After taking the Costa Rica Adventure tour with EF Ultimate Break, Costa Rica is one of my favorite countries.
The trip was amazing, the activities were so fun, I loved everything, and that’s all I have to say.
Honestly, you don’t even need to read this article; go book the trip and experience it for yourself!!
Jk, I didn’t write this review for nothing 🙂
This EF Ultimate Break review has everything you need to know about the Costa Rica Adventure trip, including where you’ll stay, what activities you’ll do, and the general itinerary.
(EF Ultimate Break trips are for anyone between 18 and 35!)
Ready to book? Use this link and get $100 off your first trip with EF Ultimate Break!
Some links on this page are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you click the link or make a purchase through the link. This is at no extra cost to you. This compensation may impact how and where links are placed on this site.
✈️ Win a free 5-night stay in Aruba! Click here to enter. The giveaway ends on May 9, 2024 at 12:00AM PDT. Exponential Travels is not administering this giveaway.
The MOST POPULAR travel credit card just increased its welcome offer to its highest of the year! Sign up before it’s gone! Its elevated offer of 75,000 bonus UR points is worth $937.50 when redeemed through its travel portal 🤯 Seriously… UR points are one of the most valuable currencies in the travel world, so this offer is insane. INSANE. Check it out here.
💡Pro Tip: Historically, there’s an elevated offer on this card only once a year! So seriously, go take advantage while you can 👆Not convinced? Read the 9 reasons you need this card!
Last updated: March 9, 2024
Published: January 9, 2024
My Trip to Costa Rica
Here are some quick facts about my trip, including when I went, my flight info, and how much I paid!
When: December 28, 2023 to January 6, 2024
Trip type: Essential
Flights: ORD-DFW-SJO and SJO-CLT-ORD
Price: $3,019 trip fee with flights + $135 optional activities + $179 travel protection
Savings: $300 REPEAT discount (Read more about EF Ultimate Promo Codes)
Total price: $3,033
Group size: 40 people
I also did this trip over New Year’s, which was a special departure, including nicer hotels and an additional dinner on New Year’s Eve. Read more about New Year’s with EF Ultimate Break.
Itinerary for EF Ultimate Break Costa Rica Adventure
Costa Rica is now one of my favorite countries, and this EF Ultimate trip packs a lot of adventure and some relaxing beach time into ten days of fun.
Below are the highlights from each day of my time on the Costa Rica Adventure trip.
This itinerary can change anytime, and the activities below were just what we did on my specific trip run.
Some of our activities were moved around to give us more time to *rest* after our night out on NYE.
*optional activities provided by EF Ultimate Break
**optional activities provided by my TD
Day 1: Arrive in Costa Rica
- Fly into San Jose (SJO)
- Meet your tour director and check into your hotel
If you book your own flights, make sure you land on the right day, as EF’s itineraries include the flight days. You must land in San Jose on Day 1 of this trip.
Day 2: Fruit, Kayaking, and Welcome Dinner
- Fruit tasting
- Pineapple tour**
- Lunch at an organic farm
- Kayaking on Lake Arenal
- Welcome dinner in La Fortuna
Day 3: La Fortuna
- Whitewater rafting on the Sarapiqui*
- Hike to La Fortuna Waterfall
- Baldi Hot Springs
Day 4: La Fortuna to Monteverde
- Free morning in La Fortuna
- Chocolate tour**
- Lunch at Cafe & Macadamia
- Night Hike*
- NYE Celebration in Monteverde
Day 5: Ziplining and Cloud Forest
- Free morning in Monteverde
- Ziplining above the trees
- Hike through the Santa Elena Cloud Forest
Day 6: Monteverde to Playa Arenas
- Lunch and souvenir shopping at El Jardin Co-op
- Paddleboarding and free time at Playa Mantas
Day 7: Manuel Antonio National Park
- Beach day at Manuel Antonio National Park
- Dinner and karaoke in Quepos
Day 8: Catamaran Cruise
- Crocodile tour**
- Catamaran Cruise*
- Dinner in Quepos
Day 9: Return to San Jose + Coffee Tour
- Beach massages**
- Chocolate tour**
- Farewell dinner in San Jose
Day 10: Leave San Jose
- Fly out from SJO airport
EF Ultimate Break Costa Rica Hotels
The hotels on this trip were nice for the most part, except for the rooms at the hotel on night one, which were clearly outdated and not clean.
Every night, I had one roommate, although, on Essential trips like this one, you can have 5+ travelers in the same room.
The location of the hotels could also improve, especially in Playa Arenas, where we had to drive 30 minutes to the nearest town (Jaco) and nearly two hours each way to Quepos (for the national park and catamaran cruise).
Hotels on my specific trip
- Holiday Inn Aurola – San Jose (Night 1)
- Eco Arenal – La Fortuna (Nights 2-3)
- Atardecer – Monteverde (Nights 4-5)
- Hotel Arenas – Playa Arenas (Nights 6-8)
- Casa Conde San Jose – San Jose (Night 9)
Food in Costa Rica
The food in Costa Rica is good, but I found it wasn’t easy to find authentic food on the trip. Fruit, rice, and beans are popular in Costa Rica, especially for breakfast.
For lunch and dinner, expect to find sandwiches, seafood, meat, and salads.
Due to schedule restrictions, many meals on the trip are included or only offered at one place. You must be flexible with your tastes and eat what is offered or bring snacks to fill you up.
Food restrictions: Vegetarians and people with other food restrictions (dairy-free, gluten-free, etc.) found it easy to find food to meet their needs.
Costa Rica Adventure – Included Activities
There are a lot of fun, adventurous activities included in this EF Ultimate trip. You can always opt out of them, but they are included in the price of your tour!
