The Best Things to Do in Costa Rica

I was walking through the Parque Nacional de Cahuita on the Caribbean coast one morning and this brilliant eyelash viper caught my eye from well off the trail. I have always wanted to see one of these unique snakes in the wild and now, after several trips to Central America, I got my chance. The snake stayed completely still accept for the occasional flicker of its tongue.

Irazú—70 minutes from the capital, in Cartago—is one of five active volcanoes in Costa Rica. The ride to the park is gorgeous in itself: You’ll pass farms whose cultivated fields and grazing livestock offer a bucolic scene, supplemented by great views of receding San José. Shrublands take over as the road draws closer to the volcano. The cloud-shrouded mountain boasts multiple craters, including one with a magical green lake; as Costa Rica’s highest volcano, Irazú offers glimpses of both the Atlantic and the Pacific on clear days.

Costa Rica’s largest archaeological find was uncovered in the late 1800s as laborers cleared land to plant coffee. The 540-acre site, believed to have once been home to 10,000 people, was abandoned before the Spaniards arrived. Its ancient residents left behind artifacts and relics that attest to major advances in civil engineering, notably aqueducts, paved streets, and sophisticated drainage systems, achievements that have led to the area’s designation as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Hiring a guide is recommended for understanding the site’s importance; it features several impressive monoliths, fascinating petroglyphs, and stone carvings that depict the jaguars and alligators that were central to indigenous belief systems.

Nature has blessed Costa Rica in its gorgeous landscapes, fertile fields, and a thousand other bucolic miracles. Río Celeste, for example, is like no other river in the world. This stream gets its sky-blue color from rocks along its bottom that are rich in silicon, oxygen, and aluminum, and when the sun strikes the murmuring waters, the color is sublime. Be sure to visit El Teñidero, the spot where two tributaries merge. Upstream from the nexus, the waters of both are clear, but when they meet at El Teñidero, their chemistry combines to make a very unusual hue. A one-mile hike leads to a pristine lagoon in similar shades and an overlook above the bluest waterfall you ever saw.

At this dairy outside Fraijanes, a one-of-a-kind bilingual tour opens a window onto local farming. The two-hour experience flies by, taking visitors from the milking stations all the way through the process that transforms milk from its raw form to its final near-perfect state as cheese. (Don’t worry: There are plenty of samples on offer at an on-site store.) Then the tour moves outside to the garden for a ride aboard the region’s gaily colored oxcarts that roll past the farm’s strawberry fields. Children, especially, will enjoy seeing all the bunnies, pigs, horses, and hens.

Hike up to El Arenal’s gray volcanic cone for a magnificent view of La Fortuna, one of Costa Rica’s most celebrated destinations. Locals and expats alike are mad for the area’s hot springs, fun locavore restaurants, irresistible bakeries (don’t miss testing the local favorite, a very volcanic chocolate cake), chic spas (volcanic mud treatments are the obvious choice), boutiques, galleries, and other delights. Excursions to surrounding places like Lake Arenal or the lush Botanical Garden, or to the famed hanging bridges through the region’s rain forests, merit a multiday stopover in this ecotourism hub. El Arenal is Costa Rica’s most active volcano. Though there hasn’t been any serious volcanic activity since 2010, the volcano regularly musters some steamy fumarole action.

The cultivation and export of coffee have shaped Costa Rica’s economy since the 19th century, when the world began to crave the country’s coffee varieties&nbspand their unique aromas, textures, and tastes. At the Vargas family’s Doka Estate, a sunny plantation, visitors learn more about their favorite vice: from crop varieties and seed germination to first harvests, ripe-bean collection, and eco-friendly cultivation techniques. Naturally the tour saves the best for last: Sample their famous Tres Generaciones brew, recognized in 2000 and 2001 as Costa Rica’s top cup of joe.

Known by indigenous peoples as Sibú Mountain—a sacred name that means “Creator of the Earth and Its People”—Poás Volcano, which soars to 8,885 feet, cannot fail to impress. The active volcano is a perennial favorite with locals and foreigners alike, an easy 34-mile drive from San José. In addition to the majestic peak (the crater of which is among the world’s largest), you’ll find enchanting jade-green lagoons and some of the best scenic outlooks anywhere in Central America. The park offers great access to visitors of all ages all the way to the summit, including travelers with disabilities.

This enchanting corner of Costa Rica, blessed with a superb climate, provides visitors with a chance to experience an ideal rural setting. If you’d like some action with your relaxation, you’re well positioned to hit local sights like Poás Volcano, as well as try camping, horseback riding, and trout fishing. Fraijanes Lagoon, set amid grasslands, forests, and strawberry fields, is particularly idyllic. There’s another attraction you may not associate with a rural setting: Good restaurants abound. Get up early to enjoy the sunrise and a cup of delicious coffee alongside warm bread and natilla, the local sour cream.

