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Map of Costa Rica's main travel regions between two coasts

Maps of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a good example of why kilometres alone are not enough. Mountains, volcanoes and limited cross-country links can turn short map distances into long travel days.

The administrative map shows seven provinces and 84 cantons. The travel map looks different: it follows the mountain ranges, coastlines, national parks and the roads that actually connect the country.

For planning, it is therefore better to think in geographic clusters than to jump between points that merely look close together on a screen.

· SambaTravel

Political map of Costa Rica's seven provinces

Seven provinces and 84 cantons

Costa Rica is divided into the provinces of San José, Alajuela, Cartago, Heredia, Guanacaste, Puntarenas and Limón. The territorial division comprises 84 cantons. Provinces are useful for orientation, but tourism areas often cross administrative boundaries.

La Fortuna, for example, lies in Alajuela Province, Monteverde in Puntarenas, while the main beach resorts in the northwest are largely in Guanacaste.

A mountain spine between two coasts

Several connected mountain ranges run through the country from northwest to southeast. They divide drainage between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific and create clear differences in rainfall. The Central Valley with San José lies at elevation between the mountain systems, while the coastal plains are much lower.

This helps explain why weather can differ on the Caribbean and Pacific sides on the same day.

Political map of Costa Rica's seven provinces

Travel regions follow the landscape

For travellers, areas such as Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula, Arenal/La Fortuna, Monteverde, the Central Valley, the Caribbean coast and the southern Pacific/Osa are more useful than provincial boundaries.

They also describe the character of a journey: drier tropical forest in the northwest, cloud forest at elevation, volcanic landscapes inland and very humid rainforest in the south and on the Caribbean side.

Airports reshape the map

Juan Santamaría International Airport lies in Alajuela west of San José, while Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport at Liberia provides direct access to Guanacaste. Which airport is used can therefore change the most logical order of an entire itinerary.

Road quality and mountain terrain mean transfer times should always be checked separately from the distance in kilometres.

Political map of Costa Rica's seven provinces

How we use maps of Costa Rica

We try to build a linear route with as few unnecessary crossings of the mountain ranges as possible. A common combination might link La Fortuna, Monteverde and a beach region in the northwest, while Osa or the Caribbean require a different geographic logic.

Sources: the administrative division follows Costa Rica's INEC and the national territorial division. Our travel regions are practical nature and transport areas.

Graphic showing Costa Rica's provinces, mountains and coastlines

10 map facts about Costa Rica

  • Costa Rica has seven provinces.
  • Its territorial division comprises 84 cantons.
  • The country has coastlines on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
  • Costa Rica shares land borders with Nicaragua and Panama.
  • San José lies in the Central Valley in the interior highlands.
  • Juan Santamaría International Airport lies in the province of Alajuela.
  • Liberia's international airport is the principal air gateway for Guanacaste.
  • Monteverde lies at elevation and is reached by mountain roads despite short map distances.
  • The Osa Peninsula lies on the southern Pacific coast.
  • In Costa Rica, road travel times should be checked independently of kilometre distances.