Things To Do in Costa Rica: The Ultimate Travel Guide for 2026

Arenal Volcano, in the Alajuela Province of northern Costa Rica, is the country's most visited natural attraction — a near-perfect volcanic cone rising 1,670 meters above the surrounding lowland rainforest, with its summit usually veiled in cloud and its flanks dense with wildlife. The volcano was largely dormant for four centuries before a catastrophic eruption in 1968 that killed 87 people and destroyed three villages. It remained spectacularly active until around 2010, regularly sending lava flows down its flanks. Today it's in a resting phase — no active eruptions — but the volcanic energy that powers it still heats the rivers and springs around its base.

The hot springs are Arenal's signature experience. The thermal waters heated by geothermal activity flow into a series of pools and rivers around the volcano's base, and a small industry of hot spring resorts has grown up around them. For planning and trip reports, r/costarica and visitcostarica.com (the official Costa Rica tourism site) are both excellent starting points. The range is enormous:

• Tabacón Hot Springs ($65-80/person) is the original and arguably most beautiful — a landscaped park of natural pools, artificial waterfalls, and a river flowing through tropical gardens, with the volcano looming directly above. Includes a full day's access and a buffet meal.
• Baldi Termae ($35-45/person) is the most popular and busiest — multiple large pools at different temperatures, waterslides, swim-up bars. More resort-style, less intimate.
• The Springs Resort ($50-70/person for day use) is set on a hillside with pools at different elevations, wildlife sightings of sloths and monkeys on property, and excellent facilities.
• Free option: La Fortuna waterfall has a cold freshwater pool at its base (admission about $20, includes a sometimes-steep hike down and back). The nearby Río Cholín also has natural warm sections where you can float for free.

Arenal National Park: Entry is about $18 for foreigners. The park has several trail systems through lava fields and secondary forest. The Los Heliconias trail is good for wildlife — watch for howler and white-faced capuchin monkeys, coatis, and dozens of bird species. The best volcano views are actually from the park's western side (Highway 1 area) rather than from La Fortuna town — drive or take a guided tour for the best angles.

La Fortuna town is the base: a reasonably pleasant tourist town with supermarkets, ATMs, and abundant food options. Sodas (simple Costa Rican diners) serve casado (the national rice-and-beans plate with protein and salad) for $6-9. Hotel options range from $15/night dormitories to $300/night luxury jungle lodges.

Monteverde is where cloud forest eco-tourism was essentially invented. The community was founded in the 1950s by Quaker pacifists from Alabama who relocated to Costa Rica to avoid the US military draft — they recognized the ecological value of the cloud forest surrounding them and worked to protect it long before it was fashionable. Today the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve and the adjacent Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve protect over 13,000 hectares of primary cloud forest, epiphyte-draped canopy, and one of the richest concentrations of biodiversity in Central America.

The cloud forest experience: At 1,440 meters elevation, the forest here is perpetually wreathed in mist — the clouds literally move through the trees at walking pace. The air temperature is cool (55-70°F), the light is diffuse and green, and everything is covered in moss, bromeliads, orchids, and ferns. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve has 13km of maintained trails; the most popular are the Sendero Bosque Nuboso (1.8km through primary forest) and the Sendero Pantanoso (swamp trail with excellent bird-watching). Entry is $25 for foreigners, limited to 160 visitors per time slot — book online in advance, especially in high season.

Resplendent Quetzal: The quetzal — a brilliantly colored bird with a 2-foot tail and near-mythological status in Mesoamerican culture — is the holy grail of bird-watching in Monteverde. Adult males are stunning: emerald green body with crimson breast and long iridescent tail feathers. They're most commonly seen at Monteverde and Los Quetzales National Park (near San Gerardo de Dota) during nesting season, January-April. A local guide doubles your chances of seeing one; guided bird-watching tours start at 5:30-6am for $25-40/person.

Zip-lining: Monteverde helped launch zip-lining as an adventure activity, and the area still has the hemisphere's best operations. Original Canopy Tour (the company that pioneered commercial zip-lining in 1994) still operates here. Sky Adventures has the longest cable — 1,590 meters — and a Tarzan swing. Extremo Park has a bungee jump option. Two-hour tours run $45-75/person.

