Costa Rica itineraries for groups

Costa Rica itinerary: 5, 7, 10 & 14-day routes for groups

Night-by-night plans that move a group of 12 to 28 through the volcano, the mountains and the beach — with honest drive times, the right airports, and what it costs per person.

Choose a length →Customize one

The short version

5 days
One estate. Bella Vista if you fly into San José, Johnny's if you fly into Liberia.
7 days
Volcano → beach: 3 nights Majestic Lodge, 3 nights Johnny's. Fly into SJO, home from LIR.
10 days
Mountains → volcano → beach: 3 nights at each estate. SJO in, LIR out.
14 days
4 nights Bella Vista, 4 Majestic, 5 Johnny's — time for day trips to Manuel Antonio or Monteverde.
Longest drive
Majestic Lodge → Johnny's, about 3 hrs 50 min with a stop
Lodging per person
About $57–$66 per night for 24 guests, cleaning included
Pacific Ocean Caribbean Sea NICARAGUA San JoséManuel AntonioMonteverde ✈ SJO✈ LIR 1 hr 20 min Bella Vista Mountains · sleeps 28 Majestic Lodge Volcano · sleeps 33 Johnny's Ocean · sleeps 28
Lodging, 24 guests$5,475
Per person$228

Published whole-estate rates incl. cleaning, before meals, transfers and activities. Change the group size →

4 nights · 1 estate

5-Day Costa Rica Itinerary: one estate, zero wasted hours

With five days, the best group trip has one base, not two. Pick the estate that matches your airport and spend the time you saved on day trips.

4 nights · Bella Vista

✈ Flights: Fly in and out of San José (SJO) — or Liberia (LIR) for the beach version.

  1. 1 Bella Vista · Mountains

    Land, 80-minute transfer, sunset at the infinity pool

    Felix meets the group at SJO in the 12-seat van. By late afternoon you're in the pool watching the sun drop toward the Gulf of Nicoya.

  2. 2 Bella Vista · Mountains

    Courts in the morning, Playa Caldera in the afternoon

    Open play on the four private courts while it's cool, then 35 minutes down the mountain for a black-sand beach and fresh ceviche.

  3. 3 Bella Vista · Mountains

    Waterfall hike and a home-cooked dinner

    Hike to a jungle waterfall near the estate, then let Patricia cook a Costa Rican dinner for the whole group.

  4. 4 Bella Vista · Mountains

    Free day: river, butterflies or nothing at all

    The 'nothing' option is popular. Hammocks, the volcano-stone jacuzzi and the treehouse hot tub are all yours.

  5. 5 Bella Vista · Mountains

    Breakfast with a view, back to SJO

    Checkout is 10 AM; the airport is 80 minutes away, so even midday flights work.

Flying into Liberia instead? Swap Bella Vista for Johnny's Beach Bungalow — 1 hr 30 min from Liberia (LIR), 3-minute walk to the sand. Same four nights, the beach version.
Check these dates → Open in the trip builder
Planning notes

How many stops should a group make?

A useful rule: one stop for every three or four nights. Every move costs a morning — packing 20 people, a van ride of two to four hours, settling in. Under five days, stay put. From seven days, two stops pay for themselves because the second place feels like a new trip. At ten days, three stops let you see the mountains, the volcano and the Pacific without anyone feeling rushed.

The open-jaw flight trick

Costa Rica's two international airports are roughly four and a half hours apart by road. Book everyone into San José (SJO) and home from Liberia (LIR) and the route runs one way across the country — no backtracking day at the end. Bella Vista is 80 minutes from SJO, so day one is short; Johnny's is 90 minutes from LIR, so the last morning is relaxed. Most US carriers price open-jaw returns about the same as a round trip.

Drive times between our estates

FromToGroup van, approx.
San José (SJO)Bella Vista1 hr 20 min
San José (SJO)Majestic Lodgeabout 3 hrs
San José (SJO)Johnny'sabout 4 hrs 45 min
Liberia (LIR)Bella Vistaabout 2 hrs 45 min
Liberia (LIR)Majestic Lodgeabout 3 hrs
Liberia (LIR)Johnny's1 hr 30 min
Bella VistaMajestic Lodgeabout 2 hrs 30 min
Bella VistaJohnny'sabout 3 hrs 15 min
Majestic LodgeJohnny'sabout 3 hrs 50 min

Times are door to door without long stops; add time in rainy-season afternoons and on holiday weekends. More on vans, shuttles and rental cars in getting around Costa Rica with a group.

Why mountains → volcano → beach (and not the reverse)

Start where the transfer is shortest, so the first evening isn't lost to a long drive after a long flight. Put the active days in the middle, when energy is highest — Arenal is where people zip-line, raft and hike. Finish at the beach, when everyone wants to slow down, and leave from the airport 90 minutes away. Reverse it only if your flights force you to.

When to go

December through April is dry on the Pacific side and the busiest time — book estates six to nine months ahead. July brings a short mid-year dry spell. September and October are the wettest months on the coast and at Arenal, and they're when Bella Vista drops to its green-season rate. See the month-by-month guide.

Bella Vista Private Resort
Mountains · Bella VistaThings to do near Bella VistaWaterfalls, black-sand beaches, rivers and a crocodile tour — all within an hour.
Open → The Majestic Lodge
Volcano · Majestic LodgeThings to do in La FortunaThe Majestic Lodge's guide to zip lines, hot springs, the waterfall and the volcano.
Open → Johnny's Beach Bungalow
Ocean · Johnny'sThings to do around Playa AvellanasSurf, Playa Negra, Hacienda Pinilla, sport fishing and the La Leona waterfall.
Open →
Itinerary questions

Before you lock in a route

Is 7 days enough for Costa Rica?

Yes, for two regions. A week covers Arenal Volcano and the Guanacaste coast comfortably — three nights at each with one transfer day in between. Trying to add a third region in seven days means spending a third of your trip in a van.

What is the best 10-day Costa Rica itinerary for a group?

Three nights each in the central mountains, at Arenal Volcano and on the Guanacaste coast, flying into San José and out of Liberia. It's the route we recommend most: a short first transfer, the big adventures in the middle and the beach at the end.

Can a group of 30 travel together between estates?

Yes. The Majestic Lodge sleeps 33; Bella Vista and Johnny's sleep 28 each, so very large groups usually plan the route around the Majestic Lodge or split a few guests into nearby rooms. Transfers run in 12-to-20-seat vans; we size the vehicles to your group.

Do we need to rent cars?

Not usually. Each estate's hosts can arrange airport and between-estate transfers, and most groups use drivers for day trips too. A rental car or two is useful if part of your group wants independent days.

How far is La Fortuna from Tamarindo?

About three and a half to four hours by road. From the Majestic Lodge to Johnny's Beach Bungalow — ten minutes past the Tamarindo turn-off — plan on just under four hours with a short stop.

Can we change the number of nights at each stop?

Of course. The routes here are starting points. Open any of them in the trip builder, change the nights or the group size, and send it to us — we'll check all the dates at once.

Make it yours

Pick a route. We'll hold the dates at every stop.

Tell us the length and the group size — Karen will check all three estates and send one quote for the whole trip.

Check dates →Customize in the builder
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