Famed as one of Heredia Province’s hidden jewels, San Rafael is a sleepy rural town that mixes luxury real estate and old-style farms with a host of other contemporary delights. Surrounded by verdant highlands and cypress trees, it is known for its scenic beauty, which is augmented by cool weather and bucolic charm. Among San Rafael’s charms is a wide variety of cozy, highland-style restaurants and inns and access to nature. Trails into the woods start right from town, including one that leads to Bosque de la Hoja, a park ideal for picnics—or a full-day’s outing—amid babbling brooks and a host of birdsong.

La Paz Waterfall Gardens is Costa Rica’s most-visited private nature reserve and animal sanctuary. While walking the park’s two miles of perfectly designed trails, you’ll happen on exhibits that showcase jungle cats, butterflies, monkeys, snakes, and frogs. The hummingbird park, home to every color of the diminutive birds, is particularly enchanting. La Paz’s five waterfalls are the main event. Suspended observation bridges were designed to offer breathtaking experiences, and allow you to snap pictures under the waterfalls themselves. Notably, all materials used in building the platforms and trails were carried in by foot to reduce negative environmental impact.

Jacó, first discovered by hard-core surfing enthusiasts, is now, thanks to Highway 27, the closest beach to San José. With buoyant nightlife and an ever more go-go real estate market, Jacó is much more than just its 2.5-mile shoreline. Swanky resorts and luxury apartments, galleries, and down-to-earth beachside shops create an active destination. National parks, waterfalls, and many more natural attractions are just minutes away from town, so day trips are easy. Seafood takes the starring role in local eateries; options range from white-tablecloth eateries to come-as-you-are ceviche shacks.

Monteverde, one of the world’s most celebrated wildlife refuges, also attracts humans in search of their own wild lives. Adrenaline bursts can be administered according to each visitor’s tastes. Airborne adventures include 2,460-foot zip-line rides with fantastic canyon and canopy views. The park also offers tree climbing, hikes along suspension bridges over old- and new-growth forests (in the company of expert guides), and the chance to get close to tarantulas, lizards, boas, and Costa Rica’s red-eyed frogs. Catch your breath—and breathtaking views of the jungle canopy—aboard cable-borne gondolas.

Wetlands everywhere are at risk due to global warming, and the private wildlife refuge known as El Viejo Wetlands was created to protect some of these ecosystems. Among the thrilling sights you’ll see on a boat tour of the refuge that will make you feel like you’re part of a nature documentary: crocodiles, exotic wading birds (like the huge jabiru, with its eight-foot wingspan), and fabulous amphibians. A visit to El Viejo merits the better part of a day and should definitely include a stop at an old-school sugar mill, as well as a delicious traditional buffet meal served in an old casona, a local style of wooden house with wide wraparound verandas.

The walls of the National Museum still bear the scars of cannonballs. The museum, formerly the Bellavista barracks, was where prisoners were jailed, in cells that can be visited by those interested in how prisons and dungeons worked. Less grim aspects of Costa Rica are explored here, too, including a complete wing on pre-Columbian history and indigenous gold; a national history section, with photos and objects dating from colonial times to independent, republican days; and an area devoted to the country’s natural setting, including a great butterfly garden. In addition to the prison, the building’s past is explored in the so-called Casas de los Comandantes—in use at the end of the 19th century and containing the era’s luxurious furnishings—as well as another scarred wall. This one is where a mace blow was struck to abolish the Costa Rican army, turning the nation into an official land of peace.

In an isolated corner of the Nicoya Peninsula, Playa Samara is one of Guanacaste’s most beautiful beaches, right at the spot where the five-hour drive from San José to the Pacific ends. As befits great shorelines, you’ll find top surf, boom-boom nightlife, and a winning small-town Costa Rica vibe that still seems like a secret, very worth the trouble it takes to get there. Pizza, burgers, and tacos fly beachside at Lo Que Hay; sexy, casual Microbar is ground zero for artisanal suds and flirt.

Hardcore surfers and those in quest of Endless Summer see an icon in “Witch’s Rock.” Legend says a sorceress used to inhabit the stone formation and maybe it’s black magic that makes the ride so great for surfers at all skill levels. Getting there is not half the fun; hire a guide and maybe pitch a tent in Playa Tamarindo or Playa Grande, then make your way to the witch near Playa Naranjo in Santa Rosa National Park. But you’ll get it once you’re there. Active year-round.