The Arenal volcano

View of conical Arenal Volcano from a lodge

The Arenal volcano is the most active in Costa Rica, towering nearly 5,500 feet above the picturesque green fields that surround it. Arenal’s beauty is dramatic, and it can frequently be seen spewing lava and clouds of billowing smoke high in the air. Not to worry; it is currently a safe volcano to visit, and has often laid dormant for hundreds of years. If there’s any danger, your tour operator will let you know.

Arenal sits in the middle of the spectacular Arenal Volcano National Park, which has many wonderful hiking trails and observation points. The park is about 60 miles from San Jose, but the roads are winding and slow, and the trip can take a few hours. Arrange for a guided tour, or book yourself into one of the many fabulous resorts in the area.

Whatever you do, plan to spend some time walking through the park’s wild beauty, visiting Lake Arenal and some of the region’s famous volcano-heated hot springs, many offering incredible views of the nearby volcano. Stay a day or two and go windsurfing or fishing on Lake Arenal, plan a whitewater rafting trip, or arrange a canopy tour of the rainforest.

The Poas volcano

Crater of Poas Volcano

Another popular destination is Poas Volcano National Park, which is a little closer to San Jose – this volcano is less than 50 miles away from the capital city.

Poas volcano has two craters, and is surrounded by dense and beautiful rainforest. A popular stop along hiking trails in this stunning national park is the Botos Lagoon, with its cool, deep blue mountain waters.

Poas has been erupting for thousands of years, and you still see steam rising from its smoldering craters when you visit. Another major attraction here is the incredible biodiversity around the volcano. It may be small, but this national park is home to four distinct microclimates, nearly 80 different species of birds, and mammals such as the Poas green-yellow squirrel, which is only found here. Don’t forget to stop at nearby La Paz waterfall for a photograph or two.

The Irazu volcano

One of the craters of Irazu Volcano

One more unique and dramatic site in Costa Rica is the Irazu volcano, which once showered San Jose and nearby towns with ash for nearly four years back in the 1960s. Luckily, it has been quiet ever since, and its slopes are now home to many family farms.

This volcano is only 30 miles drive east of San Jose. There’s a great hiking trail from the park entrance up to the summit, which offers a spectacular view. The summit of Irazu volcano is close to the tree line, but high enough to be above the clouds.  On a clear day you can see not only the crater, but if you’re lucky, you can see as far out as both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Costa Rica.

Costa Rica’s Tortuguero National Park

Nestled on the Caribbean coast in Limon Province, Costa Rica’s Tortuguero National Park is home to some of the most amazing canals on earth. The nearly 50,000 acres of protected forest and canals have an incredible diversity of wildlife and nature, with areas of rainforest, lagoons and swamps.

Several species of endangered sea turtles make their homes in these canals, including leatherbacks and loggerheads. Manatees live in the canals, as do crocodiles and caimans. In the trees along the canal banks, there are communities of spider monkeys, howler monkeys, frogs, parrots and toucans. There are more than 400 kinds of trees here, and more than 2,000 species of plants.

Scene along Costa Rica's canals

If you want to visit these spectacular canals, there are no roads into the area. Getting here is half the fun. You can only reach Tortuguero National Park by boat or by plane. However, there are many incredible tours and packages available that can bring you into and around one of the most important eco-systems in the Americas. Its nickname is the “Amazon of Costa Rica”.

Getting to Tortuguero by boat

Tortuguero boat tour

Your starting point is the coastal community of Puerto Limon, which is rapidly becoming a popular port of call for cruise ships visiting the Caribbean. Tortuguero park and its signature canals are just over three hours from Puerto Limon by boat.

On your way into the park, you travel up the Canal de Tortuguero, where the tall rainforest casts shadows across the narrow strips of water, and birds call at you from the dappled forest canopy.

Many of the tours here include a stay at one of the eco-lodges or hotels in the area. These facilities range from budget to luxury and you can find any kind of tour and accommodations to suit your needs. At night, you can fall asleep to the sounds of the jungle and the delicate rain.

Boat tours in Tortuguero

Cruising the canals of Tortuguero

During the day, you can take a boat tour on the massive network of canals, spotting the tropical birds, monkeys, crocodiles, and of course, turtles.  Tours on the canals use boats with silent motors, allowing you to get close to shore, and to the incredible wildlife, for the best pictures possible.

There is a 14-mile stretch of beach in the Tortuguero National Park which is one of the world’s most important nesting grounds for the Green Sea turtle. If you visit in July, August or September, you can come to the beaches here and watch thousands and thousands of turtles come ashore to lay their eggs in the sand.

Make sure you book your tour and hotel well in advance, particularly if you plan to visit in the height of turtle nesting season, because visits to Tortuguero’s canals are popular.

More fun in Tortuguero

Aside from getting up close and personal with an incredible variety of natural wonders, there is also a museum here, and a visitors’ center, not to mention many ways to spend your day on your tour, or at your lodge.

You can spend your time resting in a hammock, listening to the sounds of the jungle, or you can take advantage of many of the wonderful activities available here. Go hiking through the park, play beach volleyball, fish for tarpon and spend an afternoon sea-kayaking on the canals.

