After living in Costa Rica for 2.5 years, I feel like I can confidently talk about the country.
I know this country better than my own (The US). I know it better than the state I was born in (Ohio) and the state I am currently living in (Utah).
Costa Rica is only about 20% of the size of Utah, and I got to KNOW almost every inch of that country. It actually helped to live there during the pandemic. So much was closed down, that we got really creative with getting out, exploring, and finding ways to still LIVE.
I’m not your typical tourist. I don’t stick to the “tourist trail” or the all-inclusive resorts.
I hung with the locals, drove to the most remote locations, hiked active volcanoes, learned the language and had some of the best years of my entire life while living there.
Though some of my favorite places ended up being some of the most popular, some other ones you won’t read about too much on Google.
I’m not going to share ALL of my favorite places. There are places that should be kept secret and not destroyed by tourism.
At the end of the day, it’s one of my favorite countries in the entire world. I miss it every day.
I am going to write about six of my favorite places in no particular order.
As much as I want this to be a helpful resource for friends/family who hope to travel to this country, it is also a space where I hope to preserve some of the best memories of my life.
Some of these locations are special because of the people I met, the specific and unique moments that I had there, or irreplaceable experiences that changed my life.
This post could get extremely long if I listed out every single activity possible to do in every area, or included all of the information in specifics.
Rather than do that, I have chosen to outline basic information about my favorite information, include some of my favorite pictures, and hope that gives you enough of a taste to decide if one of these is a place you would like to visit!
This post will never to justice to this country. There were too many experiences there to even be able to express. And they were experiences. Moments that changed me. People that changed me. I’ll always be grateful that we had the opportunity to feel and experience this country.
1) La Fortuna
La Fortuna is probably the number one place I would recommend to any single person that wants to visit Costa Rica.
Besides the beach, La Fortuna has it all. It is the “adventure capital” of Costa Rica.
It is a bright, colorful, lush and exciting town that is literally centered around an active volcano (the only cone volcano in Costa Rica).
You can find rafting, chocolate and coffee tours, zip lining, hiking, the best hot springs in the country, local eats, waterfalls, butterfly farms, an active volcano, a giant lake, hanging bridges, wild animals and more.
The special and unique thing about La Fortuna is that it is extremely touristy (meaning you can find all of the accomodations and ranges of food needs), but it is also an extremely local place.
The main downtown area of this little town is jam-packed with vendors selling all of the activities you could dream of, but outside of this small area, the town is quiet and filled with locals going about their daily life.
I feel like I could talk forever about La Fortuna. I have a special relationship with this place, where I left a part of me when we left Costa Rica.
It’s the place I hiked my first active volcano.
It’s the only place where I stayed at the same hotel multiple times because it was THAT GOOD!
It’s the place I spent much of the first year of Covid, driving around the lake, watching the sunset, finding random places to hike that weren’t closed down, etc.
It’s the place where my son (3 years old at the time) almost lost his life in a river and was saved by a local teenager.
It’s the place where I took every single visitor that came to visit us in Costa Rica.
Favorite Restaurant: Red Frog Coffee Roasters
Favorite Accommodations: Cabanas del Rio
Favorite Activities: Summiting Arenal Volcano, Baldi Hot Springs, Arenal Observatory hiking, zip lining at Sky Adventures Arenal Park, Barra Honda Caves
Hidden Gem: El Salto rope swing,
2) Puerto Viejo
Puerto Viejo is known as the “Caribbean part” of Costa Rica. It has totally different vibes from the rest of the country and I AM OBSESSED with this place!
If you want Caribbean food, chill vibes, access to the Panama border, some of the most rugged and beautiful beaches, and a local party scene, this is your place.
This is NOT your place if you are needing reliable internet, want an all-inclusive resort, or developed roads.
I’m not going to lie, I was offered cocaine several times when I was in Puerto Viejo.
It is not known as the SAFEST location in Costa Rica. It tends to be ignored by the government, while most of the money and attention goes to the Guanacaste peninsula, where the best resorts and most “gringos” are.
But I never felt unsafe there, and I never had any problems. Like most places, if you are smart and don’t put yourself in any bad situations, you shouldn’t have any problems.
I love Puerto Viejo because it feels “authentic”.
I love the chill vibes. I love that it is full of people who want to escape the hustle and bustle of city life.
I love that it is not overrun with resorts, gas guzzling transportation vans, or noisy construction tearing down the amazing jungles.
I love that the beaches are rugged and wild and they are filled with local surfers who spend their days trying to catch the best waves.
I love the food. I love the weather. I love the turquoise water. I love how time stands still here because lifestyle is about “savoring the moment” and “taking it slow”.
Puerto Viejo is a great place if you want to access Panama. In fact, you can take a bus or walk right across the border, and then jump onto a water taxi to take you to some pretty awesome islands.
It is a great place if you are a budget backpacker. There are places for camping and super cheap hostels right along the beach.
Puerto Viejo is probably most known (besides its Caribbean vibes and surfing) for the bike riding. You can rent a bike at a number of shops and cruise along the one main road that connects all of the beaches in that area. These are not mountain bikes. They are rusty beach cruisers with a lot of miles on them haha.
Favorite Restaurant: Chile Rojo
Favorite Accommodations: Airbnb or camping
Favorite Activities: snorkeling at Cocles, Cahuita National Park, cross the border to Panama and Bocas del Toro, Jaguar Rescue Center, kayaking at Punta Uva, biking along the road that connects Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo, Mirador Manzanillo
Hidden Gem: Punta Uva Arch, Manzanillo Point and cave
3) Bajos del Toro
Bajos del Toro is a teeny tiny town at the base of a very large and remote national park in Costa Rica, in the Alajuela province.
