Where To Go In Costa Rica: Determining The Best Places To Visit During Your Trip
Use our Costa Rica Destination Tool to filter 66 Costa Rica destination recommendations according to nearly 150 different criteria. Learn more!
FOR YOU, FOR FREE: 17 years' worth of firsthand Costa Rica trip planning and travel advice compiled into hundreds of articles, plus exclusive discounts. Created by a Costa Rican and a four-time published Costa Rica guidebook author. Welcome, amigos, and as we say in Costa Rica, pura vida!
Browse our Costa Rica blogs to learn everything you need to know about Monteverde (Santa Elena) Costa Rica, including why you should visit.
Use our Costa Rica Destination Tool to filter 66 Costa Rica destination recommendations according to nearly 150 different criteria. Learn more!
Plan to travel to Costa Rica with kids? We outline the best things to do and provide child and student discounts!
Watch Nikki Solano cover 10 of the most sought-after Costa Rica destinations (and standout experiences at each) on Rick Steves’ Monday Night Travel Show.
We describe the most memorable aspects of the Monteverde Orchid Garden in Monteverde, Costa Rica, plus share photos from our visits.
We list the Costa Rica hours of operation for national parks, biological reserves, wildlife refuges, and other attractions!
Our Costa Rica guidebook, Moon Costa Rica, is full of tips, recommendations, photos, maps, and itineraries. Learn more!
Our free Monteverde city guide (Santa Elena) covers everything we’ve learned from exploring Monteverde Costa Rica for years.
Everything you need to know about driving to Monteverde: possible routes, road descriptions, a distance/duration chart, and more!
Do you know that the Monteverde cloud forest and the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve are different? We compare and contrast both to help you decide which to visit!
Our free Monteverde hotel guide explores hotels we’ve stayed at in the Monteverde region.
We did the Sky Trek, Tree Tram, and Sky Walk tours at the Treetopia Park (formerly the Sky Adventures Monteverde Park). Here’s what you need to know, plus tour discounts!
We’ve been exploring the Monteverde Sky Walk hanging bridges for years. Here’s everything you need to know to plan your visit!
We’ve done the Monteverde Sky Trek canopy ziplining tour a few times. Here’s everything you need to know to plan for your experience!
We’ve ridden the Monteverde Sky Tram aerial tram a few times. Here’s everything you need to know to plan for your experience!
We compare and contrast La Fortuna / Arenal and Monteverde, plus offer a quiz, photos, and discounts for both areas to help you decide!
Need to travel between Arenal / La Fortuna and Monteverde? We outline the best ways to get from La Fortuna to Monteverde and vice versa!
We outline three ways to make a day trip to Monteverde from La Fortuna / Arenal (or vice versa) and explain why doing so isn’t a good idea.
We compare the most popular hanging bridges in Costa Rica and offer free discounts for hanging bridge tours and entrance fees!
Looking for the best zipline in Costa Rica? We compare and contrast a number here, and offer free discounts for ziplining tours!
We’ve done the Selvatura Monteverde Park hanging bridges and other onsite tours. Here’s what you need to know, plus free savings for each!
We compare and contrast Costa Rica highway conditions by design, terrain, pace, traffic, flow, tolls, river crossings, and 4×4 requirements.
Planning to drive in Costa Rica? Our charts outline the distance (kilometers) and duration (hours/minutes) for each popular route!
Avoid confusion, frustration, and travel mistakes by learning how to correctly identify similarly named Costa Rica destinations, including towns and beaches.
There are 40+ ziplining tours in Costa Rica; read our answers to popular Costa Rica ziplining tour questions, plus tips and need-to-know info!
✓ We choose not to display ads, sponsored content, or affiliate marketing on our blog. Because we prioritize your privacy, we don't earn money when you visit us, when you sign up for our e-course, or when you click on our links, which means the time and work we put into this blog is entirely voluntary.
✓ Ricky is a born-and-raised Costa Rican and Nikki (married to Ricky) has explored Costa Rica since the mid-2000s.
✓ We've operated our Costa Rica-based business, Pura Vida! eh? Inc., for 16 years (and counting!).
✓ Our Costa Rica guidebooks are published by the prestigious Moon Travel Guides brand.
✓ We only ever write about experiences we know firsthand, and we never stuff our blog with general information about Costa Rica that is widely available elsewhere.
✓ We never copy or plagiarize other writers' content. How we wish other writers would show us the same respect!
✓ Unless stated otherwise, every photo displayed on our blog was taken by us, and with our own two hands. (Unlike some other bloggers, who rely on drones to travel and conduct research for them, we actually visit and explore the places we write about.)👍🏽
✓ We're active in promoting Costa Rica around the world. We've written about Costa Rica for Wanderlust Magazine (UK), presented Costa Rica on Rick Steves' Monday Night Travel Show and podcast/radio show (US), and served as a Costa Rica Destination Editor for Essentialist (Spain).
✓ Our work is backed by hundreds of positive reviews and testimonials (read some here)
✓ We are not overly active on social media. Instead of fixating on our own popularity, we spend the majority of our time exploring and researching Costa Rica, updating our various Costa Rica resources, and working with travelers one-on-one. We're focused on the quality of your travel experience, not the quantity of our followers. ❤️