Experience the best of Costa Rica HIGHLIGHTS. Costa Rica ITINERARIES LOCAL EXPERTS. Discover EASY-TO-USE MAPS

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1 HIGHLIGHTS ITINERARIES EASY-TO-USE MAPS Discover Experience the best of LOCAL EXPERTS

2 Discover Contents I Throughout this book, we use these icons to highlight special recommendations: The Best Lists for everything from bars to wildlife to make sure you don t miss out Don t Miss A must-see don t go home until you ve been there Local experts reveal their top picks and secret highlights Detour Special places a little off the beaten track If you like Lesser-known alternatives to world-famous attractions These icons help you quickly identify reviews in the text and on the map: 1 Sights 5 Eating 6 Drinking 4 Sleeping 8 Information This edition written and researched by Nate Cavalieri Adam Skolnick, Wendy Yanagihara

3 Península de Nicoya # p105 Northern San José # p283 # p51#p77 Central Valley # p167 # p205 Caribbean Coast Central Pacific Coast # p241 Southern San José Highlights Museums & Theaters in San José Mercado Central Public Parks Plaza de la Cultura Escazú Los Yoses & San Pedro Central Valley Highlights Rafting in Turrialba Volcán Irazú Monumento Nacional Arqueológico Guayabo Barva Sarchí Cartago Northern Highlights Monteverde & Santa Elena Volcán Arenal La Fortuna Laguna de Arenal Volcán Tenorio La Virgen Santa Rosa Central Pacific Coast Highlights Manuel Antonio Area Dominical Carara Jacó Playa Hermosa Marino Ballena Kayaking in Dominical & Uvita Southern Highlights Hiking Southern Corcovado Hiking Beyond Bahía Drake Pavones Puerto Jiménez Los Quetzales Zancudo Caribbean Coast Highlights Manzanillo Tortuguero Puerto Viejo de Talamanca Salsa Brava Cahuita Rainforest Aerial Tram

4 Contents Plan Your Trip On the Road Península de Nicoya Highlights Surfing Península de Nicoya Montezuma Playa Sámara Playa Conchal Playa del Coco Playa Avellana & Playa Negra This is...6 Map...8 s Top 25 Experiences...10 s Top Itineraries...32 Month by Month What s New Get Inspired...47 Need to Know San José 51 Highlights Best Walking Tour San José Around San José...73 Central Valley 77 Highlights Best Itineraries Alajuela Volcán Poás Sarchí Los Ángeles Cloud Forest Adventure Park..93 Palmares...93 Heredia...93 Barva...95 Cartago...97 Volcán Irazú Valle de Orosi Tapantí-Macizo Cerro de la Muerte Turrialba Monumento Nacional Arqueológico Guayabo

5 Contents Northern 105 Highlights Best Itineraries La Fortuna & Around..118 Volcán Arenal El Castillo Laguna de Arenal Area Nuevo Arenal Nuevo Arenal to Tilarán Tilarán Monteverde & Santa Elena Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde Reserva Santa Elena Liberia Volcán Miravalles Area Rincón de la Vieja Volcán Tenorio Santa Rosa Llanos de Cortés La Virgen La Virgen to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí & Around South of Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí Península de Nicoya 167 Highlights Best Itineraries Playa del Coco Playa Brasilito Playa Conchal Playa Grande Marino Las Baulas de Guanacaste Playa Tamarindo Playas Avellana & Negra Nosara Area Playa Sámara Montezuma Reserva Natural Absoluta Cabo Blanco Mal País & Santa Teresa Central Pacific Coast 205 Highlights Best Itineraries Carara Jacó Playa Hermosa Quepos Quepos to Manuel Antonio Manuel Antonio & Around Hacienda Barú National Wildlife Refuge Dominical Uvita Marino Ballena Ojochal Area Southern 241 Highlights Best Itineraries Bahía Drake Bahía Drake to Corcovado Sierpe Puerto Jiménez Cabo Matapalo & Carate Corcovado Golfito Zancudo & Pavones...266

6 In Focus Survival Guide Parque Nacional Isla del Cocos San Isidro de El General San Gerardo de Rivas Chirripó San Gerardo de Dota..273 Los Quetzales Reserva Indígena Boruca San Vito Parque Internacional La Amistad Caribbean Coast 283 Highlights Best Itineraries Puerto Limón Moín Cariari Tortuguero Village Tortuguero Cahuita Cahuita Puerto Viejo de Talamanca Manzanillo Today History Family Travel Outdoors Tico Way of Life Landscapes Wildlife Guide Shopping Directory Accommodations Business Hours Climate Customs Regulations Discount Cards Electricity Food Gay & Lesbian Travelers Health Internet Access Legal Matters Money Safe Travel Telephone Time Tourist Information Travelers with Disabilities Visas Women Travelers Transport Getting There & Away Getting Around Language Behind the Scenes Index How to Use this Book Our Writers...384

7 This is If you have long sought a piece of tropical paradise, take a deep breath, youʼve found it. The perfect balance of adrenaline-addled adventure destination and unplugged tropical getaway, is a land of dormant volcanoes, desolate beaches and dense jungle. The canopies rustle with riotous troupes of white-faced monkeys, hillsides echo with the squawk of scarlet macaws and the trees along the trail are overburdened with the day s lunch of ripe star fruit. It might seem like a wondrous tropical fantasy land, but this is. has earned a rightful place in the cubicle daydreams of travelers around the world. Learn to surf in warm salt water and hike above the clouds; rush down white-water rivers and then hoist yourself up to a zip line to sail over jungle canopies. Sound good? Thatʼs only the beginning. is the preeminent eco- and adventure-tourism capital of Central America. With a world-class infrastructure, visionary sustainability initiatives and no standing army, is a green, peaceful jewel of the region. Taking into account that more than a third of the country enjoys some form of environmental protection and there s greater biodiversity than the USA and Europe combined, it s a country that earns the superlative descriptions. And though the breakneck pace of American-style modernization threatens to pave over the countryʼs cultural treasures, thereʼs still plenty of the laid-back, heart-stopping beauty of the so-called ʻOld ʼ. Then there are the people. ns, or Ticos as they call themselves, are largely proud of their little slice of paradise. They welcome guests into the easygoing rhythms of pura vida the pure life that is as much a catchy motto as it is an enduring mantra. It might seem like a wondrous tropical fantasy land, but this is. Red-eyed tree frog TOM BOYDEN / GETTY IMAGES 6

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