This travel guide is a very personal account of our travels. What we saw, where we ate and stayed, and what we liked and didn’t like.
Along with our lists, we’ve included a few tidbits of wisdom that we wish we’d had before we left. We hope you find this information useful on your next trip as well.
Costa Rica is a beautiful little country, filled with lush forests, sandy beaches, mountains and volcanoes, and an incredibly diverse amount of wildlife. Within its small area, Costa Rica holds 5% of the world’s biodiversity, making it a dream destination for animal and bird lovers and anyone who enjoys nature.
In addition to the 30 National Parks scattered throughout the country, they have also developed a wide network of beach resorts and adventure parks. There’s something for everyone here.
With several international airports and a well developed tourist industry, Costa Rica is easy to get to and easy to manage after you’ve arrived. Credit cards can be used almost everywhere and most people are just as happy to take US Dollars as Colones.
Most of the country’s roads are single lane and wind their way through mountainous terrain. So despite its small size, travel times are long and a rental car is definitely the best way to get around. If you only want to relax on a casual beach, or perhaps learn to surf, then one spot may be all you need. However, the best way to really see Costa Rica is to visit at least 2 or 3 different parts of the country.
Supplemental car rental insurance is not required in Costa Rica. If you choose to buy it, It is less expensive to get it from a 3rd party or as part of your travel insurance. As an example, our rental with Alamo would have been $45/day for full coverage from them. Using 3rd party insurance, partial coverage ($5k deductible) was $12/day and total coverage was $22/day.
In general, we found that most places were just as happy to take US Dollars as Colones. Even most ATMs offered withdrawals in Dollars or Colones. Almost all merchants will use an exchange rate of 500 Colones to the dollar for simplicity sake. Depending on the official exchange rate (between 510 and 520 while we were there), you can save money by paying in Colones.
ATM fees vary greatly. For a $200 withdrawal, Promericap charged $3.72, Scotia Bank charged $6.28 while Bank of Costa Rica didn’t charge anything. There are not many banks that reimburse out of network ATM fees, but USAA is one of them. We have opened an account with them specifically for our travel cash needs.
Bring the right footwear for the activities you plan to do. It’s a rainforest and your feet will get wet and muddy often.
You’ll want hiking shoes or good hiking sandals for the National Parks.
Many activities, such as zip lining, canyoning and river rafting will require closed toe shoes, yet they will become completely wet. Most places will recommend sneakers, but hard-soled water shoes and certain types of sandals are usually acceptable. The key is that they stay on your feet, so no flip flops or slip on shoes.
There are a wide variety of night tours offered in many areas. This provides a chance to see nocturnal animals you wouldn’t otherwise see. If you’re planning to do any night tours, try to do it when the skies are darkest. The more moonlight there is, the less wildlife you’ll see.
Add “pura vida” to your vocabulary. You’ll hear it a lot. Like Aloha, it can be used to say hello, goodbye, thank you, and everything is ok.
Costa Rica has many amazing waterfalls. You can find entire websites dedicated just to reviewing and ranking them. We only had time for one and chose Rio Celeste. We are glad we did – it’s stunning. Located within Tenorio Volcano National Park, it does take some planning. The last entry is at 1:45, to ensure everyone has enough time to walk the entire trail and leave before dark. Entrance tickets to the park can only be purchased online (buy them here), so you should definitely buy them in advance. There is very limited wifi access near the park entrance, but it didn’t work for us. We ended up buying a ticket from a local and paying a $3/ticket surcharge.
We recommend hiking to the end of the trail first, to the Teñidero, where two streams converge and create the teal color. Visit the waterfall at the end, as it’s 252 steps down to the bottom viewing platform and you won’t want to keep hiking if you do that first.
Arenal Volcano is the big draw in this area and most people choose to go to the National Park Visitor Center. We went instead to the Arenal 1968 Viewpoint and Trailhead and were very glad we did. This park entrance offers the same wonderful hikes and views, but with far fewer crowds. Most of the hike we were by ourselves. There is also a cafeteria there, which allowed us to have lunch and appreciate the volcano’s beauty for another hour. Tickets for this park can be purchased at the entrance.
