Classic Costa Rica self-drive tour

This morning, your hire car will be delivered to your hotel before you drive for around three hours to Arenal Volcano.

Today's hanging bridges tour offers a detailed and unique perspective on the flora and fauna of the tropical primary forest through a series of trails and bridges with a specialist local guide. This will be followed by a soak in the Eco Termales Hot Springs.

The Caño Negro Wildlife Reserve is located in a region widely considered to be one of the richest in biological diversity in Costa Rica. Once aboard the boat, you will enjoy a river safari through the rainforest.

Today you will drive to the cooler climate of Monteverde, which will take approximately three and a half hours.

Located on the Caribbean side of the Costa Rican Continental Divide, the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve is one of the first community-owned projects in Costa Rica. Today you'll have a chance to explore the area with a local guide.

Today you will drive south to the warmer Pacific coast to the town of Manuel Antonio, where rainforest meets beach. This journey will take approximately three and a half hours.

At leisure in Manuel Antonio. Feel free to explore some of the coastline walking trails.

A further day at leisure.

Continue driving south to Puerto Jimenez, the gateway to Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, which will take just over two hours. From Puerto Jimenez, it will take at least 45 minutes and can take over an hour, depending on road conditions and wildlife spotting opportunities along the way. You will have your own hire car during your time in the Osa Peninsula. On arrival, you will meet the guides at the hotel, and they will talk you through the options for activities during your stay and when it might be best to do certain things, depending on the weather.

A day at leisure. To make the most of your time in the wildlife-rich Osa Peninsula, we recommend spending as much time as possible on the forest trails with your lodge's specialist naturalist guides. They will help you to spot toucans, macaws, squirrel monkeys and the many local species of butterfly.

A further day at leisure. You could explore your surroundings or ask the lodge for some recommendations of where to go in the area.

Drive back up the coast past Uvita and Manuel Antonio toward the Central Highlands. This journey will take approximately six hours. You will spend the night in a beautiful coffee-themed boutique hotel surrounded by coffee fields, green pastures, and a rich agricultural environment.

You will drive back to San José Airport, where you will drop your car off, before taking your international flight home.