Things to do in Costa Rica (At the Coast)
If you are thinking about travelling to Costa Rica, or you’re a Tico and you have no idea what to do or where to go for your next holiday, read on and be inspired by the following three destinations. Don’t forget that Costa Rica is a small country but it’s beautiful and hugely diverse, and the perfect place for families and tourists.
In our previous blog we spoke about the things you can do if you aren’t near the beach, and so today we’re going to look at the things you can do on the rich sunny coasts of this amazing country.
META DATA DATA
StartFragment(Don’t forget to see the Spanish version of this blog if you’d like to see the translations of the various activities, landmarks, etc. mentioned here.)EndFragment
Limón: Our first province is located on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast and is known for its cultural diversity. Here you can visit places such as:
1. The Costa Rican Sloth Sanctuary:
Everyone loves sloths, and in Limón you can visit some of these cute creatures at their sanctuary. Opened in 1992, this place is responsible for rescuing and rehabilitating injured and abandoned sloths. There are two tours you can take to find out more about these amazing animals as well as having fun canoeing on the nearby river, where it’s possible to see other wildlife.
The sanctuary is located 10km before Cahuita if you’re travelling from Limón.
2. Tortuguero National Park:
Created with the intention of protecting the local flora and fauna, and for the purpose of conducting scientific research, this park is a sanctuary for turtles and is one of the main locations where green, baula and carey turtles spawn.
Take a bus and a boat to get to this location 80km north-east of Limón.
3. Isla Uvita:
Famous for being the first place that Christopher Columbus landed his ship in 1502, it was originally named “La Huerta”.
This small island is now a tourist destination, mainly for scuba diving.
It can be found just a short 3km ride from Puerto Limón
Puntarenas: On the other side of the country from the Caribbean, you can find the largest province in Costa Rica, Puntarenas. Here there are some of the cool things to try there:
1. Pacific Marine Park:
This is the only marine park in the country and a great place to learn about the variety of marine life that inhabits the coastlines and other places further out at sea. There are talks and workshops, as well as a swimming pool for children under 11.
The park is located in Paseo de los Turistas, in Puntarenas Town, 500 metres east of muelle de los cruceros.
2. Corcovado National Park:
Found in the south of the country, on the Osa Peninsula, this park covers an area of 42,570 hectares and is home to 2.5% of the known plant and animal species on the planet.In fact, the international media has called it the most biologically diverse place on Earth, with an estimated 150 species of mammals (Jaguars, Ocelots, Tapirs, Monkeys, etc.), 350 species of birds and 100 different types of reptile.
In order to get here, you can fly to Drake Bay or Puerto Jiménez, which are the two main park entrances. Alternately, you can take a bus from San Jose to Palmar Norte, then a taxi to a village called Sierpe and finally a boat to Drake Bay.
3. Montezuma:
Situated on the Nicoya Peninsula, you can find a lot of yoga centres where you can relax and “get in touch” with your inner-self while listening to the sound of gently crashing waves and local wildlife.You can also go on a walk to the nearby waterfalls, which are one of the main attractions here.
Getting to Montezuma is relatively easy by bus or car.
Guanacaste: Here we have another one of the biggest provinces in the country, which can be found in the northern part of Costa Rica. It’s well known for its beautiful white-sand beaches, tropical forests and volcanoes, not to mention its annexation when it became part of Costa Rica on 25th July 1824.
So, let’s see what there is to do besides visiting one of those beautiful beaches.
1. Rincón de la Vieja National Park:
One of the parks under protection in the "área de conservación de Guanacaste”, it’s home to two volcanoes, Rincón de la Vieja and Santa María.
One of the most amazing activities you can do here is actually experience this volcanic “world” and see boiling mud and water, as well as gas emanating from pools, right where you are.
There are two parts to the park, Las Pailas and Santa Maria, in which you can walk along different routes and see volcanic vents containing hot and cold water or go to the outlook point.
If you’d like to visit this park it’s best if you are in good shape as some of the hikes can be quite taxing.
Owing to the size of the park and the variety of paths that can be taken it’s best to check which entrance you need to go to in order to do the see the things you want to see.
Sector Las Pailas: From Liberia go 25km northwest and when you reach the Interamerican Highway go a further 5km north until you reach the town of Guadalupe. From there it’s another 20km along a gravel road to the park.
Sector Santa María: Go 25km northeast from La Victoria in Liberia.
2. Ponderosa Adventure Park:
Here we have a safari park that offers tours, and although you can’t see lions hunting, you can see a lot of other non-native species and even feed some of them - with carrots you buy at the park entrance. These include zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, oryx, etc.
In addition to experiencing the animals, the park also offers the chance to go quad biking, ride horses and zip line, not to mention that you can visit waterfalls and go on a kayaking tour.
Without doubt this is an excellent place for families to have fun together.
Go to El Salto, 10km from Liberia.
3. Santa Rosa National Park:
Home to mammals, such as coatis, coyotes and tapirs, this park is home to the famous Santa Rosa House, in which the Battle of Santa Rosa was “fought” (Juan Santamaria burnt the house down with people in it.) on 20th March 1856.This is a conservation area where you can find a “dry” forest, mangrove swamps and marine life, such as turtles.
Like in other places, you can go for walks, have a picnic or go camping. Also, if you want to relax, you can visit the two beautiful beaches of Nancite and Naranjo, better known as Witch Rock (“Roca Bruja”), which is an excellent place to surf.
The park is 25km north of Liberia.
We hope you find these suggestions useful and that you can have a wonderful time exploring every corner of the coastal provinces of Costa Rica!
