Costa Rica Spotlight

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Adventure and eco-tourism vacations have become the hottest and fastest-growing categories of the travel industry and it’s in this type of outdoorsy, back-to-nature tourism that Costa Rica has made itself a world superstar, adroitly leveraging the many extraordinary natural and cultural wealth it packs into its little corner of Central America, a swath of territory between Nicaragua and Panama that’s roughly only as big as Massachusetts and New Jersey combined, with a population of just four million. Though still a developing country economically, especially when it comes to the great outdoors, the moniker Christopher Columbus gave it, “Rich Coast,” more than applies today.

Said riches include four active but not dangerous volcanoes; an abundance of fecund rain forests (including cloud forests so high up they’re actually wreathed in clouds); thermal hot springs; more than 750 miles of fetching and often uncrowded beaches, especially along the Pacific coast; the Amazon-like Tortuguero preserve complete with jungle lodges; abundant wildlife from monkeys and sea tortoises to at least 850 species of birds; and plenty of adventure outfitters ready to take you birding, whitewater rafting, hiking, biking, horseback riding, fishing, scuba diving, rock-climbing, sky diving and lots more.

Indeed, one problem with Costa Rica is its sometimes bewildering range of options. With a limited amount of time to spend in the country, should you pick Arenal or Monteverde Cloud Forest for an inland foray? On the coast, should you head to Guanacaste or Manuel Antonio? We can recommend some choices. If you have little more than a long weekend to play with, you can get a good overview by spending a night in the capital, San José, then heading out to Manuel Antonio, the country’s original beach resort destination; with its blend of adventure, nature, and sand/surf, we prefer this resort over Guanacaste, because it’s more scenic, the resorts more intimate, and there’s a national park right there. If you have a week, we’d advise adding a trip to Arenal, a region several hours’ drive north of the capital; we recommend this for its spectacular volcano, the diversity of things to do, and its relative ease of accessibility (compared to, say Monteverde, which though also marvelous is a bumpy 21-mile drive from the nearest main road, along vertiginous mountain roads at nearly 5000 feet).

• Soaking and splashing in one of the Arenal’s hot springs

• Watching Arenal volcano spewing lava at night

• Whizzing through the treetops on a “canopy tour” in Arenal or Manuel Antonio

• Monkey spotting in Manuel Antonio

• Ogling the amazing pieces in San Jose’s museum of pre-Columbian gold

See Costa Rica Travel Guide