Central America : El Camino de Costa Rica

[Conchita Espino]

A new long distance Camino crossing from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Great to try after you complete all the Compostela alternatives.

Several pilgrims have done just that and found it a very rewarding experience.

 

[Holly West]

A new long distance Camino crossing from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Great to try after you complete all the Compostela alternatives.

Several pilgrims have done just that and found it a very rewarding experience.

I can tell everyone that this is a fantastic camino in beautiful Costa Rica!! My daughter and I did this last year with Ticos A Pata and I recommend them as guides and highly recommend this unbelievable camino!!

 

[trecile]

I can tell everyone that this is a fantastic camino in beautiful Costa Rica!! My daughter and I did this last year with Ticos A Pata and I recommend them as guides and highly recommend this unbelievable camino!!

It seems that it could be very hot and humid in Costa Rica. Do you recommend a particular time of year?

 

[lt56ny]

It seems that it could be very hot and humid in Costa Rica. Do you recommend a particular time of year?

I was looking at the elevation chart. I would imagine it would be hot and humid at the beginning and at the end. But it seems that a large portion of the trail is from 2000 feet to over 7000 so the higher you go the nicer the weather. There seems to be lots of choices of places to stay. I doubt if you can do this trial on 30 or 40 US dollars a day. But I bet it is beautiful. Wonder if you need to go in a group especially if you are not an experienced hiker walking in jungle and forest.

 

[Viva Terlingua]

Can you do it without a guide? Do you need reservations or can you walk and expect to find accommodation?

 

[makingtrax]

A new long distance Camino crossing from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Great to try after you complete all the Compostela alternatives.

Several pilgrims have done just that and found it a very rewarding experience.

Wow. Same way marking.

 

[trecile]

I can tell everyone that this is a fantastic camino in beautiful Costa Rica!! My daughter and I did this last year with Ticos A Pata and I recommend them as guides and highly recommend this unbelievable camino!!

Can you give us an idea of the cost?

 

[Conchita Espino]

Can you do it without a guide? Do you need reservations or can you walk and expect to find accommodation?

About 25 people have done it solo or as a small group of friends without a guide but it usually means someone from the organization at the WhatsApp +506 6036-6199 has to help at one point or the other since it’s not well marked.

If you are an experience long distance hiker with mountain survival skills and you
have a Garmin or a digital platform that works without cell and can guide you you can do it. You want to download from Wikiloc.com from the CaminoCR website the route www.caminodecostarica.org and study it and then you could do it alone except section 3 snd 10.
You must study the guide available on Amazon.

Amazon.com: El Camino de Costa Rica Hiking Guide eBook : Brashier, Evan: Kindle Store

Buy El Camino de Costa Rica Hiking Guide: Read Kindle Store Reviews - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

You must be able to use WhatsApp to comunícate with lodges and camps and you must make reservations a few days prior. Pitching tents doesn’t work yet except in about 4-5 places. About every 20km there is a lodge, cabin or home stay available.
There are two sections you must hire a local guide Section 3 and Section 10.
Do you speak Spanish? It’s best if you do.

Study the altimetry it’s a challenging Camino-9,000 meter cumulative over 280 km. You must pack very light. Most solo hikers have said it was more steep and challenging than they expected.

The trekking starts through the islands ( 14 km) either Barra de Parismina or Barra de Pacuare. Actual mainland hiking starts at Muelle Goshen ( 266km of actual trekking from there) but after touching the Caribbean. It also can start in Quepos on the Pacific and hike east to end at Muelle Goshen and a boat ride to the Caribbean.

Many answers to usual questions are in the guide book. You really have to read it.

 

[Conchita Espino]

Can you give us an idea of the cost?

With a guide it depends on how many people join your expedition. Average of 6-8 hiker group it averages about $120/ day. A private group of 2 about $250 per day and doing it alone can be between $60/ day if you are frugal.

 

[trecile]

With a guide it depends on how many people join your expedition. Average of 6-8 hiker group it averages about $120/ day. A private group of 2 about $250 per day and doing it alone can be between $60/ day if you are frugal.

