Costa Rica
Costa Rica is noted for its exceptional wildlife and warm and welcoming people. Well-managed parks and reserves encompass tropical jungle, Caribbean and Pacific coastline, verdant hills and dense mangrove swamps. Highlights include howler monkeys, alligators, turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs, tapirs, sloths and tree frogs - and if you’re really lucky, a glimpse of a jaguar or quetzal.
San José, the capital, is set on a high plateau surrounded by mountainous cloud forest, thick with vines, ferns and orchids. Lush plantations are within easy driving distance (self-drive is a popular way to get around). Spectacular volcanoes are an impressive sight - particularly the gently rumbling Arenal whose lava flows glow and smoulder on clear nights. Costa Rica has superb birdwatching, from iridescent humming birds to flamboyant parrots and toucans.
The Pacific and Caribbean coasts have some wonderful beach resorts, with plenty of opportunities for water sports, snorkelling and scuba diving, relaxing on the coral sand, or absorbing the lively Afro-Asian culture. Costa Rica is very family-friendly, with a range of exciting activities, from white-water rafting to zip lines through the forest canopy.
Highlights
Here are some of our Costa Rica highlights
Adventure
From kayaking and tree-climbing to zip-lines through the forest canopy, Costa Rica is a real adventure destination. Possibilities abound with waterfall rapelling, rafting and hiking throughout the country - you'll certainly never be bored!
Turtles
Six species of turtles visit Costa Rica to nest, principally in the areas of Tortuguero on the Caribbean coast and on the Nicoya and Osa peninsulas on the Pacific coast. Seasons vary depending on species and/or area.
Smouldering volcanos
The spectacular, active volcano of Arenal in Costa Rica's central valley is one of the country's most impressive. A scenic hike over ancient rocks to the famous lava wall or a relaxing evening dip in the thermal hot springs are highly reccomended!
Wildlife
The Osa peninsula is a haven for wildlife. Half is covered by the Corcovado National Park, mainly primary rainforest with more than 400 species of birds and many amphibians and mammals and the possibility to see majestic Humpack whales in December and January.
It was excellent in pretty well all respects. The Cocos diving was good, with plenty of hammerhead and other sharks. It was challenging – perhaps a bit like a much warmer version of the English Channel (with strong currents and big waves at times), but also a great experience. The Island was pretty too, although landing needed permission from the Rangers, so we only went ashore for 3 brief visits.
On the main part, Savegre Lodge was more basic than the exceptional standards of the other accommodation, and the food was less reliable (it was better in the bar than in the restaurant). Its big advantage was the guide, who was exceptional – he found the Quetzels, and also created a bird garden around his house next to the Lodge that was stunning. I think the trade-off between luxury and the quality of the guide worked out well.
Maybe the best part was Tortuego, by a small margin. Location was great, and again we had an excellent guide for the two boat trips and also the turtle nesting night. Wildlife extended into the hotel grounds, with howler monkeys, sloths, toucans, parrots etc. And the forest walk was impressive too, with rather a lot of poison arrow frogs. I did get a better picture of a sloth at Puerto Viejo, but that was luck in coming across one on the ground.
The coffee tour at Finca Blanca Rosa was great. It helped there only was one small family with us, and the coffee was really good. Accommodation was too, and we were upgraded to a villa with a Jacuzzi outside.
The longest transfer to the last hotel was a bit tiring, although the driver sensibly broke the journey for lunch. The minibus was from a different tour company, and was not in the best condition – it seemed to have had a scrape that took out two side windows which were repaired with heavy duty transparent plastic sheets. Seats also seemed a bit smaller than Costa Rican Trails transport. The best transfers were in their SUV type vehicles.- JJ