8 Adventurous Things to Do in Costa Rica
For such a small country, Costa Rica packs quite a punch. With jungles, beaches, volcanoes, and hidden waterfalls, there’s no shortage of adventurous things to do in Costa Rica.
If you’re just starting on your journey of researching and learning about all the incredible things to do in Costa Rica, it can be a bit overwhelming! If you only have a limited time to spend, it can be hard to figure out what to do. This article is a good place to start to help you figure out your priorities and nail down your must-do’s in Costa Rica.
In this article, we’ll share some of the best things to do in Costa Rica for the adventurous traveler, from hunting waterfalls, to spotting sloths, to zipping over the forest, and much more!
So, let’s get to it!
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Hunt for waterfalls
Everyone loves a good waterfall, but in Costa Rica, the waterfalls are on a whole other level. They have that tropical jungle feel with some of the bluest water we’ve ever seen!
When you visit Costa Rica, we recommended checking off at least one or two waterfalls. Some to consider include:
Fortuna Falls – located just outside of La Fortuna, requiring a short hike down a set of 500 stairs.
Nauyaca Falls – a popular location just outside of Dominical. You can hike here or get a guided truck or horseback tour and swim at the pool beneath these falls for a perfect hot weather activity.
The Blue Falls of Bajos del Toro – these are a series of off-the-beaten path waterfalls in Bajos del Toro, each more blue than the next!
If you’re looking for a few more ideas, check out our article on some of the best waterfalls in Costa Rica.
Visit a National Park
With all of beautiful natural features, lush jungle, and exotic wildlife in the country, it’s no surprise that Costa Rica strives to protect its environment through the creation of national parks. In fact, there are 30 of them located throughout the entire country.
Visiting a National Park is one of the best things to do in Costa Rica because it gives you a chance to explore the different ecosystems of Costa Rica, learn about its biodiversity, and see wildlife in its natural habitat.
Some notable National Parks in Costa Rica include:
Manuel Antonio National Park – located in Manuel Antonio along the Pacific Coast. Here, you can walk trails through the rainforest in search of monkeys, sloths, and coatis, and you can spend some time relaxing and swimming in one of its three tropical beaches.
Arenal National Park – located in La Fortuna, this park allows you to get up close and personal views of the iconic Arenal volcano while hiking through recently laid lava fields from the 1968 explosion.
Corcovado National Park – located on the remote Osa Peninsula, Corcovado has been called the most biodiverse place on the planet! Spend a day or take an overnight trip with a guide and spend your time hiking the trails in search of elusive wildlife like tapirs, sloths, macaws, all four species of Costa Rica monkeys, and more.
Have an adventure
You can’t leave Costa Rica without going on at least one guided adventure tour! With ziplining, white water rafting, canyoneering, horseback riding, ATVing, and more, there’s plenty to choose from.
A particularly good place to try these activities are in the Northern Pacific part of Costa Rica:
La Fortuna is considered the adventure capital of Costa Rica! You can choose from any kind of adventure activity here, including white water rafting, walking across hanging bridges, and ziplining over a waterfall!
Rincon de la Vieja National Park protects an active volcanic complex and its surrounding areas. You can take tours that include volcanic mud baths, horseback rides, and white water tubing.
Monteverde Cloud Forest is considered the birth of the zipline, and it’s still a hugely popular activity today. Not only do tours offer standard zipping over the forest canopy, but you can opt for crazier things like tarzan swings and superman ziplining.
Visit a volcano
It’s not every day you can look straight into a volcanic crater, so take advantage of this opportunity when you’re in Costa Rica! There are six active volcanoes in Costa Rica, and dozens of other dormant ones.
Some popular volcanoes to visit in Costa Rica include:
Arenal Volcano National Park – Located in La Fortuna, the Arenal Volcano is hard to miss. It stands impressively over the surrounding countryside as a classic conical-shaped volcano. While you can’t hike up it and see its crater (and you wouldn’t want to!), you can hike in areas all over La Fortuna, including the National Park, to get awesome glimpses of the volcano (if you’re lucky enough to have a cloudless view!).
Paos Volcano National Park – located just an hour and a half from San Jose in central Costa Rica, you can take a short hike to view the crater of this active volcano containing a steaming sulfuric lake.
Irazu Volcano National Park – Take trip to see the largest volcano in Costa Rica and hike around it’s craters, also located just about an hour and a half from the city.
Relax, swim, or surf on a tropical beach
I’m guessing you’ve seen pictures of the pristine tropical beaches with those jungle-meets-ocean views, right? Yea, that was a big reason we wanted to visit Costa Rica, too! Even though we typically aren’t huge beach people, you really can’t not fall in love with those stunning pieces of paradise.
Some of the best beaches in Costa Rica to check out include:
Playa Uvita – located in Marino Ballena National Park in Uvita and our favorite beach that we visited in Costa Rica! It’s home to super unique feature known as the Whale’s Tail – it’s basically a giant sandbar that takes on the shape of…you guessed it, a whale’s tail!
