{"id":34001,"date":"2020-03-20T08:14:25","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T12:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=34001"},"modified":"2020-09-02T06:25:48","modified_gmt":"2020-09-02T10:25:48","slug":"best-places-to-visit-in-costa-rica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/best-places-to-visit-in-costa-rica\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Places to Visit in Costa Rica"},"content":{"rendered":"

Best Places to Visit in Costa Rica<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This Central American country really doesn\u2019t get the credit it deserves. Costa Rica is nothing short of heaven on earth\u2014it\u2019s politically stable, economically prosperous, has plenty of natural beauty and is a popular retirement hub for expats from around the world. I\u2019ve gone to the place a few times myself and I have to say that it definitely tops my list of countries to visit throughout your lifetime.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve recently come to realize that people don\u2019t really know that much about Costa Rica, which is why there isn\u2019t as much tourist volume there as there should be\u2014which is a shame. So I decided to dedicate an entire post to the best places you can visit in Costa Rica and things you can do in each of these locations.<\/p>\n

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The Costa Rican Climate and Geography<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Anyone who\u2019s visited Costa Rica before will tell you that it seems like a lot of geographical versatility in the region<\/a>. If you look at the map, the country\u2019s got everything\u2014mountains, forests, white beaches and it\u2019s clear that before we ever discovered the place\u2014it went through a lot of cataclysmic changes. While the country\u2019s smaller than most states in the US, there\u2019s more variation in the landscape than you would expect\u2014rivers, waterfalls, volcanoes and <\/em>rolling plains.<\/p>\n

What I find the most pleasing about the country, is the way that the state has balanced out the urbanization with the surrounding natural beauty. When you go to places like San Jose, it\u2019ll become apparent that the Costa Ricans are immensely respectful toward the environment and have actually succeeded balancing urban development with environmental preservation.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s really amazing how the country\u2019s really pleasant throughout the year\u2014even though the monsoons are really intense. The average annual temperature in the country is a mild 27 degrees<\/a>, with bright sunshine during the months of March and November. If you\u2019re thinking of visiting, March is definitely the best time in the year to go\u2014but remember that this is peak season and the most expensive time to go.\u00a0 A lot of people choose to go in November because while the weather\u2019s pretty similar to that in March, but a lot of people don\u2019t visit the region during the time. Since people don\u2019t really visit hotels, food and travel don\u2019t cost much either.<\/p>\n

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The Best Places to Visit in Costa Rica<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There\u2019s literally no place that I wouldn\u2019t suggest that people visit because literally all the places in Costa Rica are immensely beautiful. Accordingly, I\u2019ll try to fit in as many places as I can to give you the most detailed possible guide on each location.<\/p>\n

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1. Puerto Viejo<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The city is located on the Caribbean side of the Costa Rican coast\u2014maybe it\u2019s for that reason the area reminds me so much of the Caribbean itself. You\u2019ll find plenty of white beaches, palm trees and relaxing vibes no matter when you go to Puerto Viejo. There\u2019s plenty to do here\u2014a lot of people just spend their time beach hopping, there\u2019s also a jaguar sanctuary there as well\u2014Gandaco-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge.<\/p>\n

One of the most famous tourist attractions in the region are the chocolate tours\u2014Puerto Viejo is filled with cacao trees. During these tours, they take you through cacao plantations and give you a detailed account of how these trees are grown, cared for and how chocolate is made from these plants.<\/p>\n

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2. Cahuita<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Cahuita is this really small town an hour\u2019s drive away from Puerto Viejo. It\u2019s located next to the Cahuita National Park, which is one of the largest wildlife preservations in the region\u2014you\u2019ll see all sorts of indigenous animals that you wouldn\u2019t see anywhere, including crocodiles, exotic species of monkeys, snakes and more.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of opportunities to go sightseeing, hiking and snorkeling. One really important detail that I think I should mention are the Afro-Caribbean influences in the region which you\u2019ll find in the food. So if you\u2019re in the region you should hit the restaurants as soon as possible for an unforgettable dining experience.<\/p>\n

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3. Corcovado<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Corcovado is one other place in Costa Rica that\u2019s retained much of its natural beauty. It\u2019s also where the Corcovado National Park\u2019s located\u2014it\u2019s basically just a small boat ride away from the mainland. There\u2019s a lot of marine life that you can see along the way\u2014if you\u2019re lucky you might even see a lot of whales breaking over the ocean surface along the coasts of the city.\u00a0 A lot of people spend the night in the jungles that surround the region too, to see all the animals that come out to roam around in the night.<\/p>\n

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4. Arenal<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Arenal is one of the many volcanoes that are spread around Costa Rica. Rising up to a magnificent 1670 meters above ground, the path up to Arenal\u2019s top is interspersed with hot springs, waterfalls and caves just ready to be explored. You can go river rafting, diving from waterfall and hiking throughout this strikingly beautiful area to get your fill of wonder at every step of the way.<\/p>\n

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5. Santa Teresa<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There\u2019s no other way to describe Santa Teresa other than calling it the hippie center of Costa Rica. The town is basically a haven for backpackers\u2014stretching down a single street that\u2019s filled with eateries, yoga centers and surf shops. People usually come here and don\u2019t leave because it\u2019s such a relaxing place to be in\u2014sometimes staying for years at a time.<\/p>\n

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In Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Costa Rica is a great place to visit if you\u2019re looking for some R&R.\u00a0 Considering the environment and how great the people are, I don\u2019t really question anyone who\u2019s decided to settle in the country for the indefinite future.\u00a0 Since the place has very low costs of living, has a thriving economy and is the most peaceful Central American country, there\u2019s little else anyone can ask for.<\/p>\n

Among its Latin and Central American neighbors, Costa Rica has consistently improved its tourism infrastructure to become a place where people from around the world can gather. When and if you ever think of going down south, you should definitely consider Costa Rica as the priority destination.<\/p>\n

I hope you enjoyed reading: Best Places to Visit in Costa Rica. If you are interested in Costa Rica, please reach out to our office HERE.<\/a> I would also like to offer you our FREE Country Guide<\/a>.\u00a0 There is just a ton of material here that you will love.\u00a0 I’m also including a few articles on Costa Rica that will help in your decision of whether to go there on vacation. Enjoy!<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Dive into Costa Rica\u2014A Cultural Guide to the Central American Paradise <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

8 Reasons to Retire to Costa Rica in 2020<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

17 Things You Might Not Know About Costa Rica <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

5 Things to Do in Costa Rica <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Best Places to Visit in Costa Rica This Central American country really doesn\u2019t get the credit it deserves. Costa Rica is nothing short of heaven on earth\u2014it\u2019s politically stable, economically prosperous, has plenty of natural beauty and is a popular retirement hub for expats from around the world. I\u2019ve gone to the place a few […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":678,"featured_media":34009,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[56,71,127,380,451],"yst_prominent_words":[7726,16228,19386,6515,7732,2346,2340,2444,2143,1793,2730,7629,25325,5920,2350,25328,2385,25326,25324,25327],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/ocean-4737433_1280.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34001"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/678"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34001"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40478,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34001\/revisions\/40478"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34001"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=34001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}