One Week in Costa Rica- La Fortuna to Punta Cacique, Guanacaste Province
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 & 6- 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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Traveling from San Juan to La Fortuna
We started our morning at the Lost Iguana Resort, located near Lake Arenal Dam on the western side of La Fortuna. It was the only morning of our three days in this region that the clouds subsided and we were able to get a full view of the Arenal volcano from our balcony. We spent the morning hiking the Jaguar Trail at the resort before checking out to head toward the Pacific Coast.
Lake Arenal
The beginning of the nearly four hour drive hugged the coastline of Lake Arenal, with stunning views of the water. We traveled through small towns and had some twists and turns on the rural roads, but the drive was far less daunting than our route a few days earlier between San Jose and La Fortuna. We set our lunch destination as the Lake Arenal Hotel and Brewery.
This area of the lake is popular for kitesurfing and windsurfing, and the hotel, with a focus on environmental sustainability, felt like the perfect laid-back place to stay, dine, hike, and relax in between days on the lake. For us it was the perfect point to stop for a delicious lunch with views of Lake Arenal. The lake provides a significant portion of the hydroelectric power generation that has helped Costa Rica be known for clean power.
The Guanacaste Province & Liberia
We stopped at a quiet side street in Liberia for coffee at the adorable monochrome-decorated Café Negro. With more time we would have explored the bustling downtown shopping and dining area. After navigating the congested streets of the town, the route opened into an open road that led past many of the large resorts that had been options for our stay in coastal Guanacaste Province.
Waldorf Astoria Punta Cacique
We spent a lot of time researching where to stay, and decided on the Waldorf Astoria Punta Cacique. The main factor in our decision was cost; we had enough Hilton Points to enjoy a resort that would normally be far out of our budget. While we would have enjoyed exploring the small coastal towns and resorts that stretched down the coast, we wanted to settle in a bit after our active stay in La Fortuna and to have a shorter drive to the Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in Liberia on departure day.
Now that we’ve traveled to the region, we hope to return and fly both in and out of this small (but still modern and easy to navigate) airport instead of San Juan, using it as the jumping off point to visit more areas on the coast and return inland to La Fortuna.
Read more about our stay at the Waldorf Astoria Punta Cacique
Playa Del Coco
We spent one morning exploring the beach towns around the resort. We first drove to Playa Hermosa, but parking was scarce on the busy Saturday morning. We drove further down the coast to the town of Coco. There was an expansive public park and beach and plenty of parking around the town. Small tourist shops and restaurants lined the street across from the beach and into the town.
We stopped for a drink on the patio of Hotel Claudio & Julia while I tried a FishSpa for the first time. (I learned that the fish don’t actually eat/exfoliate dead skin, but instead just clean the surface.) We shopped for souvenirs and chose the brewpub Coconutz for lunch. This section of the coast offered a lot of small boutique hotels and AirBNB condo rentals. We saw a few outdoor bars set up for club music and dancing, and It is likely a great spot for younger tourists looking for a place with an active nightlife.
Read more about our week in Costa Rica-
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2 Comments
Michelle
Would you be able to update your blog regarding staying at the Waldorf? We are going in Jan 2026 and I’d like to know what to expect. Are there any day tours we could arrange that aren’t 3+ hours away?
jenerving
Though we didn’t take advantage of them, the resort did offer tours You should also have the concierge from the resort contact you before your trip and they will be happy to help you plan your trip. For more information obout our stay you can visit my additional blog post: https://jengoesplaces.blog/2025/11/02/one-week-in-costa-rica-the-waldorf-astoria-costa-rica-at-punta-cacique/