Night tours: The cloud forest at night is completely different — illuminated by guide torches, it reveals tree frogs, tarantulas, sleeping birds, kinkajous, and the extraordinary olingo. Several operators offer 2-hour guided night tours for about $25/person.

Getting to Monteverde: The classic route from La Fortuna is the notorious jeep-boat-jeep transfer ($25-35/person each way) — a shared 4WD to the shore of Lake Arenal, a 30-minute boat crossing, then another 4WD up to Monteverde. Scenic, practical, and much faster than going around the lake (3 hours vs. 4.5 hours). The road from the Pan-American Highway up to Santa Elena is unpaved but passable in a regular car during dry season.

Manuel Antonio National Park, on Costa Rica's central Pacific coast, offers one of the world's most unusual beach experiences: pristine white sand beaches with crystal Pacific water, surrounded by primary rainforest, where white-faced capuchin monkeys walk casually among beach towels and three-toed sloths hang in the trees directly above you. The park itself is small — only 1,625 hectares — but so densely packed with wildlife that a 3-hour visit produces more animal sightings than most full days in other parks.

The park: Admission is $20 for foreigners and entry numbers are limited to 600 people per day (800 on weekends). Book tickets at sinac.go.cr in advance — the park does sell out during high season and holidays. The main circuit trail (about 7km) connects several beaches — Playa Espadilla Sur, Playa Manuel Antonio, Playa Biesanz, and Playa Puerto Escondido — passing through primary and secondary forest. Wildlife you can reasonably expect to encounter: white-faced capuchin monkeys (bold and very habituated to people — don't feed them), three-toed sloths hanging in cecropia trees, white-nosed coati rooting through the undergrowth, and agoutis (large rodents) on the forest floor. More rarely: howler monkeys, squirrel monkeys (endangered, Manuel Antonio is one of their last strongholds), and iguanas.

Hiring a guide: A licensed guide at the park entrance for a 3-hour tour costs about $25-35/person and is genuinely worth it — guides spot animals that 90% of independent visitors walk right past. They also carry telescopes/binoculars and can find the cryptically camouflaged sloths in the canopy.

The town: Quepos, 7km from the park entrance, is the functional town (bank, supermarket, bus terminal). Between Quepos and the park entrance, the road is lined with hotels, restaurants, and tour operators. The strip has gotten increasingly developed — some travelers prefer to base themselves in Quepos to avoid the resort hotel corridor. Budget accommodation in Quepos runs $25-60/night; boutique hotels on the road to Manuel Antonio run $80-200/night; the destination-level Arenas del Mar (directly on the park boundary, with private beach access) runs $300-500/night.

Practical notes: Come early (park opens at 7am) to avoid the midday heat and crowds. Bring reef-safe sunscreen (only biodegradable sunscreen is permitted in the park). The beaches within the park get very crowded on weekends and holidays. Store food inside closed bags or hard containers — the capuchin monkeys have learned to unzip backpacks and will steal anything edible (or many things not edible).

Tortuguero National Park, on Costa Rica's northern Caribbean coast, is one of the world's most important sea turtle nesting grounds. Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nest here in enormous numbers — the park recorded over 88,000 green turtle nests in 2022, making it the largest green turtle nesting site in the western hemisphere. Leatherback, hawksbill, and loggerhead turtles also nest here in smaller numbers. The experience of watching a 400-pound sea turtle haul herself up a beach at night, dig a nest with her flippers, and deposit 80-100 golf-ball-sized eggs before returning to the sea is quietly one of the most profound things available to travelers.

Timing: Green turtle nesting season runs July-October (peak August-September). Leatherback season is February-July (peak March-April). Nesting happens at night — guided night beach tours ($15-25/person) are the only permitted way to access the nesting beach and are tightly regulated: no white light, no flash photography, minimum 20-meter distance, maximum 15-person groups with one guide. The regulations work — Tortuguero's turtle population has grown significantly since protections were implemented in the 1970s.

Getting there: Tortuguero has no road access — it sits on a narrow land strip between the Caribbean Sea and a canal-and-river network. You arrive by boat or by small plane. The most common route from San José is a bus-and-boat combination through the banana plantation lowlands — about 5 hours total, cost around $35-50 each way including the boat section. Alternatively, fly with Nature Air to Tortuguero airstrip from San José ($130 each way, 40 minutes). Most visitors stay in lodges that arrange the entire transport.

