Costa Rica Blog » Beaches and Cities

Tortuga Island

Nelson Sanchez — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:55:28 +0000

Tortuga Island in Costa Rica is a popular destination for tourists looking for something different. This one day tour requires travelers to be taken to the island via boat and offers numerous activities such as snorkeling and hiking. Because it is an island, it is not a busy place, and is ideal for those searching for peach along with a wonderful and educational nature experience.

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Zarcero

info — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:20:19 +0000

Cute little town located in the Central Valley in Costa Rica, about an hour out of San Jose. Zarcero is one of the most famous historical towns in Costa Rica, that continues to hold onto its customs and values. People are so friendly in the typical town. The church serves as the main draw in town because of its beautiful hedges. Each hedge bush is unique from the other, making it quite the site at night when they are all lit up for Christmas.

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Manuel Antonio

Nelson Sanchez — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:42:48 +0000

Manuel Antonio is one of the most visited places in Costa Rica. Manuel Antonio National Park is famous due to it being one of the only jungles with hiking trails located on the beach. Many monkeys call Manuel Antonio home, included the White Faced monkey. Tourists beware of those monkeys as they are famous for going through your bags while you are in the ocean. It is crusial you do not feed the monkeys as that endangers them. The is also a public beach next to the park, with all the things you normally see at a beach, such as vendors, coca cola advertisements and lots of people. That is why I love the park so much. You truly get to escape all of that noise.

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Punta Uva Beach

info — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:22:01 +0000

Punta Uva Beach, is in fact, one of the most beautiful beaches in the entire country. Punta Uva Beach has calm waters throughout making it ideal for those who want to relax and not have to deal with large waves all day, which is common at most beaches in Costa Rica. Punta Uva is located on the Atlantic Coast and is about 15 minutes from the well known beach town of Puerto Viejo. There is a great little bar/restaurant behind the beach with very reasonable prices. There is nothing like being able to drink a cold beer on the beach for less than $2.

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The Peace Tree

Nelson Sanchez — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:38:45 +0000

The peace tree located two hours from Arenal in the north of Costa is one of the country´s biggest trees. It was officially declared the peace tree in 2001 by the local community. A plaque commemorating the day can be seen in front of the tree. Experts claim the tree to be older than 200 years. It´s size makes it stand out over all of the other trees in the rainforest. For those interested in seeing this tree it is easiest to go to the Rio Celestre National Park. It is located about 10 minutes before the park´s entence.

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Rio Celeste

Patrick Brunelle — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:58:46 +0000

Rio Celestre was recently voted as one of the seven wonders of Costa Rica. The unique color is caused by special chemical reactions when two rivers combine to make the Celestre river. Access to this national park is not easy as most people drive two hours from Arenal to get there, followed by a two hour hike into the forest. Going with a guide is best as the trails can be quite complicated to follow and getting lost is a possibility. Hikers also need to beware of poisonous snakes and frogs that call the refuge home. One more small piece of advice, don’t go swimming. Researchers are still debating what the side effects could be of swimming in this water. Due to the high level of sulfur, it may be harmful to your health.

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Osa Peninsula

George Ellard — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:00:37 +0000

One of the less travelled destinations in Costa Rica among main stream tourism, but quite popular with Eco-tourists, the Osa Peninsula is truly the beauty of nature unabashed. Although it can be quite cumbersome to get to, the reward, once arrived, is immediately recognized. Here the nature seeker experiences sights and sounds of the jungle like few places in Costa Rica, not to mention complete and total seclusion from urban settings and a veritable indication of what life was once like in many more places in Costa Rica before the boom in tourism.
We recommend a trip of this nature and magnitude be planned with experts who know the region well and can organize it properly. Although, there are only few pre-made packages that take travellers here, this company will definitely customize a trip at the right price for you. www.costa-rica-travel-and-vacations.com

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Tamarindo Sunset

Patrick Brunelle — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:47:59 +0000

The nicest sunset I have seen is not here in Tamarindo, but it is none the less well worth watching. The sun sets at your feet if you find yourself lying on the beach. My personal favorite place to watch this magnificent sunset however is on top of any one of the numerous hills that you can drive up. Now many of those are blocked off by private entrances, but there are still a few open to the public.

The picture above was actually taken at a resident´s home. He was kind Canadian who decided to take us in when the three of us arrived in Tamarindo during holy week without a hotel reservation. This of course was during my first year in Costa Rica and I had yet to learn that this was the second busiest week in the calendar year for tourism. The three of us scrambled from hotel to hotel until a gentleman at the Mono Loco told us he knew a Canadian who sometimes took people in. I of course thought this was weird and asked him if this home was clean and safe? He answered that this was more than clean and safe, that it was actually an mansion sitting on top of the hill overlooking the entire Pacific Coast.

True to his word the address was in fact a mansion that words could not describe. The kind owner took us in under his roof and let us stay at his guest house for two nights.

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Drake Bay

info — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 01:22:55 +0000

Drake Bay is a sports fishing and scuba diving paradise. Located in the Osa Pinnisula on the Pacific side of Costa Rica, the Coastal town is as hard to get to as any other place in Costa Rica. Most tourist arrive by either boat or plane as the road is closed half of the year during the rainy season.

The water at Drake Bay is as clear as you can get. You can swim in the Ocean and see the details of the toes. There is a small community at Drake Bay of locals that depend almost entirely on tourism. Most hotels are on the high end range and cater to the wealthy, although there are a few options for those not traveling with a large budget.

Another major attraction is the relative proximity to Corcovado National Park, one of the most well known parks in all Costa Rica. There are endless hiking trails and full day tours are the best way to get to know the park.

Another popular activity is Coastal Kayak, as people can rent a kayak for a day for only $20 a person. One of the nice aspects of the kayaking is that you go against the current on your way out but get pushed back in on your way back. Special note to those thinking of doing activities near Drake Bay, make sure that you are in relatively good shape as you are far from any hospitals and qualified doctors.

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Costa Rica - Panama border

George Ellard — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:10:01 +0000

To cross the Costa Rican border to Panama on the Atlantic Coast is an adventure in itself. While heading out to Bocas del Toro in Panama, we came across this border straight out of a comic book. The most challenging part to the crossing was making sure my feet didn’t go through one of the countless gapping holes caused to a serious lack of necessary wooden boards. The second toughest part was staying calm while a huge semi passed and shook the bridge to the point some of us actually thought it might just fall into tiny pieces there and then. Once we got to the Panamanian side of the bridge we were just as surprised to see full fledge army personal with machine guns greeting us on the other side. It made me so happy to know I had chosen to call Costa Rica my home and not the other way around.

A quick tip to those crossing next: Do not accept any help from the people offering to help you with your bags and make sure to keep an eye on them the entire time. To get to Bocas del Toro you will need to take a taxi to the river taxi which should cost around $5 a person. The river taxi is the same price. You will need to pay for these transfers on the way back as well.

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