Where to stay in Costa Rica

San José, the capital, sits in the Central Valley about 19 km by road from Juan Santamaría airport, with the National Theatre, the National Museum and La Sabana Metropolitan Park.

Inland to the north-west, La Fortuna lies at the foot of Arenal Volcano, whose eruption ran from 1968 to 2010; the national park is about 15 km from town. Santa Elena, in the Cordillera de Tilarán, is the visitors' hub for Monteverde, about 6 km by road from the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. The two bases are about 25 km apart in a straight line and about 114 km apart by road.

On the central Pacific, Manuel Antonio National Park lies south of Quepos. It is the most popular of the country's national parks, with the beaches of Espadilla Sur, Manuel Antonio and Puerto Escondido inside it.

Guanacaste, in the north-west, has Tamarindo, the largest developed beach town in the province and popular with surfers, digital nomads and expatriates, and Liberia, the largest city, about 13 km from the airport and on the way to Rincón de la Vieja National Park. Santa Teresa, on the southern Nicoya Peninsula, is a beach village next to Malpaís, an area popular with surfers, remote and spread out along dirt roads.

The UK government says private cars may enter San José only on certain weekdays, set by the last digit of the plate, and that the hire company can say which day applies. Via GetCar, the rule covers the Circunvalación ring road and everything inside it on weekdays from 06:00 to 19:00, with a fine of about CRC 26,000. The city's parking meters cost CRC 960 an hour.

Outside the capital, no paid street parking scheme was found in the areas in this guide as of September 2026, so ask the hotel or host how parking works. Two park approaches need planning: Manuel Antonio has no parking area, and the last 10 km to the Las Pailas sector of Rincón de la Vieja are gravel. For Santa Teresa, the Naviera Tambor car ferry from Puntarenas to Paquera is the alternative to about 255 km by road from SJO; Paquera is about 46 km from Santa Teresa.

The UK government describes the main roads as generally good, warns that bridges often narrow to a single lane and that heavy rain in the rainy season brings potholes and landslides. GetCar's guide Driving in Costa Rica: Licence, 2026 Fines, the San José Plate Restriction, Tolls and Road Conditions covers licences, fines and tolls, including Ruta 27 to the Pacific at about CRC 2,300 each way for a car.

Lodging carries Costa Rica's 13% value added tax (IVA). Tourism businesses registered with the ICT, the national tourism institute, charged reduced rates from July 2019 and have charged the full 13% since 1 July 2023, according to the Ministry of Finance. No separate per-night tourist tax was found.

Homes, apartments and rooms let to tourists for 24 hours to one year fall under Ley 9742 of 2019. The host must register with the ICT and with the tax administration and issue an itemised digital invoice, and a platform that takes the guest's payment must withhold and pay the taxes due. Airbnb's list of places where it collects taxes for hosts did not include Costa Rica on 27 September 2026, so check whether a price includes the 13%.

By regulation the ICT's register of hosts is public and shows the host's name, the canton and district, the number of rooms and the maximum number of guests. No rule requiring a registration number on listings was found.

EU, UK and US visitors enter without a visa. The immigration officer sets the length of the stay, up to 180 days; visitors need a return or onward ticket and may be asked for proof of at least USD 100 for each month. Air tickets bought abroad carry a USD 15 entry tax for the ICT, paid with the ticket, and a USD 29 departure tax applies when leaving by air, which most airlines include in the fare.

The UK government puts the hurricane season and the peak of the rainy season from June to November, with flooding and landslides that can block roads. Allow extra time for the unpaved stretches to Santa Teresa and Las Pailas in those months. The 13% IVA is the same all year.

Buy national park tickets before driving out. Manuel Antonio sells them only online through SINAC and closes on Mondays, and GetCar notes that SINAC tickets are for a time slot and are not refundable. The Puntarenas ferry sells a limited share of its spaces online; the rest go at the ticket offices.

A first or last night near SJO, and city days: San José.

Arenal Volcano and its national park: La Fortuna.

Cloud forest walks: Monteverde.

Beaches inside a national park: Manuel Antonio.

A beach town close to LIR: Tamarindo.

Early flights from LIR and Rincón de la Vieja: Liberia.

Surf and a remote, quiet base: Santa Teresa.