10 Things to do in Costa Rica for nature lovers
Whether it’s your first trip or your fifth, these are the ten destinations I think everyone needs to experience at least once.
1. Arenal Volcano & La Fortuna
Arenal is the postcard image of Costa Rica: a nearly perfect volcanic cone rising out of the rainforest. The town of La Fortuna sits at its base and makes the perfect home base for a few days. I spent my mornings hiking the old lava trails in Arenal Volcano National Park and my evenings soaking in natural hot springs heated by the volcano itself. If you only splurge on one thing in Costa Rica, make it an evening at one of the hot spring resorts — floating in warm water while the volcano looms in the background is pure magic.
2. Monteverde Cloud Forest
Driving up into Monteverde feels like entering another world. The air cools, the mist rolls in, and suddenly you’re walking across hanging bridges suspended above a forest dripping with moss and orchids. This is one of the best places on Earth to spot the resplendent quetzal, and even if the birds don’t cooperate, the cloud forest itself is unforgettable. Book a guided walk — the guides spot wildlife you would walk right past.
3. Manuel Antonio National Park
Manuel Antonio is Costa Rica’s smallest national park and also its most popular, and once you visit you’ll understand why. Rainforest trails spill directly onto white-sand beaches, and the wildlife density is unreal: sloths, capuchin monkeys, toucans, and iguanas practically pose for photos. Go early in the morning to beat the crowds and the heat, and keep your snacks zipped away — the monkeys and raccoons are professional thieves.
4. Rio Celeste & Tenorio Volcano National Park
You’ve probably seen photos of Rio Celeste’s impossibly blue water and assumed they were edited. They’re not. A chemical reaction between volcanic minerals turns the river a milky turquoise that looks straight out of a fantasy novel. The hike to the waterfall takes about 45 minutes each way through gorgeous rainforest, and the moment the falls come into view is one of my favorite travel memories, period. Go early and go in dry season if you can — heavy rain can turn the blue water murky.
5. Tamarindo & the Nicoya Peninsula
For surf towns, sunsets, and that laid-back beach lifestyle, head to Guanacaste’s gold coast. Tamarindo is the most developed and easiest for first-timers, with surf lessons, beach bars, and restaurants galore. If you want something quieter, keep going south to Playa Avellanas or all the way down the Nicoya Peninsula to Santa Teresa, where the vibe is yoga-and-smoothie-bowls and the sunsets are consistently the best I’ve seen anywhere.
6. Tortuguero National Park
Tortuguero, on the Caribbean coast, is often called Costa Rica’s Amazon — a network of jungle canals you explore by boat, accessible only by water or small plane. It’s famous for sea turtle nesting (July through October for green turtles), but the canal tours are spectacular year-round: caimans, river otters, herons, and howler monkeys line the waterways. Staying in a jungle lodge here feels like a proper adventure.
7. Puerto Viejo & the Caribbean Coast
The Caribbean side of Costa Rica has a completely different personality — Afro-Caribbean culture, reggae rhythms, coconut rice, and jungle-backed beaches like Punta Uva and Playa Chiquita that rank among the country’s most beautiful. Rent a bike and pedal the coastal road from Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo, stopping at whatever beach calls your name. Don’t miss the Jaguar Rescue Center, a wildlife sanctuary doing incredible work.
8. Corcovado National Park
National Geographic once called the Osa Peninsula “the most biologically intense place on Earth,” and Corcovado is its wild heart. This is the destination for serious nature lovers: scarlet macaws overhead, tapirs on the trails, and if you’re lucky, puma tracks in the mud. You’ll need a certified guide to enter the park, and getting there takes effort — which is exactly why it remains so pristine.
9. Poás Volcano
An easy day trip from San José, Poás is one of the most accessible active volcanoes in the world. A short walk from the visitor center brings you to the rim of a massive crater with a steaming, acid-green lake at the bottom. Go as early as possible — clouds usually roll in by mid-morning and swallow the view entirely. Pair it with a stop at the nearby La Paz Waterfall Gardens for an ideal day out of the city.
10. Uvita & the Whale’s Tail
Down on the southern Pacific coast, Uvita is home to one of nature’s best coincidences: a sandbar shaped exactly like a whale’s tail, in the very waters where humpback whales come to breed. Visit at low tide to walk out along the tail, and if you’re there between July and October (or December to March), take a whale watching tour — seeing a humpback breach with the rainforest coastline behind it is something you never forget.
Planning Your Trip
Costa Rica is small, but travel times are longer than the map suggests — those winding mountain roads are no joke. My advice: pick two or three regions rather than trying to see everything, rent a 4×4 if you’re driving, and build in slow days. Dry season runs roughly December through April, but the green season has its own magic (and fewer crowds). However you plan it, Costa Rica will exceed your expectations. Pura vida!
