Skip to primary navigation Skip to content Skip to footer
Back to Blog

Top 3 Best Road Trips in Costa Rica

shutterstock_551372896 (1)

In Costa Rica, having to rent a car can be quite expensive and sometimes really dangerous if you not prepared in advance for what you can encounter. It also comes with ridiculously fun moments. Most of the least explored and exciting destinations are accessed only by vehicles. This is exclusive freedom for an adventurous traveler, and to them, there cannot be any substitute for this type of adventure.

The drive on its own and scenery on the way up is a highlight of the whole trip. It is inevitable that you will need a 4×4 for the trip if you want to drive and explore off the main roads and highway. If you have the desire to take a road trip, below are the three best road trips in Costa Rica.

1. Cerro Chirripó

The narrow graveled roads that connect the various scattered mountain town in southern Costa Rica leads the visitors to what may seem like the destination. This is not the end of the road, but rather the start of a track to Chirripo, the highest peak in Costa Rica. Visitors have to gang up along the concrete slab remnants just for them to get to the entrance of the park. It is advisable to fill up the car with gas in San Isidro de El General, a close by city, beforehand.

Apart from summiting for 12,533-foot Chirripo, there are a variety of other reasons as to why you should brave upon the paths of the scenic mountain. This includes a 700-acre reserve base that is privately owned, next to the Chirripo, Cloudbridge. The reserve has plenty of exotic plant gardens and a big waterfall. International and local painters are welcome to stay at the Monte Azul, a nearby luxury, and art hotel, for work and comfortable stay with an excellent view of the lush gardens. Hummingbirds zip around the gardens too through the tropical foliage, and the twisted abounds of the jungle.

2 .The Monkey Trail

This curvy mountain pass is commonly known for devouring cars and referred jokingly as the shortcut between Flamingo and Playas del Coco. It is narrow and has plunging corridors that make it not suitable during rainy seasons or any other ride that is not a four-wheel drive. But the once you cross over to the other side of the Monkey Trail, no pasture in Costa Rica is greener.

It is possible that you will feel this to be more of a hiking trail and not a road because of the bumpy ride down on the rocks, across large streams and through jungles. You will also pass through the Congo Trail Canopy Tour. This destination is an idyllic beach town, Playa Potrero.

3. San Gerardo de Dota

Cerro de la Muerte could be the least famous road in Costa Rica. It is commonly known as the ‘Mountain of Death.’ Each year, a lot of cars plunge on the sides of its twisty and foggy mountain during heavy rains. The most efficient way to use this road is by taking your trip in the early mornings.