The answers to this question depend, of course on what you like to do, your budget, the specifics of your group, that is couple, honeymooners, family with children, singles, etc. and how long your trip will be. There is no end to the number and variety of outdoor activities that you can enjoy in Costa Rica. What you won’t find are museums or historic sites, ruins, and so forth.
As to the “where” by far most visitors are going to the NW Pacific coast these days. That’s where it’s really happening in terms of new hotels, tons of activities, the best weather, the most restaurants. But having said that, you might have other preferences.
The capital city of San Jose doesn’t have much for tourists. However if you’re flying in or out of that airport, you might want to spend a night after your arrival or before your departure. There are plenty of hotels including budget places such as The Hampton Inn right by the airport. I would recommend a lovely hotel, the Marriott San Jose, very near to the airport. You can easily check out their website. For convenience you can’t beat the Marriott and it is nice enough to be an experience by itself. I really enjoy staying there the night before my departure. I get rid of the rent-a-car the day before and just hang out at the hotel and have a great dinner.
The Caribbean is the least visited part of the country though there is great white-water rafting in that direction, east of San Jose. There is also a National Park, Parque Nacional de Tortuguero (turtles) north of Limon on the Caribbean side that can be reached only by water. I haven’t been there but it sound very nice. If you’re interested in a more rugged trip, tent platform accomodations, etc., going south to the Osa Penninsula would be the thing to check out.
The Central Pacific coast includes the towns of Jaco (Hacko) and the popular Manuel Antonio National Park. Jaco is not my favorite place but it is easy to reach and decent for surfing. The big Marriot Los Suenos resort is on the coast there and is very nice. It has the largest marina in the country.
The moutains northwest of San Jose include Lake Arenal and Volcan Arenal, one of the country’s five active volcanoes. The Volcan Arenal area, near the town of La Fortuna is popular. The hotels there tend toward the simpler side and are less expensive but quite nice. Volcan Arenal/Lake Arenal makes a good stopping off point if you want to see some countryside and drive from San Jose to the NW Pacific or vice-versa.
As mentioned earlier, most of the action is along the NW Pacific coast. The town of Tamarindo is a hopping surfers spot with over fifty restaurants, some really good, and more acitivites than you can imagine including surfing, diving, snorkeling, horseback riding, hiking, estuary tours, small casinos, rafting, sailing, sport fishing and on and on. Costa Rica is the sport fishing capital of the world.
From a base near Tamarindo or Flamingo you can take one-day trips to the mountains where you’ll find Rincon de la Vieja National Park with a full day of activities including zip lines through the canopy, a big long jungle waterslide, hiking in the moutains, horseback riding, hot spring pools. You can do this in a one day turnaround with a guided tour and get in all of the action or you could stay at the lodge there. It’s inexpensive and simple but nice. The Monte Verde Cloud Forest is another great one day trip, maybe with an overnight from the NW Pacific beaches.
Just before you get into Tamarindo there’s a ranger station on the right for an estuary tour by boat. It’s inexpensive, not too lengthy, and fun. You are sure to see monkeys, many birds, maybe a crocodile or two, and other interesting sights. The earlier in the morning that you go, the better for seeing critters. I think they start out around 6:00 am.
When visiting any of the National Parks, pay for the services of one of the official guides. They are government trained, speak good English, and carry high quality optical equipment to aid in viewing the flora and fauna. We’ve taken the hiking tour of Manuel Antonio National Park several times and saw all kinds of neat critters but if we’d just walked that trail on our own without the help of the guide, we wouldn’t have seen a thing. It’s about $20/person for the guide.
As to hotels, for the big fancy ones, check out The Marriott Hacienda Pinilla, The Westin Playa Conchal, The Four Seasons Papagayo. There are also many nice smaller properties. In the Tamarindo/Langosta area be sure to check out Hotel Capitan Suizo, a 45 room hotel right on the beach, and for real intimacy, check on Sueno del Mar in the Langosta section of Tamarindo. This delightful 6 room B&B sits right on the beach and is just wonderful. Also, particularly if you’re traveling with family, check on the many condo rentals. Just go on VRBO (Vacation rental by owner) and/or Trip Advisor or do a web search on “condos playa conchal” or “condos Flamingo” or “condos hacienda pinilla” and so on. You’ll end up dealing with a property manager who will have access to a number of fine homes and condos from 1 to 4 bedrooms or more.
Of course we’d love to have you stay at our wonderful condo at Reserva Conchal. We took a careful look at properties up and down the Pacific Coast and all over Tamarindo and Flamingo and the surrounding area. We chose Reserva Conchal and this condo.
Our Costa Rica Condo 