Lodge accommodation: Most of Tortuguero's lodges are all-inclusive operations that arrange boat transfers, meals, and wildlife guides. Tortuguero Eco Lodge, Tortuga Lodge (owned by Costa Rica Expeditions, the gold standard), and Manatus Hotel are the most respected. Prices range from $120-300/person/night all-inclusive. Budget travelers can find guesthouses in Tortuguero village (the small Caribbean community at the edge of the park) for $20-50/night, but you'll need to arrange guides and meals separately.

Beyond turtles: The canals of Tortuguero are extraordinarily rich in wildlife — boat tours through the waterways reveal caimans, Jesus Christ lizards (green basilisks that run on water), poison dart frogs, howler and spider monkeys, river otters, and extraordinary birds including the keel-billed toucan. A two-hour canal wildlife tour from any lodge costs about $25-35/person and is among Costa Rica's best wildlife experiences.

The Nicoya Peninsula on Costa Rica's northern Pacific coast is the country's surf heartland — a 150km stretch of beaches facing the open Pacific that catches consistent swell from March through November, with world-class point and reef breaks mixed in with beach breaks for beginners. Tamarindo is the epicenter, but the peninsula has numerous beach towns with distinct characters worth exploring.

Tamarindo itself is Costa Rica's most developed beach town — a long crescent of golden sand with consistent waves, dozens of surf schools, restaurants, bars, and accommodation options from $10/night bunk beds to $300/night boutique hotels. visitcostarica.com's Nicoya Peninsula page covers beach options across the area. It's developed enough to have good medical care, excellent restaurants, and reliable WiFi, making it a popular base for longer stays. The town's surf school density is remarkable — on any morning, dozens of instructors are in the water simultaneously with students. Group lessons run $45-65 for 1.5-2 hours including board rental.

Witch's Rock (Roca Bruja) near Playa Naranjo is considered one of Costa Rica's best surf spots — a reef break that can produce perfect barrels on the right swell. Getting there requires a 4WD and a beach permit from the Santa Rosa National Park ranger station, or a boat tour from Tamarindo (about $90-120/person for a day trip). Not for beginners.

Nosara is Tamarindo's more laid-back neighbor, 30km south — less developed, more expensive, with a strong yoga and wellness culture that has attracted long-term expat residents. Playa Guiones is a wide, beautiful beach with consistent beginner-friendly waves. The jungle behind the beach is a wildlife refuge. Accommodation here is mostly boutique hotels and villas ($120-250/night) — no big resort chains.

Santa Teresa and Mal País on the southern tip of the peninsula are arguably Costa Rica's coolest beach communities — an unbroken stretch of Pacific beach with powerful waves, a dirt road main street, excellent restaurants, and a global mix of surfers, yogis, and digital nomads. The 4-hour drive from San José (or 30-minute puddle-jumper flight to Tambor, then 1.5-hour drive) keeps Santa Teresa more remote. Lunch at Koji's sushi restaurant ($20-30/person) or El Buen Sabor taqueria ($8-12) captures the town's range.

Getting there: The Nicoya Peninsula requires either driving the entire coastal road (possible in 4WD during dry season, not advisable in rainy season) or using the Puntarenas ferry to Paquera or Naranjo ($2-3/person, $15-20/car), which cuts drive time significantly. Flying to Tamarindo directly from San José on SANSA Airlines takes 45 minutes and costs $80-120 each way.

E.O. Wilson, the Harvard biologist, called the Osa Peninsula "the most biologically intense place on Earth." Corcovado National Park occupies most of the peninsula's southern half and protects the largest primary rainforest in Central America — a wilderness so remote and dense that it has been used as a proxy for what the entire region looked like before human settlement. Thirteen endangered species have significant populations here, including Baird's tapir, jaguar, giant anteater, harpy eagle, and all four Costa Rican sea turtle species.

Visiting Corcovado: Access is strictly controlled — you must enter with a certified guide, and daily visitor numbers are limited. There are three ranger stations: San Pedrillo (north), Sirena (the main station, deep in the forest), and La Leona (south). Most day visitors enter at La Leona via the beach walk from Carate, which involves crossing a river mouth (possible only at low tide) and walking 3-4 hours through beach and forest. Overnight stays at Sirena ranger station are possible ($40/night camping, meals $20-25 each) but require advance booking through the SINAC system and sell out months ahead.

