Costa Rica Travel Tips
Costa Rica is Central America's jewel. It's an oasis of calm among its turbulent neighbors and an ecotourism heaven, making it one of the best places to experience the tropics with minimal impact. It's also mostly coastline, which means great surfing, beaches galore and a climate built for laziness.
Costa Rica's enlightened approach to conservation has ensured that lush jungles are home to playful monkeys, languid sloths, crocodiles, countless lizards, poison-dart frogs and a mind-boggling assortment of exotic birds, insects and butterflies.
3 Days in Arenal Volcano National Park
Written by Viator, March 2012
The majestic gray cone of Costa Rica’s most famous volcano, Arenal, has the frustrating habit of veiling itself in thick clouds about 80% of the time. That’s why clever travelers plan to spend a few ...
Read more
Jaco Suggested Itineraries
Written by Viator, March 2012
Upon arrival in the cheerfully scruffy center of Jaco (or, alternately, the luxuriously landscaped resort just north, Los Sueños), you’ll want to appreciate the view; Costa Rica’s Central ...
Read more
San Jose Suggested Itineraries
Written by Viator, August 2010
Bustling big city or nature’s haven? Whichever way you see it, San Jose offers plenty of excitement for the first time and returning visitor alike. In fact, its obvious architecture of tall ...
Read more
Volcanoes and National Parks
Written by Viator, August 2010
San Jose in Costa Rica is many things to many people. Looming skyscrapers, glitzy malls, busy businessmen and a fast-paced lifestyle is perhaps the more obvious appearance to those visiting on ...
Read more
Big Beer Flavor at Costa Rica’s Tiny Microbrews
Written by Paige, Nicaragua, March 2012
When people think about Costa Rican beer—not an altogether unusual sentiment, particularly when presented with the perfect palm-shaded beach hammock—it is usually Imperial that comes to mind. The ...
Read more
Big Beer Flavor at Costa Rica’s Tiny Microbrews
Written by Paige, Nicaragua, March 2012
When people think about Costa Rican beer—not an altogether unusual sentiment, particularly when presented with the perfect palm-shaded beach hammock—it is usually Imperial that comes to mind. The ...
Read more
Bird watching in Costa Rica
Written by Zoe Smith, United Kingdom, February 2013
Costa Rica is teeming with exotic wildlife with lush rainforests populated with everything from exuberant monkeys to menacing crocodiles; sloths slinking in the shadows and jungle pathways misted ...
Read more
Carara National Park
Written by Zoe Smith, United Kingdom, January 2013
Costa Rica is full of nature reserves and wildlife parks, but one of the most popular is the Carara National Park, an easy day trip just 2 hours drive from San Jose and a key attraction for cruise ...
Read more
Christmas in Costa Rica
Written by Zoe Smith, United Kingdom, November 2012
Festive celebrations begin early in Costa Rica, with the start of ‘Las Posadas’ (the ‘inns’) nine days before Christmas and three dramatic parades taking place around the country. ‘El Carnival’, ...
Read more
City Guide to Montezuma, Costa Rica
Written by Paige, Nicaragua, August 2012
Close to the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula lies the laid-back, famously bohemian beach getaway of Montezuma. With its beautiful beaches, crashing waterfalls and colorful atmosphere, it’s a favorite ...
Read more
Coffee Harvest in Costa Rica
Written by Paige, Nicaragua, January 2012
When the coffee harvest is in full swing in Costa Rica , with much of the country taking time out to pick the sweet, red fruits that were once the foundation of the nation’s economy. Luckily, you ...
Read more
Collection of Pre-Columbian Treasures Headed Home to Costa Rica
Written by Paige, Nicaragua, February 2011
Despite its wealth of remarkable pre-Columbian artifacts, including iconic polychrome pottery, enigmatic stone spheres, and priceless jade and gold pieces, Costa Rica once struggled proud to display ...
Read more
Costa Rica's Best Beach Towns
Written by Paige, Nicaragua, June 2012
This sliver of paradise caught between the crashing waves of the
Pacific and beautiful blue waters of the Caribbean is a dream come true
for beach lovers. Costa Rica offers something for ...
Read more
Costa Rica and the Space Age
Written by Paige, Nicaragua, February 2012
When most people think about visiting Costa Rica , their daydreams include wildlife conservation , national parks , luxury ecotourism, zip-line canopy tours, pristine beaches, epic surfing, and ...
Read more
Costa Rica for Coffee Lovers
Written by Paige, Nicaragua, May 2012
The misty mountainsides of Costa Rica ,
rich with fertile, volcanic soils, are famed for growing some of the
finest coffee in the world. If you’re curious about how your daily dose
of wide awake ...
Read more
Want to share your own recommendation?
Find Recommendations by Type
- Beach
- Festival
- Good Place to Drink
- Good Place to Relax
- Good Place to Sleep
- Holiday Activity
- Island
- Mountain
- Must-Do Experience
- Nature & Wildlife
- Park / Garden
- Photography
- Popular with Locals
- River
- Stadium
- Swim & Snorkel
- Tip - Family Travel
- Tip - Suggested Itineraries
- Tip - Weather
- Tip - When to Go
- Trail
- Volcano
- Water Sports
- Zoo
- Cultural Experience
- Good for Kids
- Good Place to Eat
- Good Place to Shop
- Good Views / Viewpoint
- Hot Spring
- Live Music
- Museum
- National Park
- Off-the-Beaten Path
- People Watching
- Pop Culture
- Restaurant
- Sporting Event
- Sunrise / Sunset
- Theater
- Tip - General Travel
- Tip - Transport
- Tip - What to See & Do
- Town / City
- UNESCO Heritage Site
- Walking/Hiking
- Waterfall
The Great Room of Teatro Nacional
Photo by: Nichelle B, USA
Doing what: San Jose City Sightseeing Tour
