This guide divides Costa Rica into seven colour-coded sightseeing areas, as shown on the map. Find out more about each area on the following pages.
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Nestled at 3,800 feet (1,150 m) between the rugged Talamanca Mountains and a chain of volcanoes to the north, the capital city – affectionately known by Costa Ricans as “Chepe” – enjoys a splendid setting and an idyllic climate. San José’s magnificent Teatro Nacional and pre-Columbian gold and jade museums add to its attraction. Its architecture bears little trace of its early history, but what it lacks in colonial grandeur it makes up for in an exciting foodie scene and a frenetic nightlife. Located in the heart of Costa Rica, San José is an ideal base for hub-and-spoke touring.
Best for Buzzy nightlife, contemporary culture
Home to Teatro Nacional, Museo del Oro Precolumbino, Centro Costarricense de Cienciasy Cultura
Experience Joining a tertulia, or arty salon, to meet like-minded people
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t Hand-painted frescoes soaring above sumptuous Teatro Nacional
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Simmering volcanoes dominate the landscape of the Central Highlands as they tower over the country’s central plateau – a broad valley that extends around San José. The climate is always mild, even in the height of summer. With steep slopes corduroyed by coffee fields and higher up by emerald forest, the region offers stunning drives along curving mountain roads and through picturesque villages whose farmers’ markets and ancient fiestas call siren songs to anyone who passes.
Best for Coffee, curving mountain passes, cooler climes
Home to Monumento Nacional Guayabo, Orosí Valley, Basílica de Nuestra Senora de los Angeles
Experience Sipping freshly roasted coffee at the finca where the beans were harvested
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t A delicately painted carretas (oxcart), once used to transport coffee
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Sun-drenched, forest-fringed beaches scud down the flank of this rugged region. To the west, Malpaís’s wild beauty takes the full brunt of the Pacific, while the effortlessly cool bars of laid-back Monezuma make it a favorite with backpackers. Cut inland and find hiking trails alongside rivers where crocodiles lurk beneath the current. Farther south, lively surfing towns give way to glorious Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio.
Best for Learning about Costa Rica’s sustainability ethos
Home to Nacional Parque Manuel Antonio
Experience Traveling up the Río Tárcoles to see crocodiles from the safety of a launch
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t Wild seas and windswept rocks off Puntarenas
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In the driest of Costa Rica’s regions, come to discover a cross-section of hacienda heritage and indigenous culture. Colonial Liberia is the historic home of sabaneros (cowboys), while farther south, in dusty Guaitíl, you’ll find exquisite artes decorativas in Chorotega pottery workshops. Easy-going Playas del Coco and Tamarindo on the coral-rimmed west coast are scuba diving and surf hubs. When it’s time to relax, turn east to the therapeutic thermal mud pools of Miravalles.
Best for The revival of Costa Rica’s oldest cultures
Home to Parque Nacional Rincón de la Vieja, Monteverde and Santa Elena
Experience Soaking in the thermal mud pools of Las Hornillas, on Miravalles Volcano
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t An explosion of color bursting over Guanacaste farmland
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The rolling flatland of the north is quilted in pastureland, fragrant fruit fields, and dense, humid rainforest. To the west, La Fortuna is most people’s stopping point before exploring passively smoldering Volcán Arenal. Stay a while – here there are caves to dive down, rivers to raft over, and bridal paths to mosey along. Eastward, aerial trams whiz through the canopy, while visitors on the ground wade through wetland looking for jaguars. Curving rivers near Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí swell at the whims of rain god Cthulhu, and break into rapids clean enough to surf.
Best for Volcanic landscapes, canopy tours
Home to Laguna de Arenal
Experience Gazing over rainforest to Arenal, hundreds of feet above the ground in Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park
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t Horses grazing in the fields near La Fortuna
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The centre of Costa Rica’s Afro-Caribbean culture, the humid Caribbean coastline is full of colorful, laidback charm. Its jewel is the Parque Nacional Tortuguero – an important nesting ground for green turtles. To the north, rain-sodden Barra del Colorado attracts anglers to its shoal-whipped waters; to the south, Bribri and Cabécar cultures can be experienced first hand high up in the Talamanca Mountains. In between, Puerto Limón opens gateways to vibrant Jamaican heritage and the empty beaches that bite the edges of the Parque Nacional Cahuita, where sloths creep and howler monkeys sweep.
Best for Cool vibes and a kaleidoscope of color during Carnaval
Home to Parque Nacional Tortuguero
Experience Sampling the culinary scene, then patroling turtle nesting beaches at midnight
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t Boats beached on sugar-white sands under a halcyon sky
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Stretching toward Panama, the Southern Zone bears some of the least-explored, least-developed land in the country. To the north, the peaks of Chirripó invite hikers to power up to the summit. All along the steamy jungled shore, epic breaks attract surfers to chilled-out Dominical and Pavones. Down south, the rainforest-swathed Osa Peninsula hugs Golfo Dolce – a calm bay luring sportfishmen eager to hook the big one. Crossing the waters takes you to Isla del Coco to discover pre-Columbian burial sites and hammerhead sharks.
Best for Untrammeled rainforest, indigenous cultures, whale-watching
Home to Parque Nacional Isla del Coco, Península de Osa, Parque Nacional Chirripó
Experience Scuba diving with sharks off Isla del Coco
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t Passing a wall of grunts beneath the waves at Isla del Coco
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