One Week in Costa Rica- San José to La Fortuna & La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park
Costa Rica in a Week- Our 2025 Itinerary
Day 1- Arrival in San José
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Day 2- San José to La Fortuna
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Day 3 & 4- La Fortuna & the Lost Iguana Resort
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Day 5- La Fortuna to Punta Cacique, Guanacaste Province
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Days 6 & 7- The Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica at Punta Cacique
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San José
Our first full day in Costa Rica started out just outside of San Jose at the Alta Las Palomas. The hotel was a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, bookable through Hilton. It was located in the Santa Ana neighborhood in the hills overlooking the Valle del Sol. With more time the location would have been a great jumping off point for nearby activities (the visitor center for the wildlife rehabilitation center Refugio Animal Costa Rica was on the adjacent property) and excursions outside the city.
Driving Through Costa Rica
There was a slightly more direct route, but we diverted to the La Paz Waterfall Park for a 4-hour stop. We researched a lot about driving in Costa Rica (full disclosure; I don’t drive on our trips and relied on my husband to gauge his comfort with it). We expected the route to be filled with many sharp turns and that some roads may be unpaved and narrow. We found both to be true, but unlike some countries we’ve visited, all local drivers were operating in an orderly and courteous manner, especially as we navigated one-lane bridges. We had wayfinding service nearly the entire drive through Google Maps and Waze, which made it much less daunting if we had to reroute or missed a turn. Driving was an active and not passive sport; with full attention required for the many scooters, road bikes and motor coaches that shared the roads. We were also lucky we were traveling during daylight and good weather.
La Paz Waterfall Gardens and Wildlife Refuge
We pre-purchased tickets for the La Paz Waterfall and Wildlife Refuge in the Provincia de Alajuela. The 70 acre- preserve is part of a large resort area that includes lodging, restaurants and a spa. A Day Visitor Package was also available that gave access to the pools and restaurants even for guests not staying at the resort, and this both this option and a few nights’ stay is high on our itinerary list for when we return to Costa Rica.
We spent nearly two hours in the upper part of the preserve. While our visit the day before to the National Museum of Costa Rica was the perfect information “download” for the history and culture of the people of Costa Rica, La Paz was the perfect balance as an introduction to the flora and fauna of the country.
Animal Exhibits
The monkey exhibits housed two of the four species of monkeys that we hoped to see on our jungle hikes later in our trip and the jungle cats’ habitats gave us a chance to appreciate the diversity of the largest predators (that we hoped and expected NOT to see in the wild) of Costa Rica.
The snake house had multiple exhibits with the snakes of Costa Rica, but it was even more helpful to have a guide to explain the subtle differences between the venomous and non-venomous snakes, how prevalent they were in the different regions of Costa Rica and what we should do in the (unlikely) event that we encountered one.
The butterfly house was one of the largest lushest and most insect populated of the many we’ve visited, with a large chrysalis observation area.
The large aviary enclosure allowed guests to see both birds and small mammals without barriers. The toucan “aviary within an aviary” allowed us up close views of the birds to recognize the distinct markings and calls of the different species, while keeping the larger and more dominant separate from the other birds.
The hummingbird gardens invited the many native butterflies of Costa Rica (some that were endemic to just that region) with both nectar flowers and bird feeders. We were lucky to have a staff member (and the help of excellent signage compared to some other areas of the park) nearby to help us identify the fast-moving birds.
The lower section of the wildlife trail included a frog house and orchid gardens. We appreciated that staff had parked the location of each tree frog because they were so well camouflaged on the leaves. It reinforced how much wildlife we were surrounded by in Costa Rica without being able to see it.
The Casita on property offered exhibits displaying the traditional farming methods in Costa Rica. During our visit to the house we were able to sample a Tico milk drink and dessert. Tico is the colloquial term to describe cultural elements from Costa Rica. The term is gendered when referring to people; Tica (feminine) and Tico (masculine).
Waterfall Hike
The waterfall trail was just under a mile and mostly downhill on a well maintained series of paths, staircases, and bridges. There were options to get closer to the waterfalls by following side paths and trails, each adding a bit more uphill hiking to return to the main path. One trail led to a small beach for better views of the side-by-side Encatada and Escsonida Falls.
The entire hike took us less than two hours, including time at the Gift Shop at the bottom of the trail. We waited for approximately ½ hour for a large school bus to pick us up from the trail. Watching the large tour buses navigate the windy rural roads we were glad we had our own car.
La Paz Waterfalls to La Fortuna
We left La PLa Paz Waterfall and Wildlife Refuge in early afternoon and continued our drive northwest to La Fortuna, arriving with enough daylight to enjoy a view of the rainforest from our room at The Lost Iguana Resort & Spa.
More Blog Posts about Costa Rica Coming Soon..
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