These costs are all per person?

 

[Conchita Espino]

These costs are all per person?

Yes, per person. But they are estimates . The guide would give the exact costs and breakdowns.

 

[trecile]

Yes, per person. But they are estimates . The guide would give the exact costs and breakdowns.

So, quite a bit more than daily costs in Spain on the Camino.

 

[Conchita Espino]

So, quite a bit more than daily costs in Spain on the Camino.

Yes. They are not set up with the low cost pilgrim hostels. Maybe they will in the future.
There is a lot more individualized services and warm interactions with families and community life in addition to the extraordinary natural beauty of Costa Rica. It’s a personally transformative experience as you get absorbed in a world that moves at a different pace with very different values from most modern urban life.

 

[trecile]

Yes. They are not set up with the low cost pilgrim hostels. Maybe they will in the future.
There is a lot more individualized services and warm interactions with families and community life in addition to the extraordinary natural beauty of Costa Rica. It’s a personally transformative experience as you get absorbed in a world that moves at a different pace with very different values from most modern urban life.

Yes, it does sound like quite a different, and perhaps more personal experience.

 

[annakappa]

It seems that it could be very hot and humid in Costa Rica. Do you recommend a particular time of year?

No, Trecile! Costa Rica is not hot and humid! Only on the Caribbean side and the last couple of hours before you arrive walking at Quepos on the Pacific side, then the weather can get very hot. I live in Costa Rica in the Central Valley and my town is situated at exactly 1,000 metres. I can assure you that it’s neither hot nor humid!

 

[annakappa]

Hello Conchita! Hello all interested in this incredible journey crossing from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, or vice versa.
Several years ago, Conchita and her husband Marcos contacted my late husband Adriaan (Fraluchi on the Forum), asking us to join them in the planning stage, of what they hoped, could become a very special trek going from coast to coast.
It was an enormous enterprise, finding tracks that connected between villages and settlements, often passing through indigenous areas.
We enthusiastically joined their crew and did various exploratory hikes of one or two days.
I follow the site almost daily and see the reports of the various groups who are on the trail.
Sadly, Adriaan passed away 3 years ago and I have just turned 80, so I’m afraid that I could no longer make this journey ( which I would have loved to have done).
Anyway, to answer a couple of questions: Costa Rica has varied climate zones and you would be walking through many, from hot and humid on the Caribbean, to fresh in the highlands, to hot down towards the Pacific.
I don’t think I would recommend this journey between mid May and end November, because that’s our rainy season. And when it rains here, it pours!
Marcos did a fantastic job tenaciously hunting for the most accessible tracks to get this route on the map!
How I would love to hike this trail, but sadly I just know that I couldn’t!

 

[Conchita Espino]

Dear Anna,
And we miss Adriaan! He helped us with our strategy at the very beginning as did the two of you as early explorers of several sections. You shared with us your knowledge of El Camino De Santiago de Compostela and your experience with volunteering and managing a hostel. You both are part of the history of El Camino de Costa Rica.

 

[annakappa]

Yes, it does sound like quite a different, and perhaps more personal experience.

It’s a very personal experience, interacting with the various hosts where you stay along the way. You will be offered to visit many activities sponsored by the locals, so as to see what happens in rural Costa Rica.

 

[Conchita Espino]

I was looking at the elevation chart. I would imagine it would be hot and humid at the beginning and at the end. But it seems that a large portion of the trail is from 2000 feet to over 7000 so the higher you go the nicer the weather. There seems to be lots of choices of places to stay. I doubt if you can do this trial on 30 or 40 US dollars a day. But I bet it is beautiful. Wonder if you need to go in a group especially if you are not an experienced hiker walking in jungle and forest.

Hi, yes hot and humid at the two extremes. And yes more expensive than $40/day. Best to join a group. write to elcaminodecostarica@gmail.com for guidance on how to find a small group to hike with and share the costs. About 25 people have done it solo and claim they managed it in about $50/day. Get the guide book sold on amazon. $9.99 to download.

