Costa Rica Attractions Guide: Things To Do in Costa Rica

Spotlight

Costa Rica

Attractions

Known to many locals as “Chepe,” Costa Rica’s capital of San Jose, though attractively ringed by mountains, is itself admittedly no great looker. It does sport some nicer upscale neighborhoods, (one of which, Santa Ana, is so American-infested it’s dubbed “gringo gulch”), but as with most big Central American cities, too much of it is somewhat polluted, traffic-clogged, and frankly dumpy. But, since you'll likely fly in here anyway, it does have some charms worth spending a day or two discovering: a handful of museums including an interesting one showcasing pre-Columbian gold; some good restaurants; and a few fine hotels, among them several that were converted from century-old manses that once belonged to families made wealthy by coffee (still a big local industry).

Locals complain about the crime here, but it rarely goes beyond pickpocketing; take the same precautions you’d take in any big city, and you’ll be just fine. The tourist office has a branch at the airport and another downtown next to the gold museum (Plaza de la Cultura, 506/222-1090); both are open weekdays 9am-5pm. You can walk most everywhere you need to go, saving taxis for the occasional restaurant, museum, and – depending on where you end up staying – your hotel. If you want a city tour for orientation, however, Gray Line runs a half-day San José City Explorer tour that takes in most of our favored sights, including admission ($42; www.graylinecostarica.com). Of the local attractions, the following are the ones you should try not to miss.

Exploring San José
Possibly the prettiest historic building in Central America may be the Teatro Nacional (Avenida 2 at Calle 5; Mon–Sat 9am-4pm; guided tours six times daily; $3), built by the city’s rich coffee planters at the end of the 19th century to imitate legends like La Scala and the Opéra in Paris. You can cop a free peek at all the marble, gilt, and red velvet even if you don’t catch a performance; there’s also a nice and similarly grandiose café right off the lobby, where you can have a drink, sandwich, or pastry.

Fans of both shiny yellow metal and ancient Mesoamerican culture will dig downtown’s underground Museo del Oro Precolombino (Calle 5 at Plaza de la Cultura; daily 9.30am-5pm; $6), the museum of pre-Columbian gold. It’s nicely designed, and though most of the pieces are smallish to downright itsy-bitsy, the images and workmanship are fascinating. A coin museum is attached, and included in admission, but frankly, you’d have to be a hardcore numismatist to really appreciate this one. Even more prized by Mesoamerican culture was jade, and serveral blocks northeast of the gold museum, the cool Museo de Jade (Avenida 7 at Calle 9; Mon-Fri 8.30am-4pm; 500 colones) is a real treat, covering other pre-Columbian objets besides jadework.

A bit west of downtown at the edge of Parque La Sabana Este, the Museo de Arte Costarricense (Calle 42 at Paseo Colon; Tue.-Sun. 10am-4pm; 400 colones) now comes across more like a Spanish colonial manse complex than the airport terminal it once was. It’s worth a stop for its nice collection of local fine art from the 19th century up to the present. History and archeology buffs might also consider heading a few blocks east of downtown to the Museo Nacional (Calle 17 at Plaza de la Democracia; Tue-Sat 8.30am-4.30pm, Sun 9am-4.30pm; $4), set in a 19th-century fortress where the army used to have its HQ before being abolished in 1948; there’s some wonderful pre-Columbian art and artifacts, as well as exhibits and art covering the colonial period to the present day.

Finally, a short way outside San José, in the nearby town of Heredia, java junkies will get a kick out of a visit to Café Britt (Dec 15–April 9am, 11am, 3pm; May–Dec 14 11am only; $19–$39), which involves a tour, show, tastings, and lunch at a coffee plantation run by the country’s best-known brand-name (they’ll pick you up at your hotel if you don’t have your own wheels); admittedly a bit touristy, it’s also entertaining, and you might find it a hoot as well as educational.

MANUEL ANTONIO
About three-and-a-half hours by road (30 minutes by air) from San José, Costa Rica’s first major beach destination is still, in our opinion, its most fetching. First and foremost, its setting is the most scenic: many of its resorts are nestled in the lush hills that slope down to Playa Espadilla, the main beach, and Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio (from whence the area’s name), with gorgeous views out over jungle and sea. And, unlike more recently developed areas up the Pacific coast, Manuel Antonio’s atmosphere, and its resorts, are more intimate and have a feel quite different from, say, the spring-break-style vibe of Jacó, the edgy seediness of Puntarenas, or the increasingly large mass-market all-inclusives and other big resorts increasingly common in Papagayo, Tamarindo, and other beach destinations farther north in arid but booming, and increasingly popular, Guanacaste.

Exploring Manuel Antonio
Essentially set up around a large hill flanked by two headlands that jut out into the Pacific, Manuel Antonio’s resorts are strung along two roads, one of which leads out to the end of Punta Quepos while the other descends the hill to the water’s edge and the national park entrance, on Punta Catedral. Along the portion of beachfront road that runs along the bay to the park is the closest thing you’ll find to a town in Manuel Antonio proper: a kind of hamlet consisting of two to three blocks of restaurants, shops, souvenir stands, and some lodgings. The primary swimming beaches (playas) begin along this waterfront boulevard and continue inside the park, which has the most appealing stretches of sand of all. Since there is a bit of distance to cover between many of the resorts and the beaches (not to mention the town of Quepos, a longer drive away), having your own wheels can be helpful but it’s not essential, since you can use taxis, resort shuttles, and public transportation to get around.

