Destination Guides

Where to go in Costa Rica

Matching Costa Rica's regions and cities to trip types — first-timers, beach weeks, food trips and family holidays.

6 min read · Updated 2026-08-01

Costa Rica is the easiest introduction to tropical nature travel in the Americas, with dense wildlife, well-run lodges and short internal distances on slow roads. Official tourism sources stress strong regional climate differences: Pacific-side regions broadly follow a dry season around December–April and a green, rainier season from May–November, while the Caribbean does not follow that simple pattern and has relatively drier periods around February–March and September–October.

The places worth building a trip around

Each of these has its own page with timing, budget and getting-around notes.

San José (City) — Arrival hub with markets and museums.
Guanacaste (Coast) — Dry-forest Pacific beaches and resorts.
La Fortuna (Region) — Arenal volcano, hot springs, hanging bridges.
Monteverde (Region) — Cloud forest reserves, canopy walks and cool nights.
Manuel Antonio (Park) — Rainforest meeting beach, easy wildlife.
Puerto Viejo (Coast) — Caribbean side; slower, greener and on its own weather pattern.