Costa Rica Escape — Self-Launched

Fly into Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO). Skip the US$48 operator transfer and take the official orange airport taxi (~₡10,000–12,000 / ~£15) or the public bus from the airport road into the city centre (~₡600). Stay in Barrio Amón or Barrio Escalante — leafy, walkable and full of cafés. In the afternoon do the walking orientation Globus charges for free: the National Theatre (guided tour ~₡3,000 / £4.50), the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Mercado Central for a casado lunch (~£4) and Parque Morazán. Sort your onward shuttle ticket tonight.

🚌Airport taxi ~£15 or public bus ~£1; all city sights walkable

🛏Hostel in Barrio Amón/Escalante, private room or dorm — e.g. Selina San José or Casa Ridgway (£14–22)

• →Self-guided walk: National Theatre, Metropolitan Cathedral, Mercado Central
• →Optional National Theatre interior tour (~£4.50)
• →Evening food stroll in Barrio Escalante

The Globus coach ride through banana, pineapple and sugar-cane plantations is the journey itself — you see the same scenery from a shared tourist shuttle (~£20–25, 3.5–4 hrs, book via Hostelworld/GetYourGuide) or the local bus via Ciudad Quesada (~£4, 4.5–5 hrs, more adventurous). Arrive La Fortuna village, check in, then walk to the free mirador on the edge of town for your first Arenal Volcano views. Swim at the free El Salto rope-swing river spot. In the evening, book a hot-springs soak — the free riverside hot springs near Tabacón's outflow are a budget legend, or pay ~£25–35 for a proper paid complex (Eco Termales or Baldí).

🚌Shared tourist shuttle ~£20–25; local bus via Ciudad Quesada ~£4

🛏Family-run guesthouse or hostel in La Fortuna (£14–20)

• →Shared shuttle or local bus through plantation country
• →El Salto river swim (free)
• →Arenal Volcano viewpoint walk
• →Hot springs soak (free river spot or ~£30 paid complex)

The core included Globus activity, self-booked: the Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges park, where a 3 km loop crosses 15 suspended bridges through primary rainforest with 400-year-old trees and big odds of monkeys, toucans, frogs and sloths. Book a naturalist guide direct or via GetYourGuide (~£45–55 including transport and entry) — guides carry spotting scopes and are worth every penny. Afternoon: hit the La Fortuna Waterfall (~£8 entry, 500 steps down, swim at the base). If you want the optional extras Globus sells, the Peñas Blancas safari float (~£50) and horseback ride to the waterfall (~£45) can be booked locally a day ahead.

🚌Local taxi or included in activity pickup (~£6 total)

🛏Family-run guesthouse or hostel in La Fortuna (£14–20)

• →Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges guided walk (~£50)
• →La Fortuna Waterfall swim (~£8 entry)
• →Optional Peñas Blancas safari float (~£50)
• →Optional horseback ride to the waterfall (~£45)

The scenic transition day. The jeep-boat-jeep route across Lake Arenal is the budget classic — a minivan to the lake, a boat with volcano views, then a van up the bumpy road to Santa Elena (~£20–25, ~3 hrs). Arrive early afternoon in the quirky, windy mountain town of Santa Elena. Walk to the Bat Jungle or the cheese factory if you like, stock up at the supermarket, and use the afternoon to compare night-hike operators for tomorrow. Bring a fleece — Monteverde is 1,400 m up and much cooler than Arenal.

🚌Jeep-boat-jeep shared shuttle ~£20–25

🛏Hostel or cabina in Santa Elena (£12–18)

• →Jeep–boat–jeep across Lake Arenal
• →Santa Elena town wander
• →Sunset from the Cerro Amigos viewpoint (free, 1 hr walk)

The other headline Globus inclusion, done independently: Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve (entry ~£10, cheaper and quieter than the famous Monteverde reserve) with a local naturalist guide (~£30–35, book at the reserve entrance or via GetYourGuide). The trails wind through moss-draped, cloud-soaked forest where coatis, quetzals and monkeys turn up regularly. In the afternoon either do the Sky Walk suspension bridges (~£25) or the Sky Trek zipline circuit (~£45), then a guided night hike in search of sloths, ocelots and glass frogs (~£25) — exactly the optional Children's Eternal Rainforest tour Globus sells.

🚌Local bus to reserve (~£1) plus cab late evening (~£5)

🛏Hostel or cabina in Santa Elena (£12–18)

• →Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve guided walk (~£40 incl. entry)
• →Sky Walk bridges (~£25) or Sky Trek zipline (~£45)
• →Night hike in the cloud forest (~£25)

Take a morning shared shuttle back down to the capital (~£22–28, ~4 hrs). If you want the Sarchí ox-cart stop Globus includes, ask your shuttle driver to drop you there or take a local bus from Naranjo — Sarchí is Costa Rica's craft capital and the painted ox carts in the workshops are genuinely worth an hour. Continue into San José for the afternoon, mopping up any sights you missed and having a proper last-night dinner in Escalante.

🚌Shared shuttle ~£25; local bus Sarchí–San José ~£2

🛏Hostel in Barrio Amón/Escalante (£14–22)

• →Shared shuttle to San José
• →Sarchí ox-cart workshops and souvenir shopping
• →Evening dinner in Barrio Escalante

Breakfast at the hostel, a last wander through the Mercado Central or the Jade Museum (~£8) if your flight is late, then taxi or public bus back to SJO airport. Check exit requirements — the departure tax is normally folded into airline tickets these days, but confirm with your carrier.

🚌Airport taxi ~£15 or public bus ~£1

🛏—

• →Mercado Central breakfast
• →Optional Jade Museum (~£8)
• →Airport transfer