excellent service, as well as the 24 hour support service from ARA Tours, was truly outstanding.
    I have already recommended you several times and would book with you again and again. Thank you very much and keep me informed if there are any interesting offers.
    Best wishes.

    Anita, Switzerland
  • Lukas & Isabelle, Switzerland

    Hello Pedro, our time in CR is coming to an end and we wanted to say "thank you very much for organizing a phenomenal week". Everything has been well organized and we have seen many beauties of nature. Thanks!

    Lukas & Isabelle, Switzerland
  • Reinout & Yvonne, The Netherlands

    Thanks Jenny for the clear answer. We will make an appointment via the link you gave us.
    Today we visited National Parc Cabo Blanco. What an amazing park, so quiet for tourists, so full of animals, really lovely and therefore together with Monte Verde, Cahuita and Corcovado the park today, Cabo Blanco, scores high in our ranking of most beautiful parks of CR.These parks give us reason, together with the Pura Vida in CR, to come back soon. We'll keep in contact.

    Reinout & Yvonne, The Netherlands
  • Dominik, Germany

    Good day Jennifer
    As we have already told Simone, the stay at Lapa Rios is extremely enriching, thanks to the well planned planting and the untouched environment we see a lot of animals. Contrary to the plans before the stay, we do not want to visit more animals in captivity at the end. We will have a look at the few hours before we leave.
    We thank you and your team very much for the excellent advice and the permanent support! We can only recommend Ara Tours.
    Best regards.

    Dominik, Germany
  • Daniel, Jana & Theo, Germany

    A big thank to you, you saved our vacation!
    Communication already worked very well in Germany. The help from you, especially through Aline, should be mentioned here. This was fantastic from the first WhatsApp message to the last. We already know Costa Rica, so we knew what we wanted and what not. Ara Tours was an important point of contact for us. We are very grateful to Aline precisely because our actual travel agent cancelled our trip 36 hours before departure. She immediately organized everything for us. Whether the hotel in beautiful Punta Leona, the tours to the national parks, even the shuttle service with the great driver Guillerno Ortega has to be mentioned here. We are very grateful to you, dear Aline, but also to the entire Ara Tours team. You too made our almost 3-week trip to Costa Rica unforgettable again. We would love to come back and of course we will book through Ara Tours again.

    Daniel, Jana & Theo, Germany
  • Alexander & family, Switzerland

    Thank you, everything really worked out great. Super organization and at any time quick info / help / support from you!
    We liked it very much. The conclusion in Quepos was crowning. We liked the beach in the National Park Manuel Antonio very much. We would have liked to stay longer, but we take home many wonderful, unforgettable impressions. PURA VIDA!
    Many thanks to you Aline! We will gladly recommend you to others.

    Alexander & family, Switzerland
  • Neumann Family, Germany

    - The route was super planned, first on the beach time to arrive and then only from Monteverde with excursions inland etc. and at the end again beach - perfect!
    - Support from Ara Tours was VERY good!!! Through Whatsapp reachability the service was great, very quick answers / very flexible, good suggestions etc. Also with the doctor Ara Tours helped with translations by phone - that was really very, very good!
    - The home stay day was an absolute highlight - very authentic - so we got to know the locals REAL, the family was super friendly and very open and have talked about everything. Not at all touristy perceived.

    Neumann Family, Germany
  • Marine & Bruno, France

    Hello
    We would like to thank you personally for this beautiful trip that you organised for us and for the follow-up that you did throughout the stay. A big thank you also to Jennifer d'Ara tours! Thank you again and have a great week!

    Marine & Bruno, France
  • Walter, Switzerland

    We really appreciated your (almost) daily updates from Costa Rica on Covid and related issues. That was a highlight compared to other incoming agents worldwide! We thank you for your effort and wish you that you manage the coming time well and stay healthy.

    Walter, Switzerland
  • Ronald, Germany

    Our great compliments for keeping us informed every day on the developments. We wish you all the best and keep yourself and families in good health and mood during this unprecedented period!

    Ronald, Germany
  • Kathrin, Germany

    You are really super! It is impressive how you manage the crisis with your super flow of information and the great reversal. Hats off!