Drake Bay is the main access point and gateway community on the Osa Peninsula's northern edge. The journey there is already an adventure — flights from San José land on a grass strip ($90-120 each way), or a 3-hour bus from San José to Palmar Norte plus a 2.5-hour boat ride. Lodges at Drake Bay — Las Caletas Lodge, Aguila de Osa Inn, Casa Corcovado — are mostly all-inclusive operations charging $200-500/person/night. The all-inclusive model makes sense here: you're extremely remote and there's nowhere else to eat.

Puerto Jiménez on the peninsula's eastern side is the more budget-friendly base, accessible by regular bus from San José (8 hours, $15) or a 40-minute flight. From Puerto Jiménez you can arrange day tours into Corcovado, dolphin watching on the Golfo Dulce (humpbacks and spinners are reliably present), kayaking mangroves, or sport fishing for Pacific sailfish and marlin.

Wildlife realism: Corcovado delivers extraordinary wildlife, but manage expectations. Jaguars exist here but seeing one in the wild requires extraordinary luck even with a week-long stay. What you will reliably see: scarlet macaws (abundant), capuchin and howler monkeys, white-lipped peccaries, coatis, agoutis, numerous frog species, and more bird species than you can realistically count. The forest itself — the sheer density of life in every square meter — is the experience, not just individual animal encounters.

Costa Rica's Caribbean coast — particularly the stretch south of Limón from Puerto Viejo de Talamanca to the Panamanian border — is culturally, visually, and atmospherically distinct from the Pacific coast. The vibe here is Afro-Caribbean: reggae and dancehall pulse from open-air bars, Caribbean creole cooking (rice and beans cooked in coconut milk, instead of the Pacific's gallo pinto) dominates menus, the pace slows considerably, and the forest comes right to the beach in a way that creates landscape combinations of extraordinary beauty.

Puerto Viejo town is a small, lively community that has developed enough tourism infrastructure to be comfortable while retaining genuine Caribbean character. The main street has hostels, juice bars, surf shops, reggae bars, and restaurants representing an unusual cultural mix — descendants of Jamaican banana workers, Bribri indigenous communities, and surfers and expats from dozens of countries. Budget accommodation runs $15-30/night dorm; guesthouses $45-80/night. Renting a bicycle ($5-10/day) is the primary way to get between beaches.

Playa Cocles, Playa Chiquita, and Punta Uva: South of Puerto Viejo, a succession of beaches along a 10km cycling/driving road offer some of Costa Rica's most beautiful Caribbean scenery. Playa Cocles has the best surf on this coast — a beach break that gets overhead on swells arriving from the east. Playa Chiquita is calmer and framed by jungle. Punta Uva has a curved bay with the clearest water on the coast and calm swimming. End of the road is Manzanillo, where the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge protects pristine reef and nesting turtle beach.

Cahuita National Park: Just north of Puerto Viejo, Cahuita protects one of the Caribbean coast's few remaining coral reefs. Snorkeling tours from Cahuita town run about $25/person and access Punta Cahuita's reef, where hawksbill turtles, parrotfish, and nurse sharks are commonly seen in 2-5 meters of water. The park's beach trail (free to enter, donation appreciated) runs 8km through coastal forest where troops of howler and white-faced capuchin monkeys are reliably present.

Bribri indigenous territory: The Bribri people inhabit the interior forests and rivers of the Talamanca mountains behind Puerto Viejo. Community-based tourism operations — particularly ATEC (Asociación Talamanqueña de Ecoturismo y Conservación) in Puerto Viejo — arrange guided visits to Bribri communities that include cacao harvesting (chocolate-making demonstration), traditional medicinal plant walks, and cooking with host families. Half-day tours run about $35-50/person. This is one of Costa Rica's best opportunities for genuine cultural exchange rather than performative tourism.

Costa Rica essentially invented adventure tourism as a recognizable industry — the combination of volcanic mountains, dramatic rivers, and diverse forest habitats creates a concentration of world-class activity options almost nowhere else can match.

