First-timers to Costa Rica are in for the trip of a lifetime. It isn’t a country which always appears prominently in Western tour operators, but it’s a growing one. It’s filled with exciting activities like scuba diving and sailing. But it’s also played host to empires from the past, such as the Maya, the Inca, and the Aztecs. Here are some of the sights you just have to experience before returning home.
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1Puerto Viejo
Puerto Viejo is a city on the Caribbean coast. It’s traditionally popular with younger people and backpackers. There are night clubs and bars with all manner of exciting entertainment options. Those looking for a quieter time can check into one of the isolated hotels just outside the city. It’s also a hotspot for surfing in Costa Rica, so bring your board!
2Cahuita
Just an hour north of Puerto Viejo is the relaxing town of Cahuita. It’s just north of Cahuita national park and a variety of scenery accommodating hiking, swimming, and surfing. It’s a better option for visitors who just want to sit and read in a bar with an exotic cocktail in their hands.
3Arenal
The Arenal volcano is the ‘safest’ volcano in Costa Rica. Its perfect conical shape acts as a vent for the red-hot gases and lava shooting out of the top. Tourists regularly pay visits to the volcano whilst it spews out flaming rocks in the dead of night.
4Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio
Manuel Antonio is the country’s most famous national park. Relax in the jungles of the park as monkeys swing through the green canopy. It’s against the shores of the Pacific Ocean and there are plenty of well-trodden hiking trails down the shores lapped by tropical waves. The cooling effect from the ocean counteracts the steaming moisture from the immense greenery.
5Monteverde
Dubbed the ‘cloud forest’ due to its location on the continental divide, this is where many of the extreme sports are held. Zip lines and sky bridges intersperse the green canopies. It’s also the place to spot the rare Quetzal bird.
6Montezuma
Montezuma sits on the tip of the Nicoya coast. It’s a surf town filled with surf bars, spas, and yoga retreats. Montezuma surfing offers some of the best waves in Costa Rica, even for beginners. Mostly expats and hippies make their permanent homes here.
7Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
English trumps Spanish in this Rastafarian paradise. Dine on coconut-scented rise and jerk chicken with hot spices woven into the flesh whilst listening to the beats of the latest Reggae hits. There’s a lot of local musical talent here in what others call the ‘other Costa Rica’.
8Tamarindo
The Cancun of Costa Rica, Tamarindo is the super popular tourism destination. Luxury boutiques, spas, and resorts all make their home here along the coast. If you want a ‘traditional’ city holiday, Tamarindo is the place to be.
9Playa Sámara
If you want to enjoy Costa Rica’s magnificent beaches Sámara is the place for an exotic holiday. Its sophisticated resorts and restaurants along the beachfront, but it’s the beach people come for. It’s a stretch of powdery sand bordered by gentle turquoise waters. It’s the Costa Rica you always see in the tour guides.
10Tortuguero
Tortuguero is one of the country’s main forested areas. It gets its name from the turtles which come to nest on the shoreline throughout April and May. The forest itself offers cannoning and sailing with an abundance of crisscrossing routes alongside some of Costa Rica’s beautiful native wildlife.