    Kathrin, Germany
  • Michael, Germany

    Hello, we were on a round trip in Costa Rica from 27.11., which was booked through BigXtra and organised by them. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much. The tour was simply amazing! The support by Carlos was just great. We have done many trips before, but this one was an unforgettable experience thanks to Carlos. Carlos speaks very good German and was able to sensitively introduce us to Costa Rica, its incomparable nature and its great, friendly inhabitants. Pura Vida became for us a term for the attitude towards life in Costa Rica. Please say hello to Carlos from us and once again a huge thank you to him in the name of the whole group of 8. We wish him only the best for his future.

    Michael, Germany
  • Evelyne, Switzerland

    Wie just did a 4 week trip in Costa Rica which was organised from ARA tours and we really liked it - well done Ara Tours! We also had a guide - his name is Enrique. His German is really good and he knows a lot about Costa Rica and he showed us a lot of animals. We had a wonderful time with hime - thank you so much Enrique!

    Evelyne, Switzerland
  • Tanja, Germany

    perfect tour perfect tour guide pablo, everything very well organised 👍👍👍👍🇨🇷🇨🇨🇷 were thrilled

    Tanja, Germany
  • Ines, Germany

    Many thanks and great praise to our tour guide Mauricio and our bus driver Adrian! We felt very comfortable during the 2 weeks in Costa Rica. The wide-ranging knowledge of Mauricio and the super driving skills of Adrian were particularly admirable. Thanks to the eagle eyes of both of them, we had the opportunity to observe a variety of animals in Costa Rica. Thank you for everything!

    Ines, Germany
  • Sabine, Germany

    I can only recommend ARA Tours. Thanks again to Nicole for the great planning of the tour and the support. Our tour guide Peter Käser was simply incredible (a walking encyclopaedia) and always had an answer to all my questions about the flora and fauna and the history of CR. Our driver Julio carried my father on his hands, for which I am very grateful. CR is also worth a trip for wheelchair users at any time (with ARA Tours, of course).

    Sabine, Germany
  • Thieme Family, Germany

    We would like to thank you once again for organizing our trip [...] through the beautiful country of Costa Rica. Our special thanks go to our tour guide Enrique, who with his extensive knowledge of flora and fauna about his country brought it very close to us and made us want to come even a second time. We were very glad and happy to travel with him, as he was also very committed to our problems on site, in addition to his competent function as a tour guide.

    Thieme Family, Germany
  • Antonia-Maria & Boris, Austria

    Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your sensational effort! I do not know such a competent tour guide as with you really from nowhere else... and we have already traveled a lot... 🙏🏻🍀

    Antonia-Maria & Boris, Austria
  • Katja, Germany

    I wanted to thank you again for the great Costa Rica trip. We flew back home very happy and with many great impressions. A compliment for the super organisation. Everything worked out perfectly (except for the handover of the rental car, which was force majeure...). So thank you again and I have already recommended you to friends:-)!

    Katja, Germany
  • Denise & Alain, Switzerland

    Thank you very much for your email and the tickets. We really appreciate how quickly and efficiently you deal with our requests each time!

    Denise & Alain, Switzerland
  • Philippe, Switzerland

    Hello Christine Thank you very much for this information. The support is super👍 many thanks Gruss

    Philippe, Switzerland
  • Marianne & Stefan Gräub, Switzerland

    Otherwise, the planned trip was a complete success. Everything went well and the visits you organised were all very interesting. The visits you organised were all very interesting and gave us a great insight into the respective topics. The fact that the Ticos are very friendly and always ready to help was fully confirmed.

    Marianne & Stefan Gräub, Switzerland

    Contact Information

    WhatsApp: +506-8893-3863
    Phone: +506-2232-0400
    Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    Address

    Apdo 799 – 1007
    San José, Costa Rica

    Licenced by the Costa Rican Tourist Board: Lic ICT OT 294

    Liability insurance: Instituto Costarricense de Seguros (INS) Coverage: Territory of the Republic of Costa Rica

    Derechos Reservados - ARA Agencia de Viajes Internacional S.A © 2023