1. La Cruz, Finca Cañas Castilla
N 11.12147 W 85.59404
$10/day
Toilet, shower, electricity and water also clothes wash can be arranged,
A Swiss owned little piece of paradise. Mostly cabanas but parking is on a grassy area. Lots of nature stuff, trees, howler and spider monkeys, river with crocks, lots of birds, they even have their rescued sloth, Linda and there are a few trails leading to point of interests. Warning for dog people; Guido and Agi have two dogs and though they are very friendly with people, one of them isn’t with other dogs so be aware. There’s an onsite restaurant with genuinely good food and Guido’s home-made maracuja wine. A lovely place to stop for a few days and let your hair down.
We stayed here 6 nights in February 2014. Hot days, pleasant evenings, no bugs.
2. Laguna de Arenal, Camp on lake shore by Nuevo Arenal
N10.53484 W84.88933
FREE
No toilet or shower but we found a water tap by the old building so we got water.
It is a public area for visiting the lake. Free camping is allowed. Parking wherever you like right by the lake. Beautiful view, minutes walk to town Nuevo Arenal where there are a few nice European style cafes, restaurants, bars (and the famous German Bakery)
We stayed here for 1 night in February 2014, warm day, pleasantly chilly evening/morning, no bugs.
3. Volcán Poas
N10.17841 W84.24618
FREE
No facilities.
Absolutely fantastic boon docking place. Parking by the side of a dirt road that leads up from the entrance of the volcano. It is practically by the rim of the crater and a beautiful view of San Jose in valley. Nice hike to see the clouds gathering above the crater . For two days we stayed there we haven’t seen a person and this was the most quietest place we have ever stayed.
We stayed here 2 nights in February 2014. Hot days and very chilly nights, no bugs.
4. Mercedes Benz service, San Jose (Not a Campsite)
N9.94918 W84.09302
FREE
Overnight stay is only if you need work done in the shop, but then there’s electricity, water, toilet and customer wifi during the day. On top of all, they provide refreshments and lunch.
5. Boondocking by tunnel
N10.05941 W84.00736
FREE
No facilities.
Parking on a dirt turn-around area of a short road off the highway surrounded by cloud forest. No one was there to ask permission but it seemed a very good overnight stop for just one night. You can hear the highway but not bad at night.
Stayed here for 1 night in February 2014. Chilly fresh air night no bugs.
Jamie’s House, Guapiles (PRIVATE)
This is a private property, we camped here by invite.
Fabrizio’s house, Guapiles (PRIVATE)
This is a private property, we camped here by invite.
6. Siatami Lodge, Cahuita
N9.73147 W82.84261
FREE
We were only allowed to park up overnight because we had friends staying in the lodge so they let us park outside their property (which happened to be next to our friends’ cabina) We could use facilities and wifi.
7. Boondocking, Punta Uva, Public beach
N9.64363 W82.68595
FREE
No facilities. Parking by/ on the beach. Best spots are at the very end of the dirt road -you might see few overlanders/ campers, it is a popular place to stop. Lovely and reasonably clean beach, few minutes walk to a beach restaurant with fast wifi and fresh seafood. We stayed here a few nights in March 2014. Hot days, perfect breeze nights, lots of sand flies.
Hey guys! I hope you´re enjoying your trip, I want to tell you are inspiring me to made a road trip with my girlfriend and some friends of us, I hope some day stop the work and take the road with no worries about nothing.
Thanks for the good information. I will certainly camp at some of these spots on my trip.