Costa Rica

If Patrick and Wingnut from the 1994 surfing movie Endless Summer II surfed a time machine to present-day Tamarindo, they'd fall off their boards. A quarter-century of hedonism has transformed the once-dusty burg into 'Tamagringo,' whose perennial status as Costa Rica’s top surf and party destination has made it the first and last stop for legions of tourists.

Traveling south from San José, the road to Parque Nacional Chirripó passes through gorgeous countryside redolent of coffee plantations and cool, misty cloud forest. It bisects the Zona de los Santos, a collection of highland villages that bear sainted names: San Pablo de León Cortés, San Marcos de Tarrazú, San Cristóbal Sur, San Gerardo de Dota, Santa María de Dota – the last renowned for its superb, ecologically produced coffee. Further south in the Valle de El General, family-run fincas (farms) dot the fertile valley, though the action tends to center on San Isidro de El General, southern Costa Rica’s largest town and major transportation hub.

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.

The sunny rural capital of Guanacaste has long served as a transportation hub to Nicaragua, as well as being the standard-bearer of Costa Rica’s sabanero (cowboy) culture. Today, tourism is fast becoming a significant contributor to the economy. With an expanding international airport, Liberia is a safer and more chilled-out Costa Rican gateway than San José.

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.

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.

For most of modern history, Volcán Arenal was just another dormant volcano surrounded by fertile farmland. But for about 42 years – from its destructive explosion in 1968 until its sudden subsiding in 2010 – the volcano was an ever-active and awe-striking natural wonder, producing menacing ash columns, massive explosions and streams of glowing molten rock almost daily.

This flat, steaming stretch of finca-dotted lowlands was once part of the United Fruit Company’s vast banana holdings. Harvests were carried from the plantations down to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, where they were shipped downriver on boats destined for North America. In 1880 a railway connected rural Costa Rica with the port of Puerto Limón, and Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí became a backwater. Although it’s never managed to recover its status as a transport route, the river has again shot to prominence as one of the premier destinations in the country for kayakers and rafters. With the Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo as its backyard, this is also one of the best regions for wildlife-watching, especially considering how easy it is to get here.

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.

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.