15 Best Day Trips From San José, Costa Rica

As the capital and largest city in Costa Rica, San José is an excellent place to spend your time in the country. In part, because there is so much to do in the city, but also because it’s near the center of Costa Rica which makes day trips from San José a breeze.

Generally, day trips are going to take at least an hour’s commute because of the terrain in Costa Rica. But there’s too much to see in Costa Rica to spend the whole trip in San José.

Depending on how long you spend in the country, you could do several day trips on your vacation. Going hot springs hopping, galavanting around Arenal Volcano, walking through La Paz Waterfall Gardens, or seeing as many national park spots as you can, there are tons of ways to enjoy your Costa Rican adventure.

Many of the biggest day trip hot spots from San José are just an hour or two away while others will require a longer commute. Once you see the Costa Rican wilderness and culture (not to mention the incredible food) you’ll start planning your next journey around the country.

TL;DR

1. Get in Touch with Nature at Manuel Antonio National Park

Trekking from San José to Manuel Antonio National Park is going to take a while. It’ll take about three hours each way to get to the park, and even if it’s a long time in the car, I highly recommend it. There are a lot of national parks in Costa Rica, but Manuel Antonio National Park is by far the best.

Not only do you get miles and miles of trails through the lush rain forest at Manuel Antonio, but you also get enchanting white sand beach access to cool off in between trail walks. In fact, there are two beaches in the park, so don’t forget to bring your swim gear along. You’ll be bummed if you forget it, trust me.

With the help of a guide, you’ll see all the wildlife you could imagine. From the tiniest insects to sloths napping in a tree, Manuel Antonio National Park is a biodiverse paradise. It demonstrates why the biodiversity in Costa Rica is so important to protect.

You may even spot some of my favorite little ground dwellers – the coatimundi. Also called a coati, these little fellows are adorable raccoon-like animals with long noses and tails.

They’re a lot of fun to watch because of how twitchy their noses are. You can find coati all over Costa Rica, especially on roadsides because they travel in groups and sometimes motorists feed them snacks. Here is your…