I honestly don’t love sharing about this place because I hate when tourists overrun areas, especially just to run and snap pictures for social media and this place is THE BEST!!!!
That said, it is very probable that most people still won’t make it to this area (even after reading this) because it is off the beaten path, the roads around the area are terrible, and there is not much established tourism/infrastructure here.
I didn’t know about Bajos until I had been living in Costa Rica for a while.
I call it the “land of a thousand waterfalls” and the land of “blue water”.
There are SO MANY cool waterfalls in this area. There are so many rivers to explore, and so much adventure to be had.
Illegally hiking active volcanoes was something that I got into while I lived in Costa Rica, and one of my favorite volcanoes sits in this town.
It’s a hard hike but the views for sunrise are some of the best I have ever seen in my life.
This area is pretty remote and takes a while to get to from the San Jose area, but can be done in a day trip. There are practically no accommodations here. Whenever I have gone, I have met up with locals.
One of my favorite activities to do is canyoneering. You can rappel down extremely tall waterfalls and wade through the ice cold blue water.
Favorite Restaurant: Restaurante Tipico Toro Amarillo
Favorite Accommodations: Camping
Favorite Activities: Blue Falls hike, canyoning with Pure Canyoning Costa Rica, summit Poas volcano, visit all of the waterfalls (I am not sharing my favorite ones!)
Hidden Gem(s): You can fish for your own trout and eat it at Pesca de Truchas Nene. Quebrada Gata is one of my favorite waterfalls in all of Costa Rica. You hike through the river for a few hours to get there.
4) Turrialba
Turrialba is another place that most people would probably not have on their radar for “favorite places in Costa Rica”.
It is a non-touristy town that is part of the slow-paced Cartago province.
But it is green and lush. There are rolling hills, misty mountains, and a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.
If you are looking for a touristy hangout or a place to meet other travelers, this is not for you.
If you are looking for some of the lushest views and best rafting in the world, THIS IS YOUR PLACE!
As I mentioned earlier, this post is not written with the intention of tailoring the content to a specific audience. I am genuinely writing about my favorite places in Costa Rica. I don’t think these will be everyone’s favorite places.
Most people head to Guanacaste, Manuel Antonio, Monteverde and La Fortuna.
But I have chosen these places because they left a special mark on me. And I want to pay tribute to that!
Turriabla is a very quiet town that is very local and doesn’t have much going on.
But it has access to one of my favorite rafting rivers in the world – The Pacuare river.
This river is world famous and claimed by National Geographic to be one of the top rivers for rafting in the world.
Some areas are class 4 rapids and while it is an adrenaline rush, it is just as famous for the incredible scenery that surrounds the river.
If you are looking for something a little calmer, the Pejibaye river is a lot calmer and has smaller rapids. It is a great place to do beginner rafting, or to learn how to white water kayak.
There are several companies that offer tours of the Pacuare river. Some of them are overnight and some of them are just one day.
My favorite company is owned by a local family, called Traviesas Naturales.
Canyoneering is also another popular local sport here. IT IS A RUSH.
Favorite Restaurant: NA
Favorite Accommodations: Hotel Pacuare (friends of mine)
Favorite Activities: summit Turrialba volcano (illegal-extremely active), overnight raft or day raft Pacuare river, raft or kayak Pejibaye river, waterfalls Aquiares and La Muralla
Hidden Gem: this is the best place in Costa Rica to find a good viewpoint, chat with some locals and drink agua dulce (a hot drink of brown sugar and water)
5) Corcovado
Corcovado SHOULD be on everyone’s lists of favorite places in Costa Rica, but it is so remote that most people never make it here.
If you don’t like hard-to-get-to remote places, this is not for you.
If you like getting off the beaten path, and love unique animals in their natural habitat, THIS place is for you!
There really are no words to explain how amazing this park is. It is hands down the coolest national park in Costa Rica, in my opinion.
Never in my life have I felt more like I was in a real-life National Geographic episode.
National Geographic once labeled Corcovado as the most bio-diverse place on earth. It is one of the largest and most remote parks in Costa Rica.
It is also home to one of the largest primary rainforests on the Pacific coastline.
How cool is a national park that has wild beaches, the ocean full of breeching humpback whales, pumas roaming the jungle floors and monkeys swinging from the vines above?
When I say it is remote, it really is remote.
We drove, took a boat, took another boat, then hiked in.
It was an actual life-changing experience. I wish more authentic and unique places like this existed in the world.
Actually, they do exist. I just need to visit them.
We swam in a river with the most poisonous snake in Costa Rica (which was an accident. We didn’t know until we got out haha).
We saw dozens of monkeys, and even a puma eat a baby monkey.
We saw the rare tapir and hundreds of birds and other reptiles and insects.
All in their natural habitat!
Then we slept in mosquito nets in a cabin without electricity under more stars than I have almost ever seen in my life.
I’ll never forget Corcovado.
These are just 5 places of the hundreds of amazing locations in Costa Rica. Bijagua, Bigaces, Liberia, Sarapiqui, Guapiles, Cauhita, Tortuga National Park… There are dozens more of places I could write about.
It would take a lifetime to record every life-changing memory that I had while living there.
Costa Rica changed me. And nothing I ever write or say or draw or share will be able to put it into words. It taught me how to LIVE.