Costa Rica is a beautiful country. Visitors will find lush rainforests, beautiful beaches, monkeys, sloths, frogs and birds galore. There are many things to love about Costa Rica and one less-than-desirable feature that visitors may not enjoy.
As you’ve heard me say before, I start my trip and activity planning with traveler reviews on TripAdvisor. You can find Trudy Traveler’s Costa Rica reviews here.
1. Pura Vida
To help us, non-native Spanish speakers, Pura Vida is not pronounced, pure-ah veye-dah.
No, my friends, you need to let it roll off your tongue. It’s more poo-rah vee-dah. I’m sure you feel it already. Go ahead, practice it a couple of times.
Pura Vida is a way of life in Costa Rica. It focuses on living a simple and pure life, on gratitude, no stress, and embracing the positive. Who can’t use some Pura Vida in their everyday life?
Just thinking of our time in Costa Rica fills my heart with memories of peace, happiness, beauty, nature and lots of animals.
2. Proyecto Asis
This Wildlife Animal and Rescue Center was the highlight of our time in Costa Rica. Their work focuses on the health, safety, and well-being of their animals.
Many of the animals at Proyecto Asis are recovering from injuries. Other animals were previously domesticated and now cannot successfully be released back to nature.
When visiting, you not only learn about the various animals and their stories, but they also offer opportunities to volunteer including helping to feed the animals. We loved feeding the various animals including the birds and monkeys.
If you are an animal lover, Proyecto Asis is a great place to visit, and your entry fee supports their mission to assist animals to live a healthy and natural life
3. Guided Night Walk
Costa Rica is famous for its abundance of wildlife. A majority of the wildlife will only be seen at night because they are nocturnal creatures.
The guided night walks provide an opportunity to see critters including mammals, amphibians, insects, and reptiles that otherwise wouldn’t be seen.
Visitors should not hesitate to check out what creatures come out once the sun goes down.
The night walk guides are masters at finding creatures sitting under a leaf or that blend perfectly into a log, twig or plant.
Our guide also assisted us in getting some quality photos of frogs with our phone. No fancy camera needed.
4. Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park
The Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park is a must see when visiting Costa Rica. It is a lush, and beautiful park with an ecotourism focus.
The park offers guided and self-guided tours, but the guided tour was worth the extra money.
Again, the guides are experts in the native wildlife and plants and are able to spot, birds, monkeys, insects and other creatures that we would have otherwise missed.
5. Hot Springs
The Arenal area has a variety of natural hot springs that are worth trying out.
The hot springs can range anywhere from 25-50 Celsius to 77-122 Fahrenheit.
There are several locations to choose from. Some are attached to hotels or resorts while others are for public use only.
6. Arenal Volcano
If you’ve never seen a volcano, it’s worth taking a peek at this one.
The Arenal National Park has two volcanos, Arenal and Chato. The Arenal volcano has been active for 50 years with lava still flowing from the east side.
There are multiple opportunities in the area to observe the volcano, lava flow, lava beds as well as nature all around it.
7. La Fortuna Waterfall
The 200-ft La Fortuna Waterfall is located amidst a tropical forest of an ecological reserve.
At the bottom of the 500 steps, you look up to see the waterfall powerfully cascading down into a crystal clear pool of water.
People spend time at the bottom watching the power of the falls, taking photos, and enjoying the stream of the Fortuna River.
8. Manuel Antonio National Park
Manuel Antonio National Park is an absolute highlight, and one of the most popular parks in Costa Rica. The park is located 132 km or approximately 3.5 hours from the San Jose airport.
The park is a combination of lush forest, wildlife, and beaches making it a must see when visiting Costa Rica. The 1,685 acres of lush forest is home to 109 mammals and 184 different birds.
There are a variety of trails within the park where visitors can walk on their own or with a guide.
I highly recommend a guide. As mentioned previously, they are experts at spotting birds, animals, and insects. They also provide educational information about the area and wildlife. Guides are available for hire in the ticket booth area.
The multiple trails are easily accessible and an easy walk. The park trails lead to both the beautiful Manuel Antonio Beach and Espadilla South Beach. Many visitors spend the day relaxing on the beautiful beaches and swimming in the ocean.
The Punta Cathedral trail is approximately 1 mile long and includes steeper inclines, but showcases a variety of stunning viewpoints of the coast.
9. Costa Rica Beaches
There are many beautiful beaches in Costa Rica. We loved Espadilla Beach near Manuel Antonio Park. This large public beach is clean, easily accessed, with a wide open view of the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean.
We spent the day enjoying the amenities provided by Mary’s Rentals. Mary’s Rentals allows visitors to rent chairs, umbrellas, surfboards, and lockers. While relaxing under your umbrella, Mary’s will take your food and beverage order and then deliver it to you as you relax.
10. Gallo Pinto
The Gallo pinto breakfast was one of my absolute favorite things in Costa Rica. I will always miss the combination of beans, rice, and scrambled eggs, with a side of the deliciously caramelized fried plantains. It’s a perfect combination of sweet and savory.
Then There is the Driving…
Driving from place to place can be a slow, arduous and terrifying experience.
Costa Rica’s narrow, winding, two-lane, rugged roadways are built to a lower standard than many other countries, making travel from place to place slow. What takes 90 minutes on a well-built highway, takes 3 hours in Costa Rica.
I will admit that the smaller roads, countryside, and lack of development are some of the charms of Costa Rica, but plan accordingly.
Our transport from the San Jose airport to Arenal was 3 hours of driving with a variety of twists, turns, and bumps. For me, the turns, switchbacks, and varying speeds made for some extreme car sickness.
After the first leg of the trip, I purchased Dramamine and was able to manage better on the next two legs.
From Arenal to Manuel Antonio was primarily slow-moving. Much of the drive is on rugged roads of the countryside that pass through various small towns. The total travel time was around 5 hours.
The drive from Manuel Antonio to the San Jose airport was an additional 3 hours. During our eight days in Costa Rica, we spent a considerable amount of time on the road.
For this reason, if your travel plans include visiting multiple locations, I would suggest more than a seven-day vacation.
Transportation Options
There are multiple transportation options including traveling by bus, car and professional transportation companies. We opted for transportation companies. In retrospect renting a car would have been a cheaper alternative plus would have offered more flexibility.
Is this NASCAR or Costa Rica?
The driving style in Costa Rica is more NASCAR than Driving Miss Daisy.
Visitors should be prepared for people passing with limited visibility and little clearing distance. I’m happy to say that we lived to tell the tale, but WOWSER that is an experience!
Optimizing the Driving Experience
I would also recommend not driving after dark due to the quality of the roads, potential for animals, fog, and potentially quick changing weather conditions. And yes they do pass, at lightning speeds, in the fog, with minimal visibility and limited passing room!
By no means would the roads and drive time change my desire to go to Costa Rica. The benefits far outweigh the time traveling from place to place. However, I would allow more time to get from place to place and make plans to stop along the way.
Pura Vida!
Overall, Costa Rica is a lovely country with an abundance of beauty from the wildlife to the lush green forests to the warm and welcoming people.
Go with the flow and embrace Pura Vida! Oh and pack some Dramamine just in case.
I hope you enjoyed this post. I’d love to hear about your experiences in Costa Rica. Feel free to leave a comment below.
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We loved Monte Verde Cloud Forest. It was absolutely breath taking but when we went (2008) the road trip could be harrowing at times. The San Luis waterfall is in the same area and a hidden gem.
Hi Kathie, We wanted to visit the Monte Verde Cloud Forest when we visited but didn’t have enough time. I would love to check it out if we go back. Thanks for the comment!