Costa Rica

Even as tourism has mushroomed on Costa Rica’s southern coast, Cahuita has managed to hold onto its laid-back Caribbean vibe. Dirt roads remain off the main highways, many of the older houses rest on stilts, and chatty neighbors still converse in Mekatelyu.

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.

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.

Sportfishing is the engine that built Playas del Coco, while deep-sea diving has become an additional attraction – you'll mingle with anglers and divers at happy hour (it starts rather early). The town broadened its international sporting reputation by hosting the country's first-ever Ironman competition in June 2017.

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.

The chilled-out village of Manzanillo has long been off the beaten track, even after the paved road arrived in 2003. This little town is still a vibrant outpost of Afro-Caribbean culture and has also remained pristine, thanks to the 1985 establishment of the Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Gandoca-Manzanillo, which includes the village and imposes strict regulations on regional development.

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.

Just 10.5 miles (17km) south of Dominical, this growing village consists of some dirt roads lined with farms, guesthouses and shops, a cluster of strip malls by the main Costanera Sur entrance, and a scattering of hotels in the jungle-covered hills above. Uvita has retained its gentle pace of life during the low season, but otherwise has become quite a popular and buzzing travel destination thanks to its increasingly sought-after main attraction, Parque Nacional Marino Ballena. The marine reserve has become famous for its migrating pods of humpback whales and its virtually abandoned wilderness beaches, but there are also good waterfalls nearby.

Puerto Limón is the biggest city on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, the capital of Limón province, and a hardworking port that sits removed from the rest of the country. Cruise ships deposit dazed-looking passengers here between October and May, but around these parts, business is primarily measured by truckloads of fruit, not busloads of tourists. Aside from the cruise crowd, Limón can be a good base for adventurous urban explorers.

Montezuma is an endearing beach town that demands you abandon the car to stroll, swim and (if you can stroll a little further) surf. The warm and wild ocean and that remnant, ever-audible jungle have helped this rocky nook cultivate an inviting, boho vibe. Typical tourist offerings such as canopy tours do a brisk trade here, but you’ll also bump up against Montezuma's internationally inflected, artsy-rootsy beach culture in yoga classes, volunteer corps and veggie-friendly dining rooms.