With its tropical climate (cool in the high mountains, mild in the middle elevations, and warm "summer" temperatures along the coasts), you can enjoy your Costa Rica tour outdoors at any time of the year. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions as to what you can build into your own special Costa Rica vacation package:
hike in the high, cool mountains
raft white-water rivers
explore steamy rainforests
spelunk
watch folkloric dances
zip along a cable 300 feet over the forest floor
watch birds
walk on a bridge through the forest canopy
dive among schools of brilliantly colored tropical fish (and maybe a few sharks)
horseback ride on a wilderness beach
saltwater fish off either coast
fish in a sparkling clear cool mountain river, lake or lowland river
photograph tropical flora and fauna
admire the antics of impish monkeys bouncing from tree to tree
savor the flavor of a juicy ripe mango (or many other fresh tropical fruits!)
sea kayak along the Pacific coast
visit an indigenous community
buy local handcrafts
watch a live volcano "breath" superheated sulfurous steam
learn to dance salsa
go surfing
mountain bike down a country road from an 11,000 ft. volcanic peak
admire tropical flowers and orchids
lie on a sunny beach, doze in a hammock after a day of adventure, or sip a piña colada at pool-side while admiring a golden sunset
What do you want to do?Let your fantasies be your guide…
You may choose a fine Costa Rica beach hotel, a Costa Rica adventure vacation package, or perhaps a really specialized bit of ecotourism in Costa Rica or a Costa Rica nature tour would appeal to you.Read on below for a little more detail on some of our favorite activities.
Leave Time to Let Costa Rica Surprise You
We do not recommend that you book one activity for the morning and another for the afternoon. You will want to allow for some free time and make sure you have the time to fully enjoy each activity. Plus, give yourself the free time to follow a whim to take in a tour or special Costa Rica attraction on your own once you are in the country.
As always, our Costa Rica specialists stand ready to help you sort through the options to make sure your Costa Rica vacation is spent doing things you enjoy, not just trying to get from one place to another. Call us toll free at 800-345-7422 and we'll enjoy sharing our knowledge about Costa Rica with you.
Costa Rica is a small country, but its range of habitats gives it an incredibly rich diversity of flora and fauna. Our Costa Rica trips combine nature and adventure. We visit national parks and reserves, the best places to see wildlife. Overnight accommodations are in comfortable lodges and hotels. All of our trips are led by experienced bilingual naturalist guides and include all transport and most meals. Our Natural History Guided tours are anywhere from 2 to 10 days in duration.
Nowhere else in the world will one find a more amazing confluence of climate, topography, and wildlife than in Costa Rica. Thankfully, 25% of Costa Rica's land is actively protected in national parks, biological reserves, or wildlife refuges (that is more protected area per capita than in any other country of the world!). Some of the great hiking areas are Arenal Volcano, Monteverde Cloudforest, Corcovado National Park, Golfo Dulce, Rincon de la Vieja National Park, Tapanti, and Cerro de la Muerte. With a good network of paved highways and secondary roads, a dozen distinct life zones can be visited in Costa Rica within just a single day's drive or a short flight away from each another. All offer superb opportunities for hiking, and our Costa Rica Sun Tours Costa Rica tour guides can help you find the best trails.
A Costa Rica beach vacation allows you to have breakfast on the Pacific Ocean and dinner on the Caribbean Sea. The Pacific coast boasts some of our most famous beaches for surfing and sun bathing-thinking of a Costa Rica surfing vacation? The Carribean region of Costa Rica is noted for its variety of ecosystems and its beautiful white or black sand beaches.
All of our beaches are so beautiful that it is impossible to determine which ones are the best. If you are flying in and out of Liberia International Airport you may want to stay at one of the fine Costa Rica beach hotels in the north Pacific Region. Many Guanacaste hotels are literally beach front or oceanfront hotels. Also this is where some of the Costa Rica all-inclusive vacation packages use larger hotels and resorts.
If you are flying in and out of San Jose then the Central Pacific region (around Jaco), the South Pacific region, or the southern Carribean region may be a better choice
A Canopy Tour is an exciting ride above and through the forest canopy using a high-tech safety harness secured to suspension cables by an attached pulley wheel. One glides along at high speed stopping en route on a series of elevated platforms. These rides give one the sensation of flying through the forest! The canopy tours are one of the most thrilling adventures available for guests in Costa Rica. Be careful to check to make sure outfitter has been certified and has a good safety record.
A Costa Rica rafting trip offers some of the world's finest whitewater rafting rivers. These rivers plunge through mountains and travel through beautiful landscapes. Whether an expert or beginner, nature lover or thrill seeker rafting enthusiast; there is an unforgettable experience awaiting you on Costa Rica's rivers. The whitewater ranges from easy class I and II rivers such as the Corobici and Sarapiqui Rivers to class II-IV rivers such as the Pacuare, Pascua, Naranjo, Savegre, Rio Arenal, and Reventazon Rivers. Our Costa Rica tour guides can help arrange your rafting adventure-and teach you about the rivers if you prefer.
With approximately 850 recorded bird species, a Costa Rica bird tour is a birder's dream come true. Costa Rica's small size, diversity of habitats and extensive road network means a variety of different bird habitats can be traversed in relatively short time periods making a Costa Rica bird watching vacation particularly rewarding.
Our birding tours start early in the morning and continue into the evening's "owling". We make the extra effort to find those exciting endemic and rare species. We carefully select the best birding locations to ensure the largest variety and number of species.
