Costa Rica

Rotem Haskia
Apr 20, 2020
6 min read

Updated: Apr 22, 2020

One of the things that Costa Rica is most famous for is the amazing surfing beaches that offers some of the best tube waves in the world, but I want to share with you another side to this amazing country. Costa Rica has some very impressive green jungle to offer you but this green country captured my heart with what those amazing jungles holds within them. With every tour or walk in the nature you are guaranteed to spot so many animals from so many kinds and there are so many ways to explore those remarkable jungles and interact with the animals! You can take boat rides in the parks, hike in the jungles and around volcanoes, do some of the best ziplines in the world, visit wild animal sanctuaries and more!

San Jose

The capital and largest city of Costa Rica, San Jose provides a comfortable place to start the trip but one day here is more than enough since there is not much to see.

Where to sleep?

Barcelo San Jose: this amazing hotel was just perfects, first they upgraded us for free to an access to the free "fifth floor" that includes a 24 hours changing buffet and in it all the tasty snacks and finger food you can think of. Second, this hotel has an amazing spa to relax after the stressful flight and last but not least, the hotel reception staff were so kind and spent with us maybe 30 minutes and explained us all about the touristic activities in Costa Rica.

What to do?

Volcan Poas: in which you will see the main crater that is 290 mt deep and is active with small geysers, lava eruptions and constant smoke.

La Pas waterfall: the waterfall is visible from the road but If you want you can pay 22$ per person and enter the La Pas Gardens park where you'll see more waterfalls and a sanctuary for rescued animals from Costa Rica.

Shopping: the San Jose mall is a big one with all the biggest brand and is great for spending an afternoon.

Tortuguero

A Conservation Area, It contains a national park, several wildlife refuges and protected zones.

How to get here?

We drove 2.5 hours to Pavona where we took a one hour boat to Tortuguero. The boat to Tortuguero was an attraction itself, we spotted Iguanas, Caymans, impressive birds and a sloth. Tip: Don't ever take the public boat, it costs the same as the private one but the boats are in a really bad condition with no seats and we got stuck for 2 hours in the middle of the river under the sun.

What to do?

Night tour: the night tour starts at 18:30 pm, goes inside the village's small jungle and in it you can find night creatures like unique frogs, spiders, sloths, raccoons, snakes and more. On the way back we paid a little extra and went looking for sea turtles on the beach.

Tortuguero National Park: We opened the morning with an early canoe sail in the Tortuguero National Park where you can try your luck in spotting one of the many local wildlife and enjoy the peace of sailing in the calm water between the jungle views and noises.

San Francisco village: where we met the local people and walked by foot in the reserve. The walk is on a really organized trail and will take you to a beautiful viewpoint over the entire island and rivers through a lovely jungle with a lot of animals.

Morning adventure: sunrise by the beautiful black sanded beach and after it go on a walk around the village for spotting some more birds.

Where to eat?

Budha Caffe.
"Bistro" restaurant.

La Fortuna

A beautiful city underneath an impressive volcano that offers many activities like the famous hot springs of the area, volcano waking trails, pineapple/chocolate/coffee tours, canopy, waterfall and more.

What to do?

Tabacon hot springs: fancy hot springs that offers natural hot pools and beautiful waterfalls that reach to the heat of 38°in the middle of the jungle. Tip: Come here in the late afternoon to enjoy the views both in sunlight and in the dark.

The city's fair: takes place every weekend, visit for lovely firework show and dinner.
"Sloth Park": in the morning we took a 3 hours walk around "Sloth Park" park. Here you really should put in the extra dollars for a guide that will teach you so much about the animals, the history and will help you spot many of them- especially the sloths. You can also come here for a night tour that starts at 17:45 pm, offers different nocturnal animals that you can't see in the morning tour and with great trackers that find the animals in advanced it's really recommended.

La Fortuna Waterfall: a lovely park where you will walk 600 meters down in organized stairs to a 70-meter, impressive waterfall. Next to the waterfalls you will also find a small crystal clear blue pond with many fishes and a breathtaking jungle view.

At the beginning of the trail you will also find a small Orchid trail to see the many types of flowers and a butterfly trail for different types of beautiful butterflies.

Hike in Parque Nacional Volcan Tenorio: On the way to Monteverde we stopped at Parque Nacional Volcan Tenorio for a 5 km and 3 hours hike in a beautiful location beside the Tenorio volcano. The hike is not hard and goes in a lovely jungle between 5 different stops: a magical waterfall, a viewpoint over the volcanos, Laguna Azul (the blue lake), hot boiling water bubbling from the ground and to a meeting point of 3 rivers with 3 different colors- breathtaking!

Monteverde

Is a small community and ecotourism destinations with beautiful delicate parks, forests and the famous Kezel bird.

What to do?

Canopy: the zipline activity that Costa Rica is very famous for- especially Monteverde. In Monteverde you will find different Canopy options and for me this are the best two: 1. For adrenaline seekers I absolutely recommend "100% Aventure" that offers a 50$ pack with 10 ziplines one of them is the longest one in Latin America, 2 superman, Tarzan swing and more. 2. For the ones between you that are like me and care less about the adrenaline and prefer more views I absolutely recommend Selvature Park that offers in 50$ about 15 ziplines in and above the jungle, a Tarzan wing and I absolutely recommend paying the extra 10$ for the superman zipline. In the park you will also find a jungle bridges, butterfly gallery hummingbirds garden and lovely walking trails.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve: offers amazing trails in the forest to different viewpoints over the oceans, the forest and a waterfall. In the forest you can spot many wildlife but if you're lucky you will see the famous kezel bird.

Manuel Antonio

On the way to Manuel Antonio the road has many great stops. Our first stop was on a unique bridge with a spectacular view that underneath it you will be able to see many alligators. The bridge address: Carr Pacifica Fernandez Oreamuno, Provincia De Puntarenas.

You can also drive to Piora Vida Gardens for a lovely walk in botanic gardens with a view to the tallest waterfall in Costa Rica which you can also hike 4 hours to. From the parks you can drive 30 minutes more to Playa Blanca that is a beautiful white beach with many Iguanas and interesting birds from the area.

What to do?

Manuel Antonio park: one of Costa Rica's most famous national parks. Tip: the opening time is 07:00 but I highly advise you to arrive here around 06:30 since the line is extremely long and they only let the first 800 visitors to enter.

In this park you will walk in the forest in organized easy trails that takes you to breathtaking ocean viewpoints, waterfall and to the best beach I have ever been to. The parks has many breathtaking beaches but the most famous one and one of the most popular in Costa Rica itself is "Manuel Antonio beach". In this paradise you will find crystal blue water and white sand beach surrounded by the green huge jungle. From the jungle countless animals like monkeys, raccoons, coatis, agoutis and more will comes to explore the beach and to try to steal your things.

After having your fun with Manuel Antonio beach animals you can choose one of the other beaches to relax since they are just has beautiful and much more private.

Rainmaker park: a 2 hours trail in lovely trails that goes on tall beautiful rope bridges between the trees and also near a pastoral river. In this park you are more likely to find wildlife such as birds, frogs and snakes. Tip: In the river's waterfall you can also swim so bring a swimsuit.

Sunsets: it was like magic, I have seen some pretty sunsets in my life but this was something else. Every evening we went to the beach to watch the skies colored with intense colors, the water reflected the colors like a mirror and birds flew just like a scene a movie.

After amazing 11 days in the jungles of Costa Rica that combines nature, animals, beaches, adrenaline parks and a lot of fun I can absolutely recommend this destination as a perfect one for families and people at all ages.

For more pictures click here or search @Travel_Rotem on Instagram!