Costa Rica

Klart du borde resa till Costa Rica! Förutom vänliga människor och hög säkerhet bjuder landet på en kavalkad av härliga stränder, roliga utflykter i djungeln, färska frukter och exotiska djur. Här kommer Vagabonds bästa tips på vägen.

Maybe you’ve come to the Península de Nicoya to sample the sapphire waters that peel left and right, curling into perfect barrels up and down the coast. Or perhaps you just want to hunker down on a pristine patch of sand and soak up some sun. By day, you might ramble down rugged roads, fording rivers and navigating ridges with massive coastal views. By night, you can spy on nesting sea turtles or take a midnight dip in the luxuriant Pacific. In between adventures, you'll find no shortage of boutique bunks, tasty kitchens and indulgent spas to shelter and nourish body and soul. Whether you come for the thrills or just to chill, the Nicoya peninsula delivers. You'll find that the days (or weeks, or months) drift away on ocean breezes, disappearing all too quickly.

As visitors arrive at this small outcrop of land jutting into the Pacific, the air becomes heavy with humidity, scented with thick vegetation and alive with the calls of birds and monkeys, making it suddenly apparent that this is the tropics. The reason to come here is Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio, one of the most picturesque bits of tropical coast in Costa Rica. If you get bored of cooing at the baby monkeys scurrying in the canopy and scanning for birds and sloths, the turquoise waves and perfect sand provide endless entertainment. However, as it's one of the country's most popular national parks, little Quepos, the once-sleepy fishing and banana village on the park's perimeter, has ballooned with this tourism-based economy, and the road from Quepos to the park is overdeveloped. Despite this, the rainforested hills and the blissful beaches make the park a stunning destination worthy of the tourist hype.

Of the two principal overland routes to Parque Nacional Corcovado, the Puerto Jiménez route on the eastern side of the peninsula has a bit more going on – a single road features a sprinkling of villages along the coast of Golfo Dulce. The landscape is cattle pastures and palm-oil plantations, while the Reserva Forestal Golfo Dulce protects much of the inland area and encompasses the former gold-mining community of Dos Brazos, now the newest entrance to Corcovado and agroturismo epicenter. The largest settlement in the area is the town of Puerto Jiménez, which has transitioned from a boomtown for gold miners to an ecotourism hot spot. South of Jiménez, the surfer haven of Cabo Matapalo and the jungle lodges of Carate beckon travelers in search of nature and solitude.

Om Costa Rica är ett himmelrike för djurälskare är Manuel Antonio Edens lustgård, skriver Vagabonds webbredaktör. Här berättar hon om en av hennes absoluta favoritplatser i världen.

While it's tempting to make a beeline for Costa Rica's luscious countryside, take some time to get to know San José, Costa Rica's humming capital city. Wander historic neighborhoods such as Barrio Amón, where historic buildings have been converted into contemporary art galleries, and Barrio Escalante, the city's gastronomic epicenter. Stroll with Saturday shoppers at the farmers market, join the Sunday crowds in Parque La Sabana, dance the night away to live music at one of the city's vibrant clubs, or visit the museums of gold, jade, art and natural history, and you'll begin to understand the multidimensional appeal of Costa Rica's largest city and cultural capital.

Just 4.3mi (7km) from the entrance to Manuel Antonio, the small, busy town of Quepos serves as the gateway to the national park, as well as a convenient port of call for travelers in need of goods and services. Although the Manuel Antonio area was rapidly and irreversibly transformed following the ecotourism boom, Quepos has largely retained its charm.

Is Sámara one of the happiest places on earth? That's what more than one expat has said after stopping here on vacation and never leaving. On the surface it's just a laid-back beach town with barefoot, three-star appeal. The crescent-shaped strip of pale-gray sand spans two rocky headlands, where the sea is calm and beautiful. It's not spectacular, just safe, mellow, reasonably developed, easily navigable on foot and accessible by public transportation. Not surprisingly, it’s popular with vacationing Ticos, foreign families and backpackers, a somewhat rare, happy mix of visitors and locals. But be careful, the longer you stay the less you'll want to leave.

This burgeoning party town is no longer a destination for intrepid surfers only; it's bustling with tourist activity. Street vendors tout trinkets and Bob Marley T-shirts, stylish eateries serve global fusion, and intentionally rustic bamboo bars pump dancehall and reggaetón. It can get downright hedonistic, attracting revelers wanting to marinate in ganja and guaro (a local firewater made from sugarcane).

Strung between two lovingly preserved cloud forests, this slim corridor of civilization consists of the Tico village of Santa Elena and the Quaker settlement of Monteverde, each with an eponymous cloud forest reserve. The cloud forests are premier destinations for everyone from budget backpackers to well-heeled retirees.