Best Things to Do in Costa Rica

Arenal Volcano National Park is Costa Rica's most visited protected area and the centerpiece of the country's adventure tourism industry, encompassing the iconic Arenal Volcano and the surrounding rainforest, lava fields, and lake ecosystems of the northern Alajuela region. Rising to 1,670 meters, Arenal was one of the world's most consistently active volcanoes for decades following a catastrophic eruption in 1968 that destroyed three villages. Though volcanic activity has decreased significantly since 2010, the cone remains impressively present, frequently shrouded in cloud and occasionally venting steam from its summit. Hiking trails within the park traverse hardened lava flows, primary rainforest, and open viewpoints offering dramatic perspectives of the volcano against the backdrop of Lake Arenal. The biodiversity of the park is extraordinary — jaguars, tapirs, howler monkeys, sloths, and hundreds of bird species inhabit the reserve. The surrounding La Fortuna area has developed into a hub of adventure activities, with white-water rafting, zip-lining, canyoning, and kayaking all accessible from the park's fringes. Hot springs fed by geothermal activity are a defining feature of the region, with both natural and developed thermal pools available nearby. Entry to the national park requires a fee and can be combined with guided naturalist tours that dramatically enhance wildlife sightings and geological understanding.

Baldi Hot Springs is one of Costa Rica's most celebrated thermal resort complexes, spread across a lushly landscaped hillside in San Carlos with Arenal Volcano as its dramatic backdrop. The complex features 25 natural hot spring pools graduated in temperature from a gentle 35°C to an intense 67°C, fed by geothermal waters that emerge from deep within the volcanic geology of the Arenal region. The pools are terraced across beautifully maintained tropical gardens, connected by waterfalls and rivers of warm mineral water that cascade dramatically between levels. Water slides, swim-up bars, and a swim-up restaurant bring a resort atmosphere to the experience, making Baldi equally appealing to families seeking fun and couples looking for relaxation. The thermal waters are rich in minerals including magnesium and calcium, traditionally credited with therapeutic benefits for muscles, joints, and skin. As evening falls and steam rises from the pools against the jungle backdrop, Baldi takes on a genuinely magical quality — especially on nights when the volcano is visible through the clearing clouds. A full-service spa offers massage treatments, mud wraps, and facials that complement the thermal experience. Entrance fees vary by time of day, with evening visits typically offering a more atmospheric experience at a higher price point. Advance booking is strongly recommended during Costa Rican holiday periods.

Braulio Carrillo National Park is one of Costa Rica's most biologically significant protected areas, covering over 47,000 hectares of virtually untouched premontane and montane rainforest on the Caribbean slopes of the Central Volcanic Mountain Range. Established in 1978 to protect the watershed and forest between San José and the Caribbean coast, the park preserves an extraordinary altitudinal range — from lowland jungle at 36 meters above sea level to the cloud-shrouded summit of Volcán Barva at 2,906 meters — creating conditions for exceptional biodiversity. The park is home to all six species of Costa Rican wild cat, including jaguars and pumas, alongside tapirs, giant anteaters, harpy eagles, and hundreds of endemic plant species. The main highway from San José to Limón (Route 32) passes directly through the park, offering accessible rainforest views from the road itself. However, the interior trails into the park's depths are for experienced hikers prepared for muddy, challenging conditions and often dramatic rainfall. The Barva Sector in Heredia provides the most accessible highland trails, leading to crater lakes and cloud forest habitats where resplendent quetzals are sometimes spotted. Braulio Carrillo serves as an important ecological corridor linking multiple protected areas and maintaining the biodiversity of Costa Rica's Caribbean lowlands. Its proximity to San José makes it a genuine wilderness accessible from the capital.

Butterfly Conservatory in El Castillo, just south of La Fortuna and Arenal Volcano, is widely regarded as one of Costa Rica's finest butterfly attractions — a private facility dedicated to the breeding, display, and conservation of the country's extraordinary lepidopteran diversity. The conservatory houses multiple enclosed garden environments representing different Costa Rican ecosystems, each stocked with free-flying butterfly species native to that habitat. The Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides), with its iridescent electric-blue wings spanning up to 20 centimeters, is the undisputed highlight — and at the Butterfly Conservatory, it is encountered in genuine abundance rather than the occasional sighting typical of wild forest walks. The facility also displays poison dart frogs in naturalistic terrariums, leaf-cutter ant colonies in observation tanks, and a fascinating exhibit on insect camouflage and mimicry. Knowledgeable guides explain the life cycle, ecology, and conservation status of each species, transforming what might otherwise be a passive viewing experience into a genuinely educational encounter. The conservatory breeds its own specimens and participates in sustainable export programs that support rural communities. Morning visits coincide with peak butterfly activity, when warmth encourages flight. The El Castillo location puts the conservatory within easy reach of the Arenal hanging bridges and the lake, making it a natural addition to any itinerary centered on the northern Alajuela region.

Cabo Blanco Absolute Natural Reserve holds a singular place in Costa Rican conservation history: established in 1963 by Danish-Swedish couple Karen Mogensen and Olof Wessberg, it was the first protected area ever created in Costa Rica, effectively seeding what became the country’s now world-famous national park system. The reserve occupies the rugged southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula in Puntarenas province, covering roughly 1,270 hectares of tropical dry and transitional forest that meets a dramatic, wave-carved Pacific coastline.

Two main trails wind through dense forest canopy to pristine beaches that remain deliberately undeveloped. Sendero Sueco (the Swedish Trail) leads to the breathtaking Playa Cabo Blanco, accessible only on foot, where pelicans, frigatebirds, and brown boobies nest on the offshore islet visible just beyond the shore. Howler monkeys, white-faced capuchins, and white-tailed deer are encountered regularly along the route through cathedral-like forest that feels genuinely primeval.

• Reserve is closed Mondays and Tuesdays to reduce cumulative pressure on wildlife
• Nearest town is Montezuma, approximately 11 kilometres north by road
• The offshore marine zone protects coral reefs and sea turtle nesting habitat

The combination of deep historical significance, exceptional ecological richness, and isolated beaches makes Cabo Blanco a pilgrimage site for conservation-minded travellers. Visiting means walking land protected by visionaries who understood, long before most, that wild places are inherently worth saving.

Carara National Park occupies a transitional ecological zone where the dry forests of Guanacaste meet the humid rainforests of the central Pacific, creating a biodiversity hotspot of exceptional richness within just 5,242 hectares. This biological corridor effect means Carara supports more species per square kilometre than almost any other park in Costa Rica, including the largest breeding population of scarlet macaws in the country — a spectacle that draws birdwatchers from around the world, particularly at dawn and dusk when the macaws fly in shrieking flocks between forest and mangrove roost sites. The Tárcoles River, which borders the park, is famous for its enormous American crocodiles visible from the bridge on the coastal highway — often reaching five metres in length and among the most photographed wildlife in Costa Rica without even entering park grounds. Well-maintained trails lead through primary forest where tapirs, white-lipped peccaries, and all four Costa Rican monkey species have been recorded. The Universal Access Trail is one of the few genuinely wheelchair-accessible rainforest paths in Central America. Guided morning tours led by certified naturalists dramatically improve wildlife sightings. Carara sits about 90 minutes from San José, making it an ideal day trip from the capital for visitors with limited time in the country.

Deep in the lowland rainforests of northern Costa Rica near the Nicaraguan border, Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge (Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Mixto Caño Negro) protects over 10,000 hectares of wetland, seasonal lakes, and riparian forest that rank among the most biodiverse freshwater ecosystems in all of Central America. The refuge centres on Lake Caño Negro, which swells dramatically during the wet season before partially drying to expose mudflats teeming with wildlife and wading birds in extraordinary concentrations.

Boat tours along the Río Frío are the principal way to explore this remote wilderness, drifting past basking American crocodiles, caimans, freshwater turtles, and remarkable concentrations of waterbirds. The refuge hosts one of the largest nesting colonies of olivaceous cormorants in the entire region, and the anhinga, roseate spoonbill, and jabiru stork are regularly spotted at close range from the water.

• Best visited November through March when lower water concentrates wildlife
• Local fishing communities offer guided boat tours and simple accommodation
• Howler and spider monkey troops are commonly seen from the river

Because Caño Negro sits far from the main tourist trail — roughly two hours from La Fortuna — the refuge retains an unspoiled, genuinely remote character that serious naturalists find exceptional. Tarpon and snook fishing also draws anglers alongside wildlife enthusiasts to this remarkable, undervisited corner of Costa Rica.

Celeste River (Río Celeste) in Costa Rica's Tenorio Volcano National Park is one of the natural world's most astonishing color spectacles — a river that flows in a vivid, opaque turquoise-blue unlike almost anything else on Earth. The extraordinary color results from a phenomenon called 'Mie scattering': when two colorless streams converge at a point called Los Teñideros, the interaction of volcanic minerals — primarily aluminosilicate particles — with the acidity of the water creates a suspension that scatters blue light with remarkable intensity. The result is a river the color of a tropical swimming pool, winding through dense primary rainforest that amplifies the surreal effect. The national park trail system leads visitors through several kilometers of untouched jungle to the convergence point, a series of small turquoise waterfalls, boiling mud pools, and hot spring areas where geothermal activity is palpable. Wildlife is exceptionally abundant along the trail — tapirs, spider monkeys, toucans, and resplendent quetzals have all been recorded in the area. The