River Rafting. There are numerous rivers in this area and the rafting operators offer trips to suit every level of experience and adventure. We chose the Sarapiqui River White Water Rafting Class IV with Arenal Rafting. They are a very professional group and our guide, Eric was amazing. He grew up on the river and had lots of stories to share about the river and his life on it. The guide to participant ratio is high. Most boats had only 3-4 participants and one guide. This was our favorite activity of the trip.
Canyoning provided us another way to interact with nature, with some adventure thrown in. We chose the combination waterfall rappelling, ziplining and pool jumping package with La Roca Canyoning. We particularly liked rappelling down the waterfalls.
Hot Springs. With the active Arenal Volcano nearby, there are many hot springs in the area. Numerous hotels have built spas around these hot springs and many of them offer day passes. We opted instead to go to the free local option. It is the river just below Tabacon Hot Springs. A local charged us $5 to park on the side of the street. We put our belongings in a dry bag and donned our water shoes/sandals and walked to the river. Lots of people were there soaking in the warm water. It was a communal experience.
Cloud forests are an interesting phenomenon and they are worth seeing. The beauty is in the flora, as it’s hard to see much wildlife in the dense jungle. The nature viewing can be walking in the forest (day and night) or going to specific gardens and sanctuaries.
There are places to see orchids, frogs, bats, butterflies and hummingbirds. For first timers, they’re all worth a visit. Because we’d seen all of this in the cloud forests of Ecuador, we opted to only go to Cafe Colibri, or the hummingbird café. This turned out to be the café and gift shop of the Monteverde Preserve. There were only 4 feeders outside the cafe and lots of tour bus groups, so expect a loud and crowded experience.
The main attraction here is the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve. Being only a couple of hours from the cruise ship terminal, the park is flooded with day trip visitors.
Just a few miles away, the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve features the same ecosystem, flora and fauna, but without the crowds. We did a 5 mile hike in the park (they have shorter options as well) and saw only a handful of people. We ran into one guided group, and spotted the tarantula he had found inside a tree, but otherwise nobody was seeing much wildlife.
If it’s wildlife viewing you’re after, we believe your best bet is a night tour like this one: Santa Elena Cloud Forest Night Hike.
Ziplining. The most fun we had was ziplining across canyons and flying like Superman with 100% Aventura. Hot tip, arrive 45 to 60 minutes before your assigned time to make sure you are in the first group. We were in the last group and had to wait up to 30 minutes at various stations because some people in front of us got stuck and had to be pulled to the end of the line.
Final thoughts on Monteverde
Monteverde is a couple hours from the cruise terminal, and it is full of tour buses. The trick is to avoid them by finding restaurants, preserves and activities that don’t have bus parking lots. A couple of years ago, we went to Ecuador’s cloud forest and found that preferable, as the lodges have enough space between them that you can see everything in one location and the only other people you see are the ones in your lodge. Two lodges we recommend are:
Mashpi Lodge. A beautiful lodge tucked away in a very diverse biosphere. Price includes guided day and night tours along with birdwatching. Highly recommended.
Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve & Lodge. Recommended as a more affordable option
Manuel Antonio National Park is the most visited park in Costa Rica for good reason – it has lots of animals. But don’t think you can find them on your own. We visited the park twice. The first time, we hired a guide and saw 10 different animal species, including 5 sloths. The next day we went on our own and didn’t see any at all. We bought our tickets online directly from the park here, a month before departure. It’s a small park and the slots sell out very quickly. We were told the best time to go is at 7 am, but we think 8 or 9 is better. First, there is more light for pictures. More importantly, by then the 7 am guides have already found all the animals and passed the info along to everyone.