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One thing that will make your trip to Costa Rica more enjoyable is having the best travel clothes for the tropical location. Get ready, pack up, and enjoy your trip!
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If you’re planning a vacation to this paradise on earth, here are five tips for planning your trip to Costa Rica, so you can make the most of your time in this Eden.

Pack according to your itinerary

Yes, Costa Rica is a tropical paradise. It’s also a mountainous country, where volcanoes peek above the tree line, and it is entirely possible to get cold here. Keep in mind that when you travel across this lovely country, you could be visiting every kind of climate, from hot and humid jungle, to breezy beaches or chilly mountain slopes.

Rainforests - so named for a reason!

Review your itinerary, and determine which areas you’ll be visiting.  You’ll probably be spending time in tropical temperatures, but will you be visiting the mountains too?  Once you know your plans, figure out the best travel clothes to take, and pack accordingly. Of course you’ll want a swimsuit or two, but what about a sweater? And don’t forget to throw in a rain jacket, because rainforests are so-named for a good reason!

Make it an active vacation

Whether you learn to surf at Salsa Brava or plan a two-day hike through the Arenal Volcano National Park, this is a country that is best enjoyed outside. If you’re a seasoned adventurer, plan to shoot the white water rapids on Rio Turralba or try a zip line through the jungle canopy. If you’re looking for a more peaceful experience, take a nice gentle walk through one of the national parks, or learn how to snorkel at Playa Conchal and float among the colorful fish.

Bring a book about birds

Costa Rica may be a small country, but it has an incredible number of beautiful and colorful birds. There have been nearly 900 species spotted in this county, which is more than all the species of birds recorded in the United States and Canada combined. Bring along a bird guide and challenge yourself to see how many you can spot.

And don’t forget your binoculars!  You’ll get a much better view of birds, monkeys, and other wildlife if you have some binoculars handy.

Stay in an Eco-Lodge

Costa Rica practically invented eco-tourism, and has the world’s best reputation for protecting its delicate resources. While there is no shortage of five star resorts and world class hotels here, the real Costa Rica experience is found at one of the country’s spectacular eco-lodges deep in the forest. Falling asleep to the gentle sound of rain falling on leaves, croaking frogs and distant bird calls is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and should not be missed.

Baby turtle heading for the sea

By the way, just because it is eco-friendly doesn’t necessarily mean roughing it, if you don’t want to. Eco-lodges here range from the very basic to the ultra-luxurious, so there’s guaranteed to be one to suit your taste.

Experience one of nature’s true wonders

If you are planning to be in Costa Rica in July or August, you should spend the night on the beach in Tortuguero. For thousands of years, sea turtles have returned home to this region to lay their eggs.

You can watch in wonder as baby green turtles, baby giant leatherbacks, baby hawksbills and baby loggerhead turtles emerge from their sandy nests and make their way out into the surf for the very first time.  It’s an experience of a lifetime!

This ideal combination of climate and geography has helped Costa Rica become one of the most biologically diverse places on earth. Also, its long history of peace and stability has helped the country preserve that ecological legacy, so that today nearly one third of the country is protected and preserved for the benefit of the region’s wildlife.

That dedication to eco-tourism has made Costa Rica one of the best places to go on a bird-watching vacation. There are more than 800 species of birds living here, in every habitat from the beaches to the rainforest to the mountains. Here are five exotic birds of Costa Rica that are well worth traveling to see.

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  Bright and beautiful macaw

  The brightly colored Scarlet Macaw can be found in large numbers in the Carara National Park. The bird is mostly scarlet, with splashes of blue and yellow, and you can’t miss them as they make a lot of noise. Every day, flocks of the Scarlet Macaws commute from their roosts on the coast to the park and then back again, giving you a remarkable chance to see great clouds of these bright birds in flight.

• The Blue-Crowned Motmot is a beautiful black bird that nests in tunnels and can be found in the forests of Costa Rica. Distinctive for its greenish body, blue crown and tail, long tail and yellow or orange breast, the Motmot can be hard to see in the forest, but can be easily spotted in the Parque del Este in San José.
• On Costa Rica’s lakes, the fascinating Jacana (or Jesus bird) is a delight to find. It is a tropical wader found in many countries around the world, and its large feet give it the ability to walk on top of the vegetation that grows on the lakes, giving them the appearance of walking on water. The jacana can often be found in the Palo Verde Biological Station near San José, which is an important breeding ground for these and other wading birds.
• The Jabiru Stork is the tallest flying bird in all of Central and South America, standing up to 5 feet tall. It is hard to miss this large white bird, with the black head and neck, as it heavily tromps around on the ground, or flies powerfully through the air. The best place to find the Jabiru is the Caño Negro National Wildlife Refuge, which is a major nesting ground for many aquatic birds.
• Perhaps the most beautiful of all is the Resplendent Quetzal. Serious birders come to Costa Rica to see this gorgeous bird. This shimmering green bird with the red breast was worshipped by the ancient Mayans and Aztecs, and today, it is the national bird of Guatemala. While its colors are brilliant, it’s the two foot feathers that draw the gasps. Look for them near the dramatically named Cerro de la Muerte (Mountain of Death), or in the Monteverde cloud forest.

If you’re looking for one general area in which to see not one specific bird, but many different species, head to La Selva Biological Station, which is home to more than 300 different species of bird, making it one of the best places in Costa Rica for bird-watching.

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