Plan your hike

A journey of adventure for the entire world, El Camino de Costa Rica takes hikers through a series of rural communities as they travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 16 stages, which typically takes between 12-16 days to complete.

You can choose to hike the entire length of El Camino de Costa Rica in one trip, or to complete the journey stage by stage. Here is more information about those options.

Hiking the entire trail consecutively

This can be accomplished with a guide provided by one of the tour operators, or done autonomously.  Either way, this 280 km (174 mile) hike will test anyone and is on a par with many other world class international long distance hikes.

Like most adventures of this level of complexity, the key to realizing optimum enjoyment lies in the preparation. If you choose to hike with a tour operator, most of the logistical planning will be handled by them and they can help guide you with other phases of planning, but it is still ultimately your responsibility to properly prepare for your hike.

It is imperative that anyone who plans to thru hike autonomously carefully review all sections of this web site and have a clear understanding of what you will need to do to properly prepare.  Setting off unprepared or without the required lodging reservations will result in a great deal of hardship for you and many others, including possibly jeopardizing your ability to complete the hike. In addition, we recommend contacting Asociacion Mar a Mar directly with any questions you may have.  They can also arrange for a one on one virtual tutorial with an experienced associate that covers all the details necessary to successfully complete a thru hike.   

Also you can consider purchasing the FarOut App or El Camino de Costa Rica Hiking Guide authored by Evan Brashier.  Both contain valuable insight and details regarding the journey.  In addition the FarOut App will provide GPS enabled navigation for those desiring it, and other popular features. 

Hiking the trail section by section

Section hiking allows hikers the opportunity to experience the trail within their time frame constraints or convenience preferences.  Section hikes generally refer to hiking one or more sections (etapas in Spanish) at a time.  

Section hikes can be done with or without the services of a tour operator but using one can make the preparation phase much easier.  Many tour operators offer stage packages open to the general public at competitive prices.  Private tours can also be arranged. 

For autonomous hikers who prefer to go it alone, it is imperative to thoroughly plan your trip whether it is for one day or several.  If you plan on hiking autonomously we recommend contacting Asociacion Mar a Mar directly if you have any questions or just wish to gather information and suggestions to help make your hike more enjoyable.  Bear in mind that any section hike requiring overnight stays must have made all reservations for lodging in advance.  Be sure to thoroughly review the stage summary located elsewhere on this website as well as reviewing the section Prepare For Your Hike.