Costa Rica is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, with a wide array of activities, day trips, and diverse biomes for tourists to explore. From lush forests, sandy beaches, and active volcanoes where the magma flows like water, Costa Rica encourages you to explore the beautiful countryside. Enjoy spending time kicking your feet up and sipping a cool beverage directly out of a coconut. Whether you’re visiting the exciting Central American locale for a weekend, a month, or a year, you may feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of bucket list items you’ll incur along the way.
Luckily, we’ve got you covered, with a brief but thorough list of the rain-forested nation’s greatest highlights. You can head out on thrilling excursions like the world’s longest zip-line or kayaking through the mangroves, or something more laid back like a tour of a cacao farm. There are plenty of activities available to help you make the most of your time on your trip. Without any further preamble, let’s dive directly into the list. We’ll get you started on a bullet-proof itinerary that will make your vacation in Costa Rica the best trip you’ve ever taken.
San José
Chances are, if you’re going to Costa Rica, you’re already expecting to hit the capital city of San José. This vibrant cultural hub serves as the epicenter of the nation’s tourism, providing tons of excellent museums, high-end restaurants, and safe hotel stays for visitors from around the world. While navigating the streets of San José, be sure to take in different samples of the country’s finest cuisine in between downtown strolls, dance lessons, and a few sightseeing stops. The city is located in a green and vibrant basin surrounded by large, imposing mountains. It offers some impeccable scenery for those interested in touring the diverse ecosystem throughout San José and beyond. Bucket list items for a day-trip through the city include indulging in some locally-sourced coffee and some flavorful empanadas, as well as checking out the Toucan Rescue Ranch just outside of town.
Caño Negro
If you’re looking to stray away from the luxurious offerings of the city and find something a bit more rural, you’ll certainly want to take a day trip to the Caño Negro district of Alajuela Province. This wetland area, which is situated near the Nicaraguan border, is a roughly 4-hour car ride from San José, and offers an incredibly diverse network of rivers, forests, and wildlife preserves. Animal lovers can keep an eye out for rare species’ such as the giant anteater, emerald basilisk, and Jabiru stork, while nature lovers can take in the fresh, humid air of the flooded wetland forests. Just remember to keep a careful eye on your surroundings, as you never know when a dangerous creature such as a jaguar or a fully grown caiman could be creeping up behind you.
Caño Negro is also home to a number of boat tours, for those who aren’t as confident in their navigation skills as the Crocodile Hunter. These guided trips through the wilderness allow visitors of Costa Rica to immerse themselves in the unique wilderness without needing to stress the finer details of their day-trip to Caño Negro.
Guanacaste Coast
While it’s always a blast to take in the beautiful scenery of a foreign nation, maybe you’re not the type who enjoys wrestling their lunch from the jaws of a terrifying reptile. Luckily, Costa Rica is positively loaded with beautiful landscapes for you to explore, that don’t require you to be an overt animal lover to enjoy. One such region is the Guanacaste Coast, where golden sand beaches give way to crashing ocean surf, perfect for a relaxing day at the beach. Like the Caño Negro district, the Guanacaste Coast is a solid handful of hours by car outside the city, though you certainly won’t regret making the effort to get there.
At the Guanacaste Coast, the turquoise water of the North Pacific provides excellent space to wade, swim, and surf, while the clean beaches offer some ideal real estate for relaxation. Those who love to remain on the move at all times during their vacation can also book sailing and snorkeling expeditions in the region, for a chance to interact with deep-sea marine life including dolphins, whales, and sea turtles.
Sarapiquí Region
For something a little closer to the city, visitors of Costa Rica can enjoy the winding rivers and fascinating wildlife of Sarapiquí, which is located in Heredia Province just an hour out of San José. This is the best corner of the nation to venture into Costa Rica’s dense network of rainforests, which serve as a home to a wide array of exotic species of animals. A day trip through the Sarapiquí Region all but guarantees sightings of three-toed sloths, howler monkeys, and more tropical birds than you can count.
But this region isn’t just about interacting with the local flora and fauna, as the Sarapiquí Region also offers a number of exciting excursions, including fresh pineapple farms which offer refreshments and tours to tourists from around the globe. You can also pop into the Tirimbina Biological Reserve to learn more about conservation efforts in the region, and cross over the longest suspension bridge in the nation while touring the rainforest’s vibrant ecosystem.
Guayabo National Monument
If you’re not particularly interested in the ocean surf and the humid forests of Costa Rica, we’ve still got plenty of places for you to enjoy! The Central American nation is also home to a number of ancient settlements and massive volcanic mountains, including the mysterious Guayabo National Monument in Cartago Province. This stunning archeological locale, located just two hours East of San José, can be found on the slopes of a nearby volcano, which provides a stunning backdrop for the centuries-old abandoned village.
The monument itself includes a number of hiking trails and ruins of a settlement which can be dated back to 1000 B.C.E., which was abandoned over 6 centuries ago. The cultural site is great for taking in the views, studying pre-Columbian architecture, and exploring the abandoned bridges and tombs of those who once inhabited the space. Those looking to cool off after their big hike can take a brief detour through the Aquiares Waterfall on their way back to the city, to truly garner some insight into the multifaceted nature of Costa Rica’s charm.
Rincón de la Vieja
If you simply can’t get enough of Costa Rica’s incredible volcanoes, you can’t leave the country until you’ve experienced all that Rincón de la Vieja has to offer. Located within the Alajuela Province, just a few hours East of the Guanacaste Coast, this travel destination will truly knock your socks off, with stunning waterfalls, burbling mud springs, and volcanic vents spouting molten lava. Those feeling particularly adventurous can take a dip in the thermal hot springs, while others can tour the scenery in search of local wildlife such as the white-faced monkeys.
Depending on what tour package you book, you may have access to tour underwater caves, zipline across the rocks, or take your family whitewater rafting through the basins of the volcanic base. There’s a little something for everyone in this corner of the world, making it a must-visit for those in the area. Rincón de la Vieja may be a far cry from the rainforests and marshes typically associated with the Costa Rican countryside, though it’s one of the unique and exciting areas in the entire country.
Arenal Region
Last, but certainly not least on our list, we have the stunning scenes of the Arenal Region. If you’ve been poking around social media sites and looking at different Costa Rica trip packages, most of the vibrant photographs you’ve been seeing have likely come from this exciting biodiverse locale. Like Costa Rica as a whole, the Arenal area contains a multitude of different biomes, including volcanoes, massive lakes, lush rainforests, and rolling rivers complete with a few steep waterfalls.
Go for a hike on the picturesque Arenal Volcano, and follow the river down from the imposing pyramid to the fresh water of Arenal Lake. From there, you can relax your muscles in the nearby hot springs, or take a kayak down the river, watching for pumas and howler monkeys prowling the river banks. If you’re only going to be in the country for a few days, this is the number one must see part, simply because it blends so much of what makes Costa Rica special into a compact area.
