Costa Rica travel guide

Stuck in a traffic jam inside a tiny minibus with no air conditioning may seem like an odd time and place to fall in love with a country. But that’s what happened with me and Costa Rica. The cause of the congestion was a government protest, but nobody seemed overly perturbed. Quite the contrary — there was a carnival atmosphere: bags of plantain chips being passed through car windows; music throbbing from a nearby speaker; commuters using their horns as drums. “How long do you think we’ll be stuck here?” I asked our driver. He let out a deep belly laugh in response.
We were driving from Monteverde to Guanacaste — a journey of around three hours, on a good day. The driver clearly didn’t care about the delay and, after a week in this challenging, surprising, but never less than enchanting nation, neither, frankly, did I. I’d been infected with “pura vida”, Costa Ricans’ laid-back attitude to life. You will be too.
From its ash-belching volcano to its silver-sand beaches and cloud forests, where calls of scarlet macaws ring out from the canopies, Costa Rica is a land where nature prospers. Locals, or “Tikis’’ as they call themselves, are consistently voted the happiest people on earth and it’s their eco-friendly attitude that’s allowed them, and us, to share their home with an astonishing half a million different species.
This article contains affiliate links, which may earn us revenue
You don’t have to get lucky to spot wildlife here. If it’s sloths, Manuel Antonio National Park on the Pacific Coast is a good bet. Jaguars or toucans? Put your money on Corcovado National Park on the southern Osa Peninsula. And for a full house, try Tortuguero National Park, known as the “Little Amazon of Costa Rica”, with a huge range of species including 38 mammals, 442 birds and 118 reptiles. Green, leatherback and hawksbill turtles are also a big draw; come anytime from May to September to witness nesting and hatching on black-sand beaches.
The cloud forests add to Costa Rica’s sense of adventure and Monteverde, home to 2.5 per cent of the world’s entire biodiversity, is the most child-friendly; explore it from skywalks, a sky tram or zip lines. Come from November to February to avoid the rain and book a guide: there are literally thousands of species of birds to spot, but you’ll triple your chances if you’re with someone who knows where to look. Five points if you see the three-wattled bellbird; ten for the resplendent quetzal, the iridescent green-and-gold-coated national bird that sashays around trailing an elegant plume of tail feathers.
Arenal Volcano is the towering patriarch of the Costa Rican landscape, glowering, immovable and puffing out smoke from its mile-high peak. Get up close by hiking the lava trail that traces its base. Aim for February and April; come in monsoon season (May to November) and the trails will be too treacherous.
With volcanoes, rainforests and three-toed sloths all vying for your attention, you’d be forgiven for forgetting about the beaches. You shouldn’t. Playa Conchal, sprinkled with crushed seashells, is one of the most striking; bring your snorkel to explore the teeming corals a little way offshore. Guanacaste, in the northwest, has beaches dusted with black, pink and every other colour of sand in between.
Costa Rica has two distinct coastlines and most tours will combine stays on both. Come to the Caribbean coast for the canals of Tortuguero and the protected reefs of Manzanillo: Costa Rica’s best snorkelling spot. You’ll slurp rondón, a spicy fish soup pronounced “run down”, in cafés where the locals chat in their pidgin tongue, an amalgam of Creole and Spanish. Surfers and sunbathers head to the black-sand beaches of Puerto Viejo. Try the Tree House Lodge, where individual houses have been crafted from the wood of fallen loquat branches salvaged from the rainforest. There’s direct access to the beach, from which you can rent kayaks, and you’re only a few steps away from the Gandoca-Manzanillio wildlife refuge — it’s not uncommon to be woken here by a friendly howler monkey tapping on your window.
The Pacific coast is equally tempting. Expect lavish resorts perched in hill towns and plenty of places to go whale watching; you’ll spot them in the Osa Peninsula, where they congregate for much of the year. As with the Caribbean coast, there’s accommodation to suit all budgets, but if you want to splurge then go for Kurà, a set of six suites that blend style with sustainability. Expect open-plan villas with floating beds, exposed showers and the show-stealing open-plan Sky Lounge, from which you can spot passing humpbacks while you sip on tamarind margaritas, the bar’s speciality.
For visits to Arenal, you’ll find the lion’s share of accommodation in the tourist town of La Fortuna. The low-rise bungalows, part of Hotel Arenal Springs Resort and Spa, are basic but have all you need. The prospect of an eruption adds a frisson of excitement to a soak in the resort’s private hot springs and you’ll be joined poolside by geckos and tiny, emerald-green violetear hummingbirds. You won’t need to leave the bath-warm waters for breakfast; it comes delivered to you on a bamboo float.
If it’s a lively beach resort you’re after, Guanacaste will deliver. Avoid staying between late March and early April to dodge the Spring Breakers who come to make the most of the all-inclusive cocktails. Check in at Riu Palace Guanacaste. It has a huge pool that backs on to a sleepy stretch of sand and a car park full of monkeys, so be wary if you’ve hired your own set of wheels; they love windscreen wipers.
The after-hours jungle tours offered at most national parks. You’ll see a whole new crew if you visit during the night shift: red-eyed frogs blinking miniature traffic light signals in the darkness, viper snakes curling around trees like serpentine fairy lights and tarantulas on the hunt for a midnight snack.
With so much to see elsewhere, it’s tempting to swerve the capital, San José, but do so and you’ll miss a whole other side of Costa Rica. Aim to see it on a day trip and look for a guided tour that will whisk you to Barrio Amon, where ancient buildings double up as art galleries and the foodie capital of Barrios Escalante serves steaming paper plates of Gallo Pinto (a traditional dish of beans and rice that comes with various toppings).
The dry season: running from December to April (although it can brighten up from mid-November). This is the best time to touchdown if you want to experience the cloud forests without any showers and see most of the wildlife in its pomp. It is also the busiest and most expensive time to visit so plan well ahead and book your accommodation as early as possible. Otherwise consider the cheaper rainy season (May to September). The rain will typically start and stop a couple of times a day, but you’ll meet far fewer tourists and have better options in terms of accommodation.
• Best time to visit Costa Rica
Costa Rica isn’t a big country, but beware, travelling around its mountainous spine isn’t easy — you’re more likely to see a toucan than a well-cemented road. If you do want to go down the self-drive route, opt for a sturdy set of wheels and book the best insurance you can find. Better still, leave the driving and the planning to someone else and choose an escorted tour led by a local.
Inspired to visit Costa Rica but yet to book your trip? Here are the best packages from Tui and Caribbean Warehouse.
• Discover holidays to San Jose• Discover holidays to Monteverde• Discover tours in Costa Rica
Sign up for the Times Travel Newsletter here.