Here’s a selection of our favourite and the best routes, roads and places to visit in Costa Rica for motorcycle travellers and adventure bike riders. You’re going to love these!
This route guide is based on our motorcycle ride through Costa Rica during our round the world trip. The guides on this website are constantly updated by us and with info from contributors to keep them current, up-to-date and as helpful as possible for you.
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The Best Motorcycle Rides in Costa Rica
By Andy Davidson
Mad or Nomad - RTW motorcycle travellers
Costa Rica is a stunning little gem tucked away in the heart of Central America. It’s an awesome place to ride a motorcycle – you’ve got everything from incredible off-road routes through misty mountains to beautiful beaches. You’re going to love riding there and this guide will help you get the most out of it with our favourite routes and places….
Nicoya Peninsula
Route: Route 21 and Route 160. Start from the town of Nicoya and head towards the coastal towns of Samara and Nosara.
The Nicoya Peninsula is known for its beautiful beaches and rugged roads. The ride through here takes you through coastal towns like Tamarindo, Santa Teresa, and Montezuma. Head for Santa Teresa, then onto Nosara via Mal País and Playa Coyote and end up in Montezuma. This is an awesome ride along the rugged, scenic coastline of the Nicoya Peninsula with remote beaches, small fishing villages, and tropical forests. Be warned, there are river crossings and steep hills and the roads can be rough during rainy season.
Where to stay: Nicoya Hotels
Ruta 32 to Braulio Carrillo National Park
Route: San José to Guápiles via Ruta 32 for approx 70kms. Watch out for slippery asphalt if its just rained and is foggy.
A short but awesome ride through the dense rainforests of Braulio Carrillo National Park. You’ll ride winding roads, steep climbs and get incredible views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. The route can be foggy and wet, but that just adds to the challenge.
Where to stay near Braulio: San Jose hotels
Monteverde to Lake Arenal (La Fortuna)
Route: Monteverde to La Fortuna via Lake Arenal off-road
This is one of Costa Rica’s most famous routes for adventure bike riders and one of our absolute favourites. It takes you from the cloud forests of Monteverde down to and around the stunning Lake Arenal, with views of the Arenal Volcano before making your way into La Fortuna. There’s plenty of gravel, a few steep sections and loads of incredible views on this ride.
Recommended hotel for Monteverde: Twin Palms Hostel
Talamanca Mountain Range
Route: San Isidro de El General to San Gerardo de Dota (roughly 50kms).
If you’re heading to Panama and aren’t planning on going along the coast, then we recommend this ride as it takes you through the heart of the Talamanca Mountains. It offers some of the highest altitudes in Costa Rica and is filled with steep climbs, sharp turns, and perfect mountain views. You can do some excellent birdwatching in San Gerardo de Dota if you’re into that too.
Where to stay: San Isidro de El General
Osa Peninsula and Corcovado
Route: Route 2 to Drake Bay and then onto Puerto Jiménez to Carate.
This one’s special. If you’re interested in wildlife and seeing an incredible national park then it makes it all the more better too. The aim is to get to Drake Bay, from there you can take a tour on a boat to Corcovado National Park to see wildlife like sloths and tapirs.
Getting there is half the fun though. The easiest way is by taking the turn off at Chacarita and jumping on the 245 before swinging right onto the Rincon road to Rancho Quemado and onto Drake Bay. This is an off-road gravel route with plenty of steep inclines and declines that you might find messy in the rain. But it’s not challenging if you are experienced on gravel. You won’t find any river crossings along this route anymore either as they’ve all been bridged over.
If you’re feeling more adventurous you can take the river boat from Sierpe and follow the road to Drake Bay. You may encounter a river crossing or two on this stretch and steeper inclines. Be careful if its wet.
If you’re feeling really adventurous. Take a ride to Puerto Jimenez and then onto Carate. Note that this is a very remote region of Costa Rica, so ride safely and take precautions. The route is advanced and rough, but the benefit is you’ll get to see rich wildlife and experience remote Costa Rica.
Recommended hotel: Hotel Casa Gitana
Three awesome places to visit in Costa Rica
Monteverde Cloud Forest
Monteverde is famous for its cloud forests and biodiversity. The ride to Monteverde involves navigating winding mountain roads, offering breathtaking views and a chance to experience the unique flora and fauna. Once you’re there, it’s worth doing the Cloud Forest walk.
You can get to Monteverde a few different ways.
- Route 606: This is the main road to Monteverde from the Inter-American Highway.
- Santa Elena to Monteverde Reserve: Explore the cloud forest reserve with its numerous trails and stunning views.
- From La Fortuna: As described above, head in from La Fortuna via Lake Arenal.
- Recommended accommodation: Twin Palms Hostel
- Recommended Monteverde walking tour: Cloud Forest
La Fortuna
La Fortuna is a must. It’s a great place to base yourself as you explore nearby volcanoes and dirt roads. You can see plenty of sloths and wildlife in this region.
We recommend staying at the hotel listed below. The hotel offers a sloth tour, which is excellent and a nighttime walk around the hotel premises where you’ll find plenty of spiders, snakes and weird looking frogs. While you have breakfast and dinner in the hotel restaurant, toucans and colourful birds land on the terrace. It’s well worth a stop.
You have the off-road Arenal Lake and volcano ride nearby and there’s plenty of incredible hiking opportunities nearby and activities like hot springs etc.
- Recommended accommodation: Hotel Arenal Xilopalo
- Recommended tour in La Fortuna: Fortuna tours
Manuel Antonio
Manuel Anotonio is probably our favourite – especially if you’re interested in wildlife. It’s where we saw the most sloths, monkeys, lizards, bats, snakes and other animals. Kayaking the mangroves is excellent and you have to visit the Manuel Antonio National Park! The NP is superb, especially the beaches there. Make sure you leave aside a full day and don’t forget that you need to book your entry to the park online – you can’t just turn up at the gates.
- Where to stay: Manuel Antonio hotels
- Recommended tour: National Park
- Recommended tour: Mangroves kayak
How to ride a motorcycle in Costa Rica
You’ve got a few options here. You can ride your own motorcycle to Costa Rica, but you’ll then need to pass through Central America to get there. If you’re on an Americas ride, check out our motorcycle travel guide for Costa Rica as we explain all the necessary paperwork requirements.
Alternatively, you can fly in and rent. In which case, we recommend having a read of our dedicated renting in Costa Rica guide.
READ MORE:
Read more on motorcycle travel in Costa Rica
Thanks for checking out the Best Motorcycle Routes in Costa Rica. We hope you enjoyed it! Here’s a few more articles on motorcycle travel in Costa Rica and North America that we recommend you read next.
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Are you planning a motorcycle trip in Costa Rica? Do you have any questions, tips or suggestions? Let us know in the comments below.