Zip-lining: The original Sky Trek operation at Monteverde had 6 cables over the cloud forest canopy. Today Costa Rica has over 100 licensed canopy tour operators, ranging from genuine forest traverses to amusement-park-style cables. The best experiences:

• Turrialba/Siquirres area: Pacuare River Lodge's private zip lines and rappels into the river canyon are outstanding ($80-120 as part of a rafting package)
• Arenal area: Ecoglide and Sky Adventures both have cables with genuine volcano views. Sky Adventures also has an aerial tram ($55) for non-zip-liners.
• Monteverde: The original and still among the best for genuine cloud forest immersion. Sky Trek's cables include one 770-meter traverse over the treetops ($70).

Whitewater rafting: Costa Rica's rivers are extraordinary. The Pacuare River in the Caribbean watershed is widely considered one of the top 10 rafting rivers in the world — two days of continuous Class III-IV rapids through an untouched canyon with waterfalls, wildlife, and cloud forest above. Two-day/one-night Pacuare trips cost $300-450/person with lodge accommodation at the canyon camp. One-day Pacuare trips run $100-130/person. The Reventazón and Sarapiquí rivers near Arenal are good Class II-III options for families and less experienced paddlers ($50-80/person).

Canyoneering: Rappelling down waterfalls has become one of Costa Rica's most distinctive adventure experiences. Pure Trek Canyoning near La Fortuna has four rappels including a 45-meter drop into a pool at the base of a waterfall ($105/person). Desafío Adventure Company in La Fortuna runs similar programs.

Sportfishing: The Costa Rican Pacific coast offers world-class fishing for Pacific sailfish, marlin, roosterfish, mahi-mahi, and yellowfin tuna. Los Sueños Marina near Jacó and Quepos Marina are the main hubs. A full-day charter (4-8 anglers, captain and first mate included) runs $800-1,500 depending on boat size and season. December-April is peak sailfish season when average boats release 5-15 fish per day.

Bungee jumping and canyoning: Bungee at Colorado Bridge near Quepos ($75-85) is one of Central America's few permanent bridge-based bungee operations — a 79-meter jump over the Naranjo River gorge.

Costa Rica is the most visited country in Central America and has well-developed tourist infrastructure — but it's also significantly more expensive than its neighbors.

Costs: Costa Rica is not cheap. Expect to pay US prices or higher for lodges near national parks and in popular beach destinations. A mid-range daily budget (hostel/budget guesthouse, local food, 1 activity) runs $80-120/person. A comfortable independent traveler budget (private rooms at small hotels, mix of restaurants, guided activities) runs $150-250/person/day. The splurge lodge options (eco-lodge jungle pools, private beach villas, luxury hot spring resorts) push $400-800+/night.

Getting around: Renting a car is strongly recommended for exploring beyond the main tourist corridors. A standard 4WD (essential in rainy season and for anything off paved roads) runs $50-100/day from operators at the airport. Drive times are deceiving — Costa Rica's mountainous terrain and road conditions mean 100km often takes 2.5-3 hours. The National Bus system (TUASA, Pulmitan, TicaBus) is reliable for inter-city travel at $3-15 between major destinations. Active trip reports and recommendations from fellow travelers fill r/costarica and r/travel's Costa Rica threads. For the most remote areas (Osa, Tortuguero), combination bus-boat or flying is necessary.

Best seasons: December-April is the dry season on the Pacific coast and most popular with tourists — sunny days, little rain, access to all parks. May-November is green season (rainy season) — prices drop 20-40%, parks are less crowded, vegetation is lush, and rivers are high (great for rafting). The Caribbean coast's seasons are inverse — its "dry" season is February-April and July-August. The Caribbean has more unpredictable rainfall year-round.

Wildlife watching tips: Early morning (6-9am) is the best time for bird activity and before the day heats up for mammal activity. Many animals are active at dusk as well. Bring binoculars — they transform the experience. A field guide app (iNaturalist, Merlin for birds) turns every observation into an identification game. Hire certified naturalist guides whenever possible — they spot things you will miss.

Pura vida and etiquette: Ticos (Costa Ricans) are genuinely friendly and patient with tourists. The phrase pura vida is used as greeting, farewell, expression of thanks, and general affirmation — use it freely and it will be returned warmly. Tipping is common at restaurants (10-15% is standard and expected) and for guides ($10-20/person for a half-day tour is appropriate for good service).