My 14-night trip around Costa Rica was everything I needed and more. And I only spent about $1550 total for it all!

By using points to cover the flights and most of the car rental, I was left with spending money only on gas, accommodation, food, and fun!

In this cost breakdown, I reveal how I searched for the best deals and locked in some of my best experiences at the best prices possible during Costa Rica’s “slack” season in May.

Flights

As usual, I paid for my flights to Costa Rica with points. This time, I used Chase Ultimate Rewards Points transferred over to JetBlue.

But how did I get to this point? The decision to even go to Costa Rica started with a flights.google.com search. I knew I wanted to head South but I didn’t know what country yet.

With a few different countries in mind, I put Miami as my origin location and then searched flights in May to see what was available across Central and South America. Costa Rica popped up as one of the less expensive flight paths. This gave me a baseline from which to determine the best destination for the least points used.

I always prefer to make my miles and points go as far as they can without sacrificing on where I want to go. It just so happened that flying into San Jose, CR was on the lower end compared to other places.

At first, I found flights using AAdvantage points with American Airlines. I’d need to use over 36,000 AAdvantage points and pay $83 in airport fees.

Sometimes you have to shop around a bit to find the best way to spend your points. I diversify my points so I always have options. I’m glad I did because when I investigated further, I saw JetBlue had no fees and almost 10,000 less points needed to spend on basically the same flights.

In fact, I was able to extend my trip by two days and keep it to these rates.

The flights I landed on cost me $0 and 26,700 points. I saved around $300.

Transportation

I was planning a road trip around Costa Rica. While bus transportation is pretty good there, a car would afford me the greatest freedom and flexibility to go where I pleased, when I pleased, and to maximize every minute.

I discovered that a car rental can quickly get very expensive in Costa Rica!

Enter: Chase Travel Portal. I find amazing deals most of the time when I use this portal to search for car rental options.

When I went to car rental websites directly, I was so surprised to find rental cars for $8 per day in Costa Rica. How is that even possible?! I learned that most offers like this were, indeed, too good to be true.

Travel bloggers write of many horror stories around reserving great rental deals like this only to get to Costa Rica and be slapped with enormous insurance and other country-specific rental fees. Many travelers car rental costs would sky rocket from a couple hundred to several hundred dollars!

I learned there are very few car rental companies that reliably post their rates. Through some research, Sixt became the company that I felt most confident in.

The first step was reserving the car rental from the Chase Portal in order to get a reliable price and use points to offset the cost a bit. I ended up paying $148 after using 20,000 points. I saved about $250.

I learned that if you have car rental insurance covered by a credit card, you can get waived the extra fees that even Sixt will slap on. They all do it. I just needed to bring my paperwork to the storefront when picking up my car. That paperwork was proof, in letter form, from my credit card company vouching that they provide full car rental damage insurance should anything happen. Then I had to give them that credit card for a temporary deposit.

I was happy not to pay any additional fees on my car rental. The only thing I had to worry about was tolls and gas!

I experienced a few tolls on some of the main highways leaving San Jose on my first day in Costs Rica. They amounted to no more than $5. The rest of my expenses for the car went to gas and some parking fees at certain parks.

Gas costs were a little heightened from what I pay in Miami—about $5.50 on average. I was paying in Costa Rican Colones using a credit card and by the liter so I didn’t really know this until I calculated it after my return!

I drove almost 2000 km total all over Costa Rica in a little, brand new, white Geely. My gas costs were just under $250. That’s about $16 in gas per day!

Accommodation

One of the best decisions I made for my trip was to do very little planning ahead in terms of where I would stay once in Costa Rica. I booked everything in advance for my trip to Europe last summer. After that, I was craving an experience more like my 2014-2015 round the world trip.

I wanted to fly by the seat of my pants a bit and book things on the fly.

The adventure aspect of this appealed to me but this was a road trip. I wanted the freedom to go where I wanted each day based on what was calling to me. I didn’t want to feel locked into a preset plan. I also was wary about the potential for rainy season to kick in and wanted to follow the sun like I did in Iceland.