Dominical – a town situated between Manual Antonio and Uvita that’s home to some gorgeous beaches, some of which are famous for big surf, such as it’s namesake beach, Playa Dominical and Playa Dominicalito. To the north along the Pacific coast are some amazing quieter beaches, just as Playa Linda and Playa Matapalo.
Playa Biesanz – a small cove located just outside of Manuel Antonio with calmer water that’s great for swimming. Bring a snorkel to swim around the rocks along the western edge to see some cool tropical fish!
Playa Escondido – Manuel Antonio’s public beach and great for swimming and catching the sunset.
Nicoya Peninsula – we haven’t been to this area of Costa Rica, but hear it’s full of amazing beaches, so it’s worth looking into!
Spot wildlife
Searching for wildlife is definitely one of the best things to do in Costa Rica. I mean, let’s be real, one of the main reasons you want to go to Costa Rica is to see a sloth, am I right?! Or was that just us?
Wildlife is definitely one thing there’s absolutely no shortage of in Costa Rica. Even in parking lots, you might see curious monkeys jumping around in the trees, or a pair of toucans flying from branch to branch.
Just a head’s up, though: While monkeys can be pretty easy to spot, if you want to find really elusive wildlife that’s hard to find, like sloths, for example, who blend in really well with their surroundings and barely move, you might want to consider hiring a guide, even in places that don’t require one, such as in Manuel Antonio National Park. You more than likely won’t be able to spot something like a sloth on your own, as it requires a pretty well-trained eye. Often, the guides also talk to each other so they all know where to go when they find something.
Some great places to look for wildlife in Costa Rica include:
Corcovado National Park – this is hands down the number one place in Costa Rica to search for elusive and exotic wildlife. A biodiversity hotspot, this rainforest has 140 species of mammals, including both 2 and 3 toed sloths, anteaters, coatis, tapirs, and all four types of monkeys in Costa Rica (howler, spider, squirrel and white-faced capuchins)! It also has hundreds of species of birds (including the beautiful scarlet macaw), insects and reptiles.
Located on the remote Osa Peninsula, you can take either a day trip or multiday tour into Corcovado, but it absolutely requires a tour guide reserved in advance.
Manuel Antonio National Park – another hotspot along Costa Rica’s Pacific coast for spotting wildlife, such as sloths and monkeys. A guide is not required here, but recommended to have the best chance of seeing animals (other than monkeys, which are literally everywhere here!).
Cano Island – Don’t just look for animals on land…go underwater! One of the best places to snorkel in Costa Rica, Cano Island, lies just a short boat ride away off the Pacific Coast. You can take half day tours from Drake Bay and Uvita, with chances to swim with sharks, turtles, rays, and plenty of tropical fish.
La Fortuna / Monteverde day or night tours – Interested in seeing what creepy crawlies come out at night? Spend a few hours after dark on a guided tour to find spiders, snakes, and more. Or maybe that’s not your thing but you still want to see all the cool wildlife in the day. La Fortuna and Monteverde both offer great options. Monteverde has great birding tours, while La Fortuna offers sloth tours and frog walks. Or take a guided tour of the Mistico Hanging Bridges.
Visit a Cloud Forest
Cloud forests are a special type of ecosystem holding a unique set of biodiversity. Their mist and fog combined with the thick foliage really transports you to another world. And unfortunately, cloud forests are at really high risk of disappearing due to climate change.
Visiting a cloud forest in Costa Rica is a great way to learn more about these special places and why it’s so important to protect them, but also good for having an adventure!
Costa Rica’s most famous cloud forests are in the Monteverde Region. There are three different reserves to explore: Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve, and the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. Each has its own set of hiking trails, and you can take guided tours to spot animals and rare and exotic birds.
There are also a couple of adventure parks that allow you to experience the cloud forest from new heights, quite literally. Ziplining and walking along hanging bridges is a popular activity here. Check out some of these parks here and here.
Another place to explore the Costa Rica rainforest that’s a little less well traveled is Bajos del Toro, located in the central highlands. While technically a mix between rainforest and cloud forest, it’s a wonderful off the beaten path destination that still gives you that mystical cloud forest type feel. Plus, there’s tons of amazing hidden gems to explore, such as the Blue Falls of Bajos del Toro and Catarata del Toro, Costa Rica’s tallest fall.
Eat A Casado
Ok, this might not seem like a very adventurous or exciting thing, but if you know me, you know I am a very picky eater. I rarely try new things. So trying the food in Costa Rica was definitely an adventurous thing for me. But let me tell you…I am so glad I did.
The casado is a local staple in Costa Rica. It is a cheap dish that can be found in all the local restaurants, or sodas, but includes a lot of delicious food. It is often served with a meat such as chicken or fish, rice and beans, salad, vegetables, a small salad, and plantains. I pretty much could have eaten it every day. And for a picky eater like me, that’s saying something. Definitely don’t leave Costa Rica without trying this delicious local dish.
We hope this list of amazing things to do Costa Rica helps you plan out our own adventure to this incredibly diverse country. We know it can be hard to narrow down, but trust us, no matter what you end up doing, we promise it will be a trip you’ll never forget! Have you been to Costa Rica? What were your favorite things to do?