Our birding guides are the best in the country and all use high-quality spotting scopes . At your request we can conduct introductory, relaxed Costa Rica bird watching and nature tours to intermediate or advanced birding tours. The Osa Peninsula, where Corcovado National Park is located and Tiskita Jungle Lodge in southern Costa Rica, are home to over 270 species of birds and include endemic species found only in the region. The area around Arenal Volcano has numerous species including trogans, tanagers, white-collared manakins, motmots and parrots. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is not to be missed. The Reserve supports six distinct ecological zones, and 400 species of birds and is the seasonal home to resplendent quetzals (one of the most beautiful birds in the world) and three-wattled bellbirds. We also recommend Rancho Naturalista and the OTS La Selva Biological Station
On quiet roads or challenging trails we run quality Costa Rica bike tours. Fine equipment and experienced guides take you through rainforest, volcanoes and the unhurried rural life of Costa Rica.
All of our tours are designed so that cyclists of all skill levels can bike at their own pace. Our tour leaders know the routes in detail and are always able to offer both shorter and longer options to satisfy everyone on the trip.
A support van, driver and guide/mechanic are available at all times with fresh tropical fruit and drinks, snacks and cool water as well as gear such as helmets, gloves, water bottles, extra bikes and first aid kit
Your Costa Rica fishing trip will create lasting memories. The fish come big in Costa Rica and hooking trophy contenders comes easy-the fish almost seem to line up to get a bite on the hook.
The country is the undisputed sailfish capital of the world on the Pacific coast, and tarpon capital on the Caribbean. Fishing varies from season to season, but hardly a month goes by without some International Game Fish Association record broken. With over 70 IGFA certified world record fish caught in Costa Rican waters, it's no wonder this country is considered a sport fisherman's paradise. Mix great fishing with a majestic setting and friendly Costa Rican hospitality and you come away with the experience of a lifetime.
We can arrange anything, from a one-day Costa Rica fishing trip to a coast-to-coast multi-day Costa Rica fishing vacation package
With 635 miles of shoreline along the Pacific coast and 132 miles on the Caribbean, and both oceans fed by literally hundreds of rivers, Costa Rica offers unequaled opportunity to enjoy the rapidly growing sport of sea kayaking. Sea kayaking is a natural way to experience the beauty of Costa Rica. The sea kayak is a self-propelled small craft devised by the ancient Eskimo tribes in the Arctic ocean and has evolved into a stable, efficient and extremely sea worthy craft which makes wildlife observation excellent and totally unobtrusive. No experience is necessary to control the kayak for the first time. The rudder and paddle are your tools for mastering the operation of this craft.
Sea kayaking is possible from lodges on the southern Osa Peninsula and up the coast. There are rentals available in Quepos at the beach town near the entrance to Manuel Antonio National Park. Here there is a shore break, but around the peninsula, the water is calmer.
Tortuguero National Park and it's surroundings is an area known worldwide for it's richness in biodiversity There's no better way to enjoy Tortuguero's natural wonders than quietly navigating through it's amazing network of rivers, lagoons and canals in sea kayaks
Diving in the northern Pacific region is the best. Few rivers and more sun year round make this the best ocean water in Costa Rica. Dives are along offshore islands typical of the volcanic Costa Rican shoreline. Scattered small reefs made of volcanic rock and soft corals dot a dark sandy floor. Night diving is excellent and average visibility in this area is 20-80 feet. The breaking waves on-shore do not make this area ideal for snorkeling. In Manuel Antonio National Park, snorkeling is possible in the calm, clear waters where the waves break on rocks far from the shore.
Included in your stay at lodges near Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula is a half day trip to Cano Island. A half hour boat trip will take you to clear water for snorkeling and diving to holes and walls. Expect deep dives with limited bottom time and variable currents. This is advanced diving. Large marine creatures are often seen
Costa Rica Surfing Vacations
Costa Rica is a superb destination for a surfing vacation, and it is one of those rare mainland destinations that actually has two coastlines to surf, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
For many in search of the perfect wave, the search has ended with a Costa Rica surf trip. Long stretches of beaches provide thousands of beach breaks. Numerous rivers offer quality sandbar rivermouth breaks, particularly on the Pacific coast.
The major swell season is April to October, but the clean surf season is December to April when swells from deep antic lows reach the Pacific coastline with offshore winds a common occurrence. Typically morning surfs are offshore and afternoon are light onshore.
Tamarindo, Avellanas, Nosara, Mal Pais, Playa Hermosa, Jaco, Manuel Antonio, Dominical and Pavones are popular Pacific Coast Surf Destinations. On the Carribean Coast Puerto Viejo de Limon is the choice destination
You will re-discover "no-hassle" tee times and the enjoyment of playing unhurried rounds of golf on courses designed by well known golf architects George Fazio, Robert Trent Jones II, Ron Garl, Ted Robinson, Mike Young and Tracy May. Your Costa Rica golf vacation will have all the ingredients for one of the best golf vacations of your life. The delight of experiencing the scenic beauty and natural attractions of Costa Rica is an added bonus
Costa Rica is a small country, but its range of habitats gives it an incredibly rich diversity of flora and fauna. From hiking, rafting, bird watching, or just spend time on a beautiful beach, our Costa Rica trips combine nature and adventure. We visit national parks and reserves, the best places to see wildlife.