- Hot Springs
- La Fortuna Waterfall
- Monteverde Cloud Forest Hike
- Ziplining
- Coffee Tour
Optional Add-ons
There are some optional activities that you can add on at checkout or before you depart at an additional cost:
- White Water Rafting the Sarapiqui River
- Costa Rican Catamaran Cruise
- Monteverde Night Hike
On my trip, everyone did the Catamaran Cruise, nearly everyone went white water rafting, and just over half the group did the night hike.
These activities cost extra; you can book them when you book the trip or add them to your account after booking.
Additional Activities
My tour director, David (the BEST TD EVER), also allowed us to enjoy some additional activities during our tour, which we could do during our free time (aka, we didn’t miss out on anything else to participate).
Each tour cost $25 in cash, and we had to decide if we were going the day before! I took the pineapple and chocolate tours.
Here’s what was offered:
- Pineapple tour: explore a pineapple farm, pick and eat fresh pineapples, and enjoy pina coladas.
- Chocolate tour: learn how chocolate is made, from tree to tasting
- Crocodile tour: hop on a pontoon boat and look for crocodiles and birds in the wild
Your TD may or may not offer additional tours, but these are some examples of what might be offered!
EF Ultimate Break Costa Rica Trip Types
Here are the options EF Ultimate offers for the Costa Rica Adventure trip (descriptions from efultimatebreak.com):
- Ultimate Plus: Stay in hotel-style accommodations, room with just one other person, and enjoy more included meals. Designed for friends, couples, or anyone that just values their me time, Plus combines an immersive itinerary with more space to unwind.
- Essential: The budget-friendliest way to explore the world. Bunk up with your travel BFFs in handpicked, shared accommodations with sweet common areas. Perfect for solo travelers and social butterflies.
I took the essential trip, which can have 5+ people per room. However, I was on a special departure for NYE, so I only had one roommate each night.
NYE with EF Ultimate Break
My trip to Costa Rica was a special departure for New Year’s Eve, which EF Ultimate Break offers for many of their trips. The New Year’s in Costa Rica: Costa Rica Adventure trip included an extra dinner on NYE to celebrate the holiday.
After, our tour director took us to a local bar to experience how Costa Ricans celebrate.
Here are some of the trips in Latin America you can take with EF Ultimate Break that include a special celebration for New Year’s Eve:
- New Year’s in Belize
- New Year’s in the Caribbean
- New Year’s Peru & Machu Picchu Adventure
- New Year’s in Quito: Ecuador & the Galápagos
Other trips may also fall during New Year’s but may not include a dinner or other celebrations. Read more about traveling with EF Ultimate Break for New Year’s.
Overall Rating: 5/5
Costa Rica Adventure with EF Ultimate Break was my third tour with the company and, by far, my favorite!
I would recommend this tour to anyone and everyone, including experienced travelers, people who have never left their home country before, those who want to face their fears, and anyone looking to get their adrenaline pumping.
The trip has the perfect mix of adventure and relaxation, and Costa Rica is a beautiful country.
Packing Essentials for Costa Rica with EF Ultimate
In addition to your standard travel items (clothes, bathroom essentials, good shoes), here are some things I wouldn’t go back to Costa Rica without. I’ve linked my recommendation for each item!
- Bug spray
- Sunscreen
- Waterproof shoes with a strap
- A quick-drying towel
- Dry bag (I use the 10L)
- Waterproof phone case
- GoPro
- Multiple swimsuits
- Cash (USD)
- Anti-diarrheal medicine
- Motion sickness medicine
For more packing must-haves, check out my full Costa Rica packing list.
EF Ultimate Break Discount
For first-time EF Ultimate travelers, you can save $100 off any trip by booking here!
(or any of the links in this article. Code & discount are automatically applied at checkout. Reach out with questions or issues!)
If you’ve traveled with EF Ultimate before, use code REPEAT for up to $300 off your next trip.
EF also frequently runs sales throughout the year, with their biggest being in November for Black Friday.
Send me a DM on Instagram (or any other social media!) if you want details on their next sale!
EF Ultimate Break Trips Similar to Costa Rica Adventure
If this trip sounds fun, check out some similar options that EF Ultimate offers:
- Costa Rica & Panama Adventure
- Belize: Rainforests, Reefs & Ruins
- Caribbean Adventure: Dominican Republic
- Mexico & Belize: Tropical Adventure
Or, check out the other Latin America trips with EF Ultimate Break:
- Brazil & Argentina: Rio to Buenos Aires
- Colombia: Bogotá to Cartagena
- Colombia Escape
- Cruise Galápagos: Ecuador & the Islands
- Cuba Uncovered
- Ecuador & the Galápagos
- Mexico City: City Experience
- Patagonia Adventure: Chile & Argentina
- Peru & Machu Picchu Adventure
No matter where you want to go with EF Ultimate Break, you can save $100 on your first trip using this link (or any of the links in this post!):
EF Ultimate Break Costa Rica Adventure Verdict
I love love LOVED the Costa Rica Adventure trip, and I will recommend it to anyone and everyone.
The price is reasonable for everything that’s included. Costa Rica is beautiful, and there’s no shortage of fun during the trip.
Remember, you can save $100 off your first EF trip by booking here!
If you have questions about traveling with EF, check out my FAQs, including EF Ultimate Break discounts.
Here are reviews of the other trips I’ve been on with EF Ultimate Break:
- Belize: Rainforests, Reefs, & Ruins
- South Korea Spotlight
- Costa Rica Adventure (New Year’s in Costa Rica)
- Grand Tour of Turkey (Coming June 2024)
- New Year’s Trips with EF Ultimate Break