Costa Rica
Costa Rica packs volcanoes, cloud forest, rainforest and hot rivers into a country smaller than West Virginia, and the classic first trip splits neatly between two bases.
San José, the capital in the cool Central Valley, is where most visitors land, and it rewards a day or two more than its reputation suggests: a gilded 1897 opera house paid for by coffee, a museum of pre-Columbian gold hidden beneath Plaza de la Cultura, and easy day trips up to the steaming crater of Irazú or the waterfalls and rescued jaguars of La Paz Waterfall Gardens. Three hours north-west, La Fortuna sits at the foot of Arenal Volcano, a near-perfect cone that erupted without warning in 1968 and smoked for four decades afterwards. Today it is resting, and the town around it has become the adventure capital of the country, with old lava-flow trails to hike, a seventy-metre waterfall to swim beneath, hanging bridges through the rainforest canopy, ziplines over the treetops and natural hot springs to soak in after dark. A full day further out, the impossibly blue Río Celeste rewards a muddy hike. This guide shows what to book, what each experience is really like, how to split your days between the capital and the volcano, and where to stay, from a hot-springs resort with a private wildlife sanctuary to a historic hotel facing the National Theatre.
Pre-Columbian Gold Museum (Museos del Banco Central)
A dazzling underground museum beneath Plaza de la Cultura, run by the Central Bank, where frogs, eagles, jaguars and shamans cast in gold by the region’s ancient peoples glitter in darkened galleries.
National Theatre of Costa Rica (Teatro Nacional)
San José’s gilded opera house, opened in 1897 and paid for by the coffee boom, with marble stairs, painted ceilings and a velvet auditorium you can explore on a guided visit in English or Spanish.
Arenal Volcano National Park Guided Hike
A small-group guided hike across the old lava flows and rainforest at the foot of Arenal Volcano, the perfect cone that dominates La Fortuna, with a naturalist pointing out wildlife and the story of the 1968 eruption.
La Fortuna Waterfall (Catarata Río Fortuna)
A single ribbon of white water dropping roughly seventy metres into a jungle pool just outside town, reached by about five hundred steps down through the rainforest, with a river below for a cold swim.
A small-group guided hike across the old lava flows and rainforest at the foot of Arenal Volcano, the perfect cone that dominates La Fortuna, with a naturalist pointing out wildlife and the story of the 1968 eruption.
A single ribbon of white water dropping roughly seventy metres into a jungle pool just outside town, reached by about five hundred steps down through the rainforest, with a river below for a cold swim.
A self-guided rainforest loop of fixed and hanging bridges strung through the canopy near Lake Arenal, with a waterfall, volcano views and the best chance in the region to look a toucan in the eye.
The most famous hot springs in Costa Rica: a volcano-heated river tumbling through landscaped rainforest gardens into waterfalls and natural pools, with a luxury spa and resort wrapped around it.
Ride an aerial tram up through the rainforest to a viewpoint over Lake Arenal and the volcano, then fly back down on seven zipline cables over the canopy, with certified gear and a guide.
A full-day trip from La Fortuna to Tenorio Volcano National Park, where a guided rainforest hike leads to a waterfall of startling sky-blue water and the spot where two clear rivers meet and turn turquoise.
A full-day trip from San José to the summit craters of Irazú, the country’s highest active volcano, with stops at the great basilica of Cartago and the coffee-covered Orosi Valley, plus lunch by Lake Cachí.
A cloud-forest nature park on the slopes north of San José, with five waterfalls along forest trails, rescued jaguars and pumas, a butterfly observatory and hummingbird gardens, visited on a small-group day trip.
A dazzling underground museum beneath Plaza de la Cultura, run by the Central Bank, where frogs, eagles, jaguars and shamans cast in gold by the region’s ancient peoples glitter in darkened galleries.
San José’s gilded opera house, opened in 1897 and paid for by the coffee boom, with marble stairs, painted ceilings and a velvet auditorium you can explore on a guided visit in English or Spanish.
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
Arenal Volcano (outside La Fortuna)
A five-star hot-springs resort on a ridge facing Arenal Volcano, with more than a dozen thermal pools, five restaurants, a large spa and its own river adventure centre and wildlife sanctuary.
Rates on Expedia →Arenal Volcano Road (west of La Fortuna)
A four-star resort on the road between La Fortuna and the volcano, with natural hot springs, two pools with swim-up bars, a spa, free breakfast and rooms whose terraces look straight at Arenal.
Rates on Expedia →Paseo Colón (west San José)
A tropical Victorian mansion in western San José turned into the capital’s most celebrated boutique hotel, with a garden courtyard, rooftop hot tubs and an award-winning French-Mediterranean restaurant.
Rates on Expedia →Plaza de la Cultura (downtown San José)
San José’s grand old hotel, restored as part of Hilton’s Curio Collection, standing on Plaza de la Cultura a two-minute walk from the National Theatre and the Gold Museum.
Rates on Expedia →
$$Avenida Central (downtown San José)
A good-value, family-run city hotel on the Avenida Central pedestrian boulevard, a two-minute walk from the National Theatre, with a rooftop terrace bar, free parking and a story that goes back to a Kennedy visit.
Rates on Expedia →The practical primer for a first trip to Costa Rica’s classic pairing of San José and La Fortuna: what to book ahead, how to get between them, how many days you need and where the headline sights fit.
Where to stay on a San José and Arenal trip: downtown San José or Paseo Colón in the capital, and hot-springs resorts or the volcano road around La Fortuna, with the best hotel for each.