It’s not all about the beach here, though you could easily make it so. The Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio (daily 8am-4pm; $15 or $10 in advance) is ready made for ecotourist adventures from hiking, horseback riding, rafting, ATV driving, hang gliding, and zipline canopy tours. The 4014-acre park ranks as one of Costa Rica's most often visited; it offers a small network of trails that might take you a couple of hours to hike while watching for squirrel or white-faced capuchin monkeys, sloths, iguanas, green kingfishers, and other wildlife along the way. Once you’re ready for some refreshment – meaning only immersion in water, since no food or drink is sold inside the park – head to one of the various small crescent beaches like Playa Espadilla Sur, Playa Manuel Antonio (considered the nicest for swimming), Playa Puerto Escondido, and Playa Playitas (the farthest from the entrance, and especially popular with the gay crowd). Plenty of local outfitters can help you take advantage of what the park and this part of the coast has to offer; our best picks including Fourtrax and Sea Adventures, H2O Adventures, Titi Canopy Tour, Hang Glide Costa Rica, and Finca Valmy Tours (for horseback riding).

ARENAL
A three- to four-hour drive on decent roads from San José (four to four-and-a-half from Manuel Antonio), this area of rolling hills and forests in the center of Costa Rica’s northern zone has become a top draw for a good reason – except for beaches, it offers an excellent cross section of the country’s charms. You’ve got the usual panoply of activities (rafting, horseback riding, mountain biking, caving, canopy tours and trams) plus windsurfing and boating on pretty, manmade Lake Arenal; you can even visit an Indian reserve. But the centerpiece, and raison d’être for the area’s popularity, is majestic, looming Arenal volcano, one of the world’s most active erupters (but considered safe since its last major eruption in 1968). It puts on spectacular shows (most nights) of frothy glowing lava (your best chances of catching the big guy’s awesome eruptions are better January through March) and, as an added benefit, there are a number of volcanically-warmed natural springs in the area that have been harnessed, landscaped and turned into “mini-resorts” such as Tabacón, Las Fuentes, and Baldi. The nearest town, 10 miles downhill from the volcano, is La Fortuna; it’s not what you’d call the most picturesque place around but is pleasant enough and makes a good base of operations.

Exploring Arenal
To take full advantage of what this region has to offer, you’ll want to check with some of the various local outfitters, including Aventuras Arenal, Sunset Tours, Eagle Tours, Fourtrax Adventures ATV tours, Original Canopy Tour, and, for rafting and kayaking, Desafío Adventure Tours.

The 30,000-acre reserve that is Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal (daily 8am-10pm, $6) is centered around the eponymous 5436-foot-high volcano, the manmade lake below it, and a neighboring volcanic cone called El Chato. You can hike a series of trails through forests and old lava flows, from some of which you can actually see newly flowing lava – just don't get too close to the slopes of the volcano itself. The well-marked hiking trails range from a half-mile to two-and-a-half miles in length, and pass past phantasmagoric vistas and dreary lowlying areas that might remind Lord of the Rings fans of the dead flatlands of Mordor. Several also go down to or along Lake Arenal; one even goes to a waterfall. Most are not very strenuous; the one exception might be the "Lava Trail" which can be a tough climb, but you'll be rewarded with stunning vistas of flowing lava from a perched observation deck. Flora includes exotic heliconias, orchids, bromeliads, and lots of ferns; fauna-wise, expect to see brilliant blue morpho butterfies, toucans and other birds, howler monkeys, and agoutis (large, tailless rodents).

For viewing the eruptions at night, you’ll have to come back with one of the tour companies (see above), as the park is otherwise closed to visitors after dark. Try not to be too disappointed if the weather happens to be cloudy when you’re here and the summit is therefore shrouded – the volcano is an inspiring sight, no matter what. There’s a visitor center with café and restrooms on site as well.

On the way up the road to the volcano from La Fortuna, you’ll pass several balnearios, mini-resorts built around geothermal springs warmed by Arenal’s vulcanism. The best-known and most impressive is Tabacón (daily noon-10pm; $29, reduced after 7pm), an elaborately landscaped series of hot streams, pools, and waterfalls, some mimicking natural formations, others resort-style (the biggest one boasts a swim-up bar and water slide); there’s also a spa and restaurant on premises. A few steps down the road, under the same ownership, Las Fuentes (daily 10am-10pm; $8–$10) is less intricate but still a lot of fun, and since it’s less expensive, it's also more popular with locals. Downhill, just a couple of miles out of town, Baldi Hot Springs(daily 10am-10pm; $17) is less naturalistic than the above, with pools that feel more like those at a big tourist resort (complete, in some cases, with party music). A good antidote is the nearby family-owned Eco Termales (daily 10am-9pm; 506/479-8484; $15), also nicely landscaped but with a more laid-back, intimate feel; it's open by reservation only.