Caribbean Coast
This Colorado-style bar and restaurant is on Hwy 10 between Turrialba and Siquirres. Enter the laid-back roadhouse through swing doors, grab a drink at the bar, decorated with a snakeskin and bull horns, and tuck into tangy ceviche (seafood marinated in lemon), fresh beef fajitas or buffalo wings.
Look for the kayaks out front. Former owner Kirk now runs the rafting business Pacuare River Lodge.
Parque Nacional Tapantí-Macizo Cerro de la Muerte
23.01 MILES
This 580-sq-km national park preserves the verdant northern slopes of the Cordillera de Talamanca and is the wettest reserve in the country, getting…
Monumento Nacional Arqueológico Guayabo
9.09 MILES
This is the largest and most important archaeological site in the country. Although Guayabo isn't nearly as breathtaking as Mayan and Aztec archaeological…
22.5 MILES
The village of Ujarrás was damaged by an 1833 flood and then abandoned. All that remains are the crumbling walls of Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Limpia…
Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles
25.9 MILES
Cartago's most important site, and Costa Rica's most venerated religious shrine, this basilica exudes Byzantine grace, with fine stained-glass windows,…
Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo
27.39 MILES
Enter this underexplored national park and you will have an idea of what Costa Rica looked like prior to the 1950s, when 75% of the country’s surface area…
8.24 MILES
Enthusiastic owner Chito is a passionate naturalist who spent 20 years building and introducing wildlife into a 5km canal system just outside Siquirres…
25.13 MILES
The University of Costa Rica runs the exceptional 11-hectare Lankester Gardens, started as a private garden by British orchid enthusiast Charles Lankester…
Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación
10.53 MILES
Catie's sprawling grounds, 2km east of Turrialba, encompass 10 sq km dedicated to tropical agricultural research and education. Agronomists from all over…
1. Centro Turístico Las Tilapias
8.24 MILES
Enthusiastic owner Chito is a passionate naturalist who spent 20 years building and introducing wildlife into a 5km canal system just outside Siquirres…
2. Monumento Nacional Arqueológico Guayabo
9.09 MILES
This is the largest and most important archaeological site in the country. Although Guayabo isn't nearly as breathtaking as Mayan and Aztec archaeological…
3. Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación
10.53 MILES
Catie's sprawling grounds, 2km east of Turrialba, encompass 10 sq km dedicated to tropical agricultural research and education. Agronomists from all over…
4. Parque Nacional Volcán Turrialba
13.1 MILES
A 2km radius around the rarely visited Volcán Turrialba (3328m) became a national park in 1955, protecting mountain rainforest and cloud forest. It was…
20.44 MILES
This artisanal woodworking studio is run by Hermes and Miguel Quesada, sons of renowned Tico carver Macedonio Quesada. The brothers maintain the campesino…
22.5 MILES
The village of Ujarrás was damaged by an 1833 flood and then abandoned. All that remains are the crumbling walls of Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Limpia…
7. Parque Nacional Tapantí-Macizo Cerro de la Muerte
23.01 MILES
This 580-sq-km national park preserves the verdant northern slopes of the Cordillera de Talamanca and is the wettest reserve in the country, getting…
24.14 MILES
Heading south from Paraíso toward Orosi you'll hit Mirador de Orosi, a big green space with a jaw-dropping scenic overlook complete with BBQ facilities,…