We hired Adventura Macha Tours on our way to the park. Our guide, Antonio, was amazing, but we overpaid the operator. It’s better to contact our guide directly at Cecropia Nature & Adventure Tour (cecropiatour@hotmail.com or What’s App +506-83107611.) Alternatively, you can book a tour with Viator and they will organize everything.
We also booked a Night Boat Tour. Unfortunately, it was a very bright night with a full moon and we saw very little. We’re not sure how much better it could have been, so we don’t recommend it.
Final note on Manuel Antonio. If your plans include visiting the Osa Peninsula and Corcovado National Park, you can skip Manuel Antonio. Corcovado has the same animals, but with no crowds.
Sirena Overnight in Corvorado National Park was the highlight of our trip. We saw tapirs, sloths, hawks, monkeys and many, many other animals with our naked eye. Our guide, Gerson from Rainforest Chronicles, was amazing. He’s a former forest ranger and is an incredible animal spotter.
Jalapas Restaurant. Fusion cuisine for locals and those in the know. The restaurant is nicely designed, and the food is delicious and reasonably priced.
Café Raúl Castaño Serves coffee and sandwiches by day and dinner by night. The bread is home-baked and we bought a loaf for our breakfasts. Very local feel.
The Open Kitchen. Fresh and vibrant Israeli food. We liked it so much in La Fortuna that we ate at the one in Monteverde as well.
Lava ’68 Cafetería is in the Arenal 1968 park. It is a great place to have a beer, glass of wine or a bite to eat after exploring the park. While it’s referred to as a cafeteria, it is a sit-down restaurant with well-prepared food. We had chicken cordon blue.
Lake Arenal Hotel and Brewery has a great view of the lake and good beer. The menu has many choices. We had poke and salmon bowls. It was a little expensive for the quality and quantity of food.
The Open Kitchen. Fresh and vibrant Israeli food. We liked it so much in La Fortuna that we ate at the one in Monteverde as well. Downstairs is a beer garden and sushi restaurant owned by the same people.
Beer Garden Monteverde’s small deck (below Open Kitchen)is a great place to catch your breath and grab a beer or glass of wine. They also serve sushi.
Kapi Kapi. This restaurant and Open Kitchen are our top choices in Monteverde! Kapi Kapi uses high quality ingredients in their innovative menu items. After being disappointed with many of the restaurants in town, we asked our hotel for recommendations and they suggested Kapi Kapi. We went back several times!
Bon Appetit! Serves uninspired Italian food to busloads of people from cruise ships. There are better options!
Chicharronera Monteverde. The reviews we found for this restaurant suggested innovative, farm to table cuisine. It seems that the restaurant has changed it’s focus, though, as we were only offered Typical Food. It was good for what it was, but it was also expensive.
Bowie’s Point serves fresh, deliciously prepared fish in a seaside shack. Worth a stop.
Namaste Indian Restaurant. This restaurant is on par with Michelin recognized restaurants in Delhi, India. The owner, Allan, has years of experience in the restaurant business. His chefs are from India and create authentic high-end dishes. At the time of this publication, the restaurant had 946 reviews, all well-earned 5-stars. Some nights it’s full and other’s it isn’t. Reservations are suggested (+506) 6034-2677
Le Papillon Restaurant. THE spot to watch sunsets in Manuel Antonio. The food is good, but pricey. The restaurant requires reservations, but you can also eat at the bar.
Emilo’s Cafe. Beautiful view and tasty bread and desserts. The food is bland.
La Lambretta Pizzería. Good pizza. Dough is sweet and flavorful. Toppings are fresh and of high quality.
Agua Azul. After Namaste, this was the best restaurant we tried. The view was nice and the food was flavorful. Menu had a nice variety of salads, including a grilled fish salad.
Marisquería Vista Mar. Roadside stand with fresh fish.
Marisquería Corcovado Seafood. Feels like a Caribbean seaside shack. The beer is cold and the ceviches are fresh.