Leaving my bookings to the last minute comes with a small amount of risk—risk that I wouldn’t get the best deal or stay in the nicest spot. But I feel that risk is still there sometimes even when planning ahead!

I ended up booking just one stay in advance because of the activity I knew I wanted to experience—diving! I learned that Caño Island has some of Costa Rica’s best diving. Caño is most easily accessible from Drake Bay on the Osa Peninsula. That’s how I ended up with a 4-night booking through Airbnb in advance of my trip. I made it for night 2-5 of my time in Costa Rica.

I confidently made this booking because of 2 conditions: (1) The stay was only $14 per night, which appeared to be the best deal for the area based on anywhere I looked; (2) I could cancel it up to 24 hours before arrival. That offered me the flexibility I still wanted.

It worked out that the weather and timing was right for my stay in Drake Bay. I only had to find a place to stay for my first night on the way there.

The way I planned and booked my accommodation for the entire trip was modeled after what I did that first night because it worked so well. Here was my process:

In the morning or afternoon, Google search hostels in an upcoming area/destination I think I will end up in on my drive.
Set the price range to under $35.
Check reviews and photos on the least expensive locations—typically hostels.
Save the location to book a little later or go right to the hostel website and book.
Enter the destination of the hostel and go to stay that night!

On my first night, I stayed in a 10-bed room for just $15 at Wide Mouth Frog Hostel in Quepos. There was only one other traveler that I shared the room with. Again, being in “slack” season was helpful for not having to deal with packed or overbooked hostels! I don’t know that this method of booking last minute would have worked as well during high season (December - April).

There was only one time that I booked to stay at Argdivan Hostel in La Fortuna for two nights and ended up canceling my second night and opting for a different hostel. The bed was uncomfortable and the bathroom had a sewage smell that seeped into the room. Luckily, my booking allowed me to cancel my second night for a full refund.

I booked a bed at Arenal Sloth Hostel through Airbnb instead and actually paid a few dollars less for much better accommodations!

My 4-bed room to myself at Arenal Sloth Hostel was so nice for only $10

I’ve mostly had great success with hostels around the world. I find they are great for an adventure traveler like me who doesn’t spend much time at my accommodation. I’d rather be out adventuring and then I just need a place to sleep at night.

I do get excited, though, when I come across really beautiful hostels. Paying so little for beauty and comfort is the biggest win! I experienced this when I booked my stay in Taramindo at Iguana Surf Camp & Lodging. I booked via Airbnb and splurged just a tiny bit. My stay there was—gasp!—$22.82! That’s twice the price of other hostels and I think it was worth it. I was still in a multi-bed room but the room was beautifully renovated and air conditioned.

The other benefit to hostels is you usually always have access to a kitchen to cook your own food. This also helps save me money instead of going out for every meal.

Indoor/outdoor kitchen at hostel in Taramindo

When I stayed in Monteverde, I was actually not feeling well. I wanted more comfort and I didn’t want to potentially make anyone else sick. So I opted to stay in my own room at the hostel. This raised the cost to $25 but, again, I feel it was worth it and still within my budget to pay twice as much for the extra comforts, including air conditioning, large comfy bed, and a modern hot shower.

My private room at Cattleya in Monteverde

On occasion, I looked ahead to book and found that there were limited hostel options or that the pricing was a bit too much for the area. That was my experience when trying to book a night in Paquera near the Tortuga Islands. When that happened, I went over to Airbnb to see what I could find.

I was very lucky to find an $18 stay with a local via Airbnb for one night. It was interesting to stay there, too, to see how local Costa Ricans live. The room had wifi, a comfy bed and a fan—all I needed!

I stayed with a local one other night, too, but this one was extra special. With the help of a Costa Rican couchersurfer, I got connected to an indigenous family living in the Rey Curré area. For a $90 all inclusive package, I got to learn all about the Brunca people, their history and culture and present day way of life. I stayed with the organizer’s sister in her home which was very comfortable with a nice bed and A/C.