 

[Conchita Espino]

Can you do it without a guide? Do you need reservations or can you walk and expect to find accommodation?

Better with a guide, yes reservations needed. Use the guide book sold on amazon: El Camino de Costa Rica Hiking Guide book. Evan Brashier wrote it.

 

[Aptrail]

I feel a need to put in a good word for The Camino de Costa Rica! My best friend from Spain (fellow hopspitalero) and I did it in July (2022) along with my daughter and her partner. It was fantastic! Due to various vacation and travel schedules we did it in 11 etapas rather than the recommended 16. It was hard. In fact, we are all seasoned long distance hikers and found the combination of ups and downs, mud, sometimes difficult route-finding and navigation, long days (due to our schedule), and relatively short days (12 hours light) made for some tough days. We had several days over 30km and arrived in the dark. But, having said that, if was an amazing trip.

The people of Costa Rica are known for their friendliness and kindness. Even though I had lived in the country for a year on two occasions, I was still impressed with the "kindness of strangers." The scenery is to die for. Walking through pristine jungle owned by and cared for by Indigenous people was awe-inspiring and spine tingling. It is unlike the Camino de Santiago in that there is much less infrastructure, it is much more remote. (You won't be stopping for cafe con leche every 5 to 10 kms!). Above Conchita said that as of her write about 25 people had done it without a guide. I think when we signed the book at the lovely and funky bar and hotel at the end, we may have been people #35-38. But, read and tried to digest the guidebook, two of us are fluent in Spanish, and we used a wonderful service to help set up the logistics and reservations. Most do this as a guided hike and many with van support and transportation of gear. A guide and support would make this accessible to most adventurous and healthy people. We liked doing it this way as a challenge.

In any case, do it! It is an amazing way to see and amazing country and meet its amazing people. And, a word of appreciation to Conchita who started this thread. This pilgrimage is largely due to HER vision and her work. Thank you! If anyone is interested in more information, feel free to message me. My friend from Spain also made a great 4 minute video which does a good job capturing our hike. I am happy to share that with anyone.

 

[Holly West]

It seems that it could be very hot and humid in Costa Rica. Do you recommend a particular time of year?

Definitely go in the winter (meaning winter in the US) because it would be too hot in the summer I would think and also rainy. February or March would be ideal. It is fantastic. Quite a challenge too. Ticos A Pata is the guide service we used and they were unbelievably great!!

 

[Aptrail]

Can you do it without a guide? Do you need reservations or can you walk and expect to find accommodation?

I did it in July (2022) without a guide. A good from from the Camino, my daughter and her partner did it We are all experienced backpackers and long distance trekkers. We used a guide service, Uritrek, to help set up logistics and reservations. And we used the guide book. And two of us speak Spanish—my friend is from Spain. We had a great hike! Route finding was a bit difficult in a few places. But it was a fantastic trip

So, yes you can do it without a guide or being in a group tour/trek. But, unless you are from Costa Rica get some help with logistics, get the guidebook, and have someone along who speaks some Spanish

 

[Holly West]

I was looking at the elevation chart. I would imagine it would be hot and humid at the beginning and at the end. But it seems that a large portion of the trail is from 2000 feet to over 7000 so the higher you go the nicer the weather. There seems to be lots of choices of places to stay. I doubt if you can do this trial on 30 or 40 US dollars a day. But I bet it is beautiful. Wonder if you need to go in a group especially if you are not an experienced hiker walking in jungle and forest.

You definitely need a guide. I cannot imagine being able to do it without one. It is so wonderful though and the people are so nice, scenery is spectacular and the food was delicious.

 

[Conchita Espino]

It seems that it could be very hot and humid in Costa Rica. Do you recommend a particular time of year?

The two sections at beginning and end are hot and humid but central sections are cool. Atlantic sections are best September to October and Pacific sections good Mid December through mid April. Worst month is mid October through November. Other months an early start will get you to lunch without rain and then late afternoon and evening showers making for muddy trails.