La Fortuna and the Arenal area is home to some exquisite properties, including The Springs Resort & Spa Arenal and Tabacón Thermal Resort and Spa, where you can absorb the local vibe and enjoy the hot springs. If you don’t need a hotel with a spa, then you have many more to choose from.
We stayed in a one-bedroom bungalow at Luxury Villa and Bungalows. It had a full kitchen, sitting areas and a patio. The pool, jacuzzi, outdoor party space, massage area and gym were shared with the other 3 bungalows and villa on the property. While there isn’t any on-site management, the owners and manager were very responsive via What’s App and referred us to many good restaurants.
If you want a remote and peaceful place to experience nature and you don’t mind cold weather, Burbi Lake Lodge is a good choice. It sits on the Continental Divide, where the wind and rain that make the cloud forest are strongest. The grounds have a private lake and nice gardens. It’s a 20-30 minute drive into town over bumpy dirt roads.
The rate includes breakfast, but lunch and dinner are not available onsite (nor do the rooms include refrigerators). All this means that when you leave in the morning, you should be prepared to stay out until after dinner. Burbi’s staff are very helpful and directed us to little known restaurants with good food and amazing sunsets.
Valle Escondido Nature Reserve is an ecolodge with access to a nature preserve and is a short walk to town. Furthermore, they serve farm fresh meals, including lunch and dinner. We visited it for sunset and wished we’d stayed there.
There are four different areas around town with lodging options.
We stayed at Villa Roca, a small boutique hotel with a pretty infinity pool. All the rooms have ocean views, which we appreciated.
La Mariposa Hotel is perched on top of a hill and has amazing views. While we didn’t stay here, we had a delicious dinner at their restaurant and spoke to people who were enjoying their stay.
The Osa peninsula has a lot of nature preserves and is becoming a very popular place for luxury properties that are tucked into the jungle and offer superb services. Lapa Rios Lodge is 10 miles from the airport, while Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Eco Sanctuary is across the bay and only accessible via boat.
Botanika Osa Peninsula, Curio Collection By Hilton is on the beach near town and is a good choice for those who want to explore the area with a rental car or want to sport-fish.
We stayed at a cute 2-bedroom apartment, Casa Amor . It was walking distance to the airport, car rental, pier and town.
Sirena Sector Station is a simple camp in Corcovado National Park, with 12 miles of trails. You must be accompanied by a guide. See What to Do for more information.
San Jose is the business capital of the country (more than half of the country’s citizens live in the San Jose area). We chose not to visit the town, so we stayed in a hotel that offered an airport shuttle, comfortable rooms and had an on-site restaurant.
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Cariari San Jose was perfect for our needs. The hotel décor was retro, the room was spacious and the restaurant’s food was good.
Costa Rica features a tropical climate, where it’s almost always warm and humid. The vibe almost everywhere is very casual, so leave the coat and tie and ball gowns at home. Beyond the usual lightweight shorts and tops, here are a few things that you’ll definitely want to bring.
You’ll want some good walking shoes, either hiking shoes or good hiking sandals. Being mostly rainforest, your feet will get wet and muddy often.
You’ll also need closed toe shoes that you don’t mind getting wet and will stay on your feet for various adventure activities. No flip flops on slip ons. We’re both big fans of the Keen Newport Sandal. It’s light and airy, yet waterproof and closed toe. It comes in both a Men’s and Women’s version.
A rain jacket or poncho. Remember, it’s a rainforest and you will get rained on. Ann’s favorite lightweight jacket is this Gill. It’s both waterproof and stylish.
A water bottle or water backpack. Many places in Costa Rica will not allow you to enter with single use plastic bottles. We really like the bottles made by Contigo. They work well and they’re durable.
A camera with a zoom lens. For all those sloth close ups you’ll want to capture. All of the lovely pictures you see on our site were taken with the new Canon EOS R8 mirrorless camera, along with the Canon RF 24-70 and Canon RF 100-400 lenses. Ann is also a big fan of the Peak Design camera bag and camera strap.
March 2, 2024