I decided I wanted full comfort and relaxation for my last 2 days of my trip before heading back home to work and reality. I was willing to pay a bit more for some luxuries but not too much more—I’m still a budget traveler even when I want to splurge a bit!

I managed to find a really nice place in San Jose less than an hour from the airport that was within my budget. I paid a total of $76 for 2 nights on the 16th floor of a beautiful, modern condominium. The top floor had an amazing pool and I had views of the city from my window.

I spent just over $260 on 14-nights in Costa Rica (excluding one night for the all-inclusive experience with the Brunca people). That’s an average of $18.50 per night!

Food

I am a budget traveler but I am also a foodie! Food is a part of the adventure for me and a part of the cultural experience. So of course I was going to indulge a bit on this trip.

I spent my money on groceries to cover most of my breakfasts and lunches as well as snacks. I loved going into the stores and picking out items to try that I’ve never tried before.

I splurged on trying everything from local beer to Costa Rican candy. For cooking, I mostly made breakfasts at the hostels which included buying eggs, bread, avocados, and fruit.

I spent under $175 on groceries during my 2 weeks in Costa Rica.

All around Costa Rica, there are restaurants called “sodas” where you can eat plentiful and cheap. I once bought a meal that cost me only $4 and it filled me up so much!

But I did want to have some nicer meals out on occasion and would splurge for those, including a fresh squeezed juice or cocktail. I typically never spent more than $20 on dinner.

In the middle of the day, I sometimes stopped for a more significant snack like a smoothie or empanada. This usually never cost me more than a few dollars.

In total I spent less than $160 eating out in Costa Rica over 2 weeks.

Across all meals, snacks, groceries, alcohol, and restaurant splurges, I spent less than $335 on food.

Activities

By far, the area I spent the most money for my trip to Costa Rica was activities. I always try to save in other areas—accommodation and flights in particular—in an effort to focus my spending on fun and adventurous activities. That’s exactly how things worked out in Costa Rica.

Diving is always one of my biggest expenses when I traveled. Sure enough, I spent $155 for 2 dives at Cano Island. This was on the more expensive side for other parts of Costa Rica.

What I liked is how much was added onto this experience. It was 2 dives including gear and we visited and could explore Cano Island between dives. Additionally, we were served lunch at the end of the experience. So this was really an all-inclusive package.

With 30 national parks, the wildlife and nature around Costa Rica is certainly its biggest draw. I visited about 4 different parks during my time in Costa Rica. These parks almost all include an entrance fee ranging from $5 to $30.

In some cases, you cannot enter at all without a guide.

Corcovado National Park is a not-to-miss park but it requires a guide to access. I paid $100 for a half day tour including a boat ride, snack, and guide. Of all the parks I went to, this was absolutely the most amazing experience of all and I would pay the $100 again and again to experience what I saw there. I can’t wait to share!

In addition to the experience with the Brunch people, I went snorkeling ($30) and ziplining ($54) while in Costa Rica. I even indulged in my first Airbnb “experience” which was a yoga session on the beach in Taramindo for just $14.

I did a lot of free activities, too, like walking the beaches at sunset, exploring towns, swimming in numerous waterfalls, hiking up a volcano, and more!

In total, I spent just over $500 on activities in Costa Rica. All of these experiences were totally well money spent!

Altogether Now

In total, I spent about $1550 on the entire 2-week experience in Costa Rica from flights to little, miscellaneous things like a SIM card.

The only thing I didn’t include in this breakdown was the cost of the insurance which was about $150. I always travel with insurance—it’s so important especially if you get sick while away. I almost had to use the insurance for exactly this reason but it ended being free of charge! How? Well, I’ll definitely get to that in a future post!

Stay tuned for all of the stories and photos from Costa Rica ahead!

The Cost of a 2-Week Road Trip in Costa Rica