Costa Rica has some of the most biodiverse landscapes on the planet. This Central American tropical beauty boasts cloud forests, rainforests, waterfalls, volcanoes, and extensive rivers and coastlines that hug the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, each offering a unique and enchanting experience. With protected national parks accounting for over 25% of the country, Costa Rica is a shining example of a nation committed to sustainability, renewable energy, and eco-tourism.
With its ethos of slowing down to appreciate everyday living embodied in the country’s slogan of Pura Vida (Pure Life), Costa Rica is a top choice for those seeking a vacation home where you can unplug from stressful lifestyles, regain precious life balance, and enjoy living harmoniously with nature while being able to explore freely, and for longer.
The best time to visit Costa Rica is year-round, with its unique microclimate offering things to do at each change of season. Getting there is effortless with non-stop flights from London and multiple locations in Europe, the US, and Canada, throughout the year, offering an unforgettable location within easy reach.
Costa Rica is a rainbow of color, from the scarlet macaws to the iridescent hues of the quetzals’ green and red feathers nestled in the cloud forests. The toucans high up in the rainforest canopies delight with their bright and unmistakable colored beaks. Listen to the sound of the trees where howler and capuchin monkeys energetically play alongside the often-sleeping sloths. It is easy to see why Costa Rica regularly features in the happiness and wellbeing indexes.
Costa Rica boasts both Caribbean and Pacific coastlines, 800 miles of them! So whether you love the adrenaline rush of catching the waves at surf-heaven Santa Teresa Beach in Puntarenas on the Pacific side, or lounging beneath a tropical palm tree at Playa Blanca, where the Caribbean shines through, you’ll be spoilt for choice. Go underwater with a guided snorkel to the spectacular coral reef inside the Cahuita National Park, teeming with over 120 different fish species.
Back on land, Costa Rica is a hiker’s paradise, with around 30 national parks. Get up close and personal with the rainforest inhabitants at Manuel Antonia National Park, where you can also enjoy a zipline or wander the tranquil butterfly gardens. Soak up the mineral-rich hot springs near the Arenal Volcano National Park, after a guided hiking tour with panoramic views over Lake Arenal. And see the magical Humpback whales at Marino Ballena National Park (National Whale Park), which is also home to the most incredible natural wonder at Ballena Bay, where the peninsula looks like the shape of a whale tail.
If the sound of thundering water cascading down through the rocks is your kind of meditation, then nearby La Fortuna Waterfall, which drops into a clear pool where you can swim, and Catarata Del Toro, a 90-meter cascade tumbling down into a volcanic crater, are perhaps the two most dramatic. The endless activities and beauty of Costa Rica will leave you amazed.
The Costa Ricans (Ticos) enjoy a diet abundant in freshly grown produce. A few popular dishes you’ll see on the menus include the national dish, Gallo Pinto, a breakfast dish of rice and black beans mixed with red peppers, onions, and chopped cilantro, and often served with eggs, plantains, and the local sour cream called natilla, and some tangy Salsa Lizano sauce. Plantain comes from the banana family, hence its similar-looking shape, but they are larger and less sweet, often cooked when green, and make a delicious side to many Costa Rican dishes.
Next up are Casados, typically served at lunch and containing the staples once more of rice and beans (but served separately) and a salad, plantain, and comes with a protein choice generally of meat or fish. Ceviche is a popular roadside snack or restaurant appetizer typically made with fish or shrimp, lime juice, cilantro, onion, chopped bell peppers, and ginger with a chili pepper for heat. If you prefer your fish cooked, then the choice is abundant from grilled red snapper (Pargo Rojo), mahi mahi, and the best garlic shrimp called Camarones al Ajilo.
Let’s talk fruit. Papaya, pineapple, mango, guanábana, and maracuyá (passionfruit) will give you your vitamin C boost and can be enjoyed across Costa Rica, served in platters or smoothies. Sweet desserts include Arroz Con Leche, a rice pudding made with condensed milk, raisins, and cinnamon. Again with the same milk, the Costa Rican Tres Leches sponge cake is rich and satisfying, often topped with more cream. Don’t worry, Costa Rica offers endless exploring and activities for you to burn off those extra calories!
Currency rates obtained from Yahoo Finance. While we strive to provide accurate information, we cannot guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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