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.

Below the wilderness of Parque Internacional La Amistad, a network of rural villages is signposted by Gaudí-esque mosaic navigation markers made by a local artist. These farming villages went about their business mostly unperturbed by tourists until 1997, when an enterprising group of local women in the village of Biolley (pronounced bee-oh-lay; named for a Swiss biologist who settled here) set up a cooperative, Asociación de Mujeres Organizadas de Biolley (Asomobi). It has 37 members and is designed to promote rural tourism in the area and to generate funds for the cooperative's various sustainable projects, such as organic coffee growing.

South of Quepos, the well-trodden central Pacific tourist trail begins to taper off, evoking the feel of the Costa Rica of yesteryear – surf shacks and empty beaches, roadside ceviche vendors and a little more space. Intrepid travelers can have their pick of any number of deserted beaches and great surf spots. The region is also home to the great bulk of Costa Rica’s African-palm-oil industry, which should be immediately obvious after the few dozen miles of endless plantations lining the sides of the Costanera.

Santa Teresa is a wonderful surfing town, though no longer a secret one, and there are plenty of great places to eat and a modicum of nightlife. The entire area unfurls along one bumpy coastal road that rambles south from Santa Teresa through Playa El Carmen and terminates in the relaxed fishing hamlet of Mal País.

From the chilly heights of Cerro Chirripó (12532ft, 3820m) to the steamy coastal jungles of the Península de Osa, this sector of Costa Rica encompasses some of the country's most remote land. Vast tracts of forest remain untouched in Parque Internacional La Amistad, and the country's most visible indigenous groups – the Bribrí, Cabécar, Boruc and Ngöbe – maintain traditional ways of living in their territories.

Vilda och exotiska djur är av intresse för många resenärer. Det är ibland vad som lockar turister till ett speciellt land. Costa Rica är en sådan destination men nu har landets myndigheter satt ner foten – turister ombeds sluta ta selfies med landets djur.

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.

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.

It is on the nontouristy, coffee-cultivated hillsides of the Central Valley that you'll find Costa Rica’s heart and soul. This is not only the geographical center of the country but also its cultural and spiritual core. It is here that the Spanish colonizers first arrived, here that coffee built a prosperous nation, and here that picturesque highland villages still gather for centuries-old fiestas. It is also here that you’ll get to fully appreciate Costa Rica’s country cooking: artisanal cheeses, steamy corn cakes and freshly caught river trout.

Few places in Costa Rica generate such divergent opinions as Jacó. Partying surfers, North American retirees and international developers laud it for its devil-may-care atmosphere, bustling streets and booming real-estate opportunities. Observant ecotourists, marginalized Ticos and loyalists of the "old Costa Rica" absolutely despise the place for the exact same reasons.