Hi Sara!

This is a tough question to answer! 🙂 The Guanacaste region is known for its beautiful beaches, optimal weather, and culture, but the majority of Costa Rica’s best tour experiences take place in other regions. Some, including the best zip-lines, hanging bridges, and hot springs, are in the La Fortuna and Monteverde region. Those two destinations are each about a 4-hour drive from Playa Grande, so it would be possible to visit either on a day trip from Playa Grande, assuming you don’t mind driving roughly 8 hours in one day. (Ideally, you’d spend one night in either La Fortuna or Monteverde to turn the visit into a 2-day trip, to give yourself more time to actually enjoy the area.) Other must-see attractions, such as popular national parks, are spread out over Costa Rica in other regions and require even longer drives to reach, so visiting them on a day trip (or even a 2-day trip) from Playa Grande would require a ton of driving. I’m not familiar with your trip itinerary–is there an option to spend part of your trip in Playa Grande and the other part elsewhere, such as in La Fortuna or Monteverde, so you can access a lot of Costa Rica’s best experiences from there?

Until soon!