This small and extraordinarily beautiful country whose great variety of habitats – rainforest, mangrove swamps, beaches, cloud forest, rivers, and so on – are home to an incredible number of species of mammals, birds, and flora (including 3000 species of orchids). Bird-watchers will want to visit Monteverde Cloud Forest to spot the resplendent quetzal or the Osa Peninsula for the scarlet macaw. And, you’ll find excellent hiking, horseback riding, whitewater rafting, and fishing.
Places of Interest
 Arenal Volcano
This almost perfect cone soars 1633 meters above sea level has a crater 140 meters deep formed over an ancient caldera. A young volcano, it is currently having about five mini-eruptions daily. The grumbling of its inner activity can be heard almost every day and at night you can actually witness the spectacular liquid lava trail from the cone and see its explosions. If you want to be certain to see something memorable, plan to spend two nights here. Be sure to visit the nearby hot springs. Caño Negro National Park is also nearby offering coves, waterfalls, and forest to explore.
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Corcovado & the Osa Peninsula
Definitely worth the effort of getting here, remote Corcovado National Park’s pristine wilderness has 13 separate ecosystems and abundant wildlife including Central America’s densest populations of tapirs, jaguars and scarlet macaws. There are nearly one hundred species of trees and nearly four hundred species of birds. Explore this “biologically intense” park as well as offshore Caño Island. Activities include hiking, boating, diving, fishing, sea kayaking, and horseback riding.
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Guanacaste & the Nicoya Peninsula
Located on the Pacifc coast, this region is the place to go for beaches – you can find relatively pristine coves, bays and bluffs with idyllic beaches, crystal clear waters and secluded luxury accommodations. Costa Rica’s hottest and driest region is green from May to mid-November and brown and dusty the rest of the year. Activities include diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, sport fishing, sea kayaking, hiking, and horseback riding.
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Manuel Antonio National Park
Costa Rica’s most popular park, you’ll find primary and secondary rainforest, mangrove and other swamps…and beautiful white sand beaches. Besides humans, you may find squirrel monkeys, iguanas, toucans, and scarlet macaws. There are four beaches curving around a bay full of islands or rock and shaded by trees, marked walking trails, restrooms and picnic areas. Both Punta Catedral and Puerto Escondido have scenic overlooks. At the entrance to the park there are several restaurants, bars, and snack bars. There are also rental shops with boogie boards, mats, towels, and beach wear.
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Monteverde Cloud Forest
Your reward for weathering the rough roads en route to this jewel will hopefully be a sighting of the magnificent resplendent quetzal. The Monteverde Cloud Forest extends down the slope of the Tilaran mountains and protects six different ecological zones and their wide variety of wildlife and flora. The Monteverde Community was founded in 1954 by Quakers searching for a peaceful place to live. The Children’s Eternal Rainforest is here – purchased by the donations of tens of thousands of children from 44 countries.
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San Jose & the Central Valley
Although Costa Rica’s capital is not known for its touristic appeal, the city has several good museums and makes a good base for exploring the Central Valley. The Central Valley has Costa Rica’s highest volcanic peak and the beautiful turquoise lake of Poas volcano. An interesting traditional community to visit is San Antonio de Escazú famous for its annual ox cart festival.
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Tortuguero National Park & the Caribbean Coastal Lowlands
A major nesting beach for the Atlantic green sea turtle, Tortuguero is also known for its maze of canals that thread through dense rainforest and abound with kingfishers, 3-toed sloths, river otters, monkeys and caiman. The region is also home to an indigenous community and a large Afro-Caribbean community. Tour the village of Tortuguero and learn about the history of the village and its efforts to get their basic needs met – such as running water, medical and dental care, garbage collection, and management. Visit the local school, the park headquarters, the general goods store, and walk through paths lined with colorful Afro-Caribbean homes. Stop for a chat with the locals and learn about their way of life.
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