Costa Rica Tour Transportation: How To Use Tours To Travel Between Destinations

Hi Laura!

Great question! For the Pacuare River Rafting Tour, pick-ups and drop-offs directly at the SJO Airport are not permitted by the tour operator, but they can leave you across the street at either the Rostipollo’s restaurant or Denny’s restaurant (these would be the closest locations). It’s important to note that although the restaurants are located across the street from the airport, there is a large, multi-lane highway that separates the establishments from the airport, so walking between the two destinations is not advised. The safest option would be to take a (very short and inexpensive) taxi ride between the restaurants and the airport.

Should you choose to raft the Pacuare River during your visit, don’t miss our Pacuare River Rafting Tour discounts here: https://puravidaeh.ca/?s=pacuare+river+rafting+tour&search_id=1&post_type=product

Pura vida! 🙂

Hi Dave!

Thanks so much for posting your inquiry!

To start, in case you haven’t already had a chance to read it, our blog post Costa Rica Day Tours: Should You Book Ahead Of Time Or Wait? should answer your question. 🙂

Although we go into further detail in the above post, I can at last offer you some brief information to help provide a quick answer. To your question, “is it feasible to book a tour from La Fortuna to my next destination within days of my departure?”, the quick answer is: it will depend largely on the tour you have in mind, the tour operator who offers it, and the time of year you plan to visit. Here’s why…

Most (but not all) tour operators in Costa Rica require a minimum of two people to run tours. Since you mentioned that you are planning a solo trip to Costa Rica, if the particular tour you have your eye on requires a minimum of two people to run and you only plan to book it for yourself, the tour operator (assuming it is company that requires a minimum of two people) will not be able to confirm the tour reservation until at least one other person books the same tour as you for the same date. If the tour is a popular one and/or you plan to visit Costa Rica at a busy time of year, this wouldn’t create as big of an issue for you as if you were planning to participate in a less common activity at a slower time of year. This being said, if you do plan to participate in popular activities during a busy time of year, that also invites the issue of availability, since availability can be limited for some tours during certain travel periods.

The other issue you run into if you opt to wait until the last minute to book is that you may end up having to pay full price for the tour. As described in our related blog post How To Save Money On Costa Rica Tours, discounts are available for many tours, however since the reservation deadlines to be followed in order to access those discounts typically requires reservations to be placed a few days in advance of any tour date, waiting until the last minute to book may be too late to reserve the item at its lowest rate.

Pura vida! 🙂

Hi Alicia!

Great question! We are not aware of a city-to-city transportation-inclusive tour that runs directly from La Fortuna (or Monteverde) to Uvita (where Marino Ballena is located). However, going through San Jose isn’t required; there are city-to-city transportation-inclusive tours that run from La Fortuna (and Monteverde) to Manuel Antonio, which will at least get you to the central Pacific coast while avoiding San Jose altogether. Uvita is another hour’s drive down the coast from Manuel Antonio, but you could always look into taking a local bus, a shared shuttle service, a private transfer service, or a taxi service from Manuel Antonio to Uvita to cover this stretch. 🙂

Pura vida!

Hi RRM!

Yes! There are city-to-city transportation-inclusive tours that travel between La Fortuna / Arenal and Manuel Antonio, and since Jaco is passed on the way to Manuel Antonio, you can simply request a drop-off there.

Pura vida! 🙂

Hi Mary!

I just checked all of the links in our article and they seem to be working fine. Which particular link was giving you trouble? With respect to where the tours take place, this varies from tour to tour. In most cases, the activity takes place at a destination that’s different than the departure and arrival destinations. For example, for the Rio Celeste Tour that departs from La Fortuna and arrives at Tamarindo, the tour takes place at the Tenorio Volcano National Park (where Rio Celeste exists), which is neither in La Fortuna nor Tamarindo. Is there a particular tour you’re considering? If so, feel free to let me know which one and I can confirm where the tour will take place along the route.

Pura vida! 🙂

Hey Mark!

For current city-to-city transportation-inclusive tour options between Punta Uva and Arenal, please see the “Tours that include transportation from Puerto Viejo de Talamanca and Cahuita to La Fortuna / Arenal” section in our article above. For current city-to-city transportation-inclusive tour options between Arenal and Playa Hermosa/Playas del Coco, please see the “Tours that include transportation from La Fortuna / Arenal to the Guanacaste Beaches (including the Papagayo, Hermosa, Panama, Coco, Ocotal, Brasilito, Langosta, Tamarindo, Conchal, Flamingo, and Potrero regions)” section in our article above. As a heads up, since the Springs Resort & Spa sits on the outskirts of La Fortuna and is not considered a “La Fortuna hotel” by area tour operators, the tour operator will charge you additional fees to provide a drop-off and/or a pick-up directly at the resort. For more information about these fees, please see our related blog post Costa Rica Tour Transportation: Hotel Pick-Ups And Drop-Offs.

Pura vida! 🙂

Hey Jessica!

The tour operator that runs the tour connections between La Fortuna and Manuel Antonio is Desafio Adventure Company.

Pura vida! 🙂

Hi Caren!

I’m not familiar with any city-to-city transportation-inclusive tours that cover routes between San Jose and coastal towns in Guanacaste. That being said, anyone (including large groups like yours) can hire a private transfer service driver (there are vehicles large enough to accommodate your group) to drive them between two destinations, and you can also arrange to participate in a tour along the way. The challenging thing in your case will be the timing. Depending on where in Guanacaste your resort is, it will likely take you 4-5 hours to travel there from the SJO Airport. Since your flight doesn’t get in until noon (it may be closer to 1:00pm before you exit the airport), and you would probably prefer to reach your resort before dark, that doesn’t leave a ton of time for you to experience a tour on the same day. There are a few attractions that you could make a quick stop at along the way, but my recommendations here will depend on the route you take, which will be determined by the exact resort you plan to stay at. To which hotel are you headed?

Pura vida! 🙂