Planning a trip to Costa Rica: when to go, budget and itinerary

Three hours by road from San José airport, La Fortuna is the base for Arenal Volcano, dormant since 2010 yet still striking. Allow three nights to string together trails across the lava flows, canopy hanging bridges, La Fortuna waterfall and an evening in the hot rivers. The summit often clears only at sunrise, so plan viewpoints early, since clouds roll in around 10 am almost all year.

Perched at around 1,400 m in the Tilarán range, Monteverde is 3 h 30 from Arenal by road or by the jeep-boat-jeep transfer across the lake. The reserve opens at 7 am, the best moment to look for the resplendent quetzal with a guide, mainly between February and May. Pack a fleece, as evenings drop to about 15C. Anyone who enjoyed the highland forests of Mexico's Chiapas will find the same misty atmosphere and birdlife.

Tortuguero is reachable only by boat, about 5 h from San José via the La Pavona dock. Two nights cover the canals at dawn and, from July to October, guided night walks to watch green turtles nesting. Further south, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca and Cahuita share an Afro-Caribbean culture close to that of the Caribbean coast of Colombia. A useful paradox: September and October, the wettest months on the Pacific, are the driest on this shore.

Manuel Antonio, 3 h from San José, packs sloths, capuchins and beaches into a small park that closes on Tuesdays and caps visitor numbers, so buy online tickets several days ahead in the dry season. Further south, Uvita and Ballena Marine Park welcome humpback whales twice a year. The Osa Peninsula and Corcovado park, among the wildest areas in the country, can only be visited with a certified guide: plan at least three nights around Drake Bay.

The northwest is the driest part of the country, with nearly five almost rainless months from December to April. Liberia airport saves the drive back to San José, 4 h 30 away. Tamarindo draws surfers and nightlife, Sámara offers a reef-sheltered bay for swimming, and Nosara or Santa Teresa remain surf villages on dirt roads. Watch out for rip currents on open beaches, a frequent cause of drowning.

The landing point for most flights, the capital deserves a day: the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum beneath the Plaza de la Cultura, the National Theatre and the Central Market for a cheap casado. Around it, the Central Valley, between 1,000 and 1,500 m, grows the country's best-known coffee and hosts Irazú, the highest of its volcanoes at 3,432 m. It also makes a good one-night base before the flight home, as the airport sits in Alajuela, 20 minutes from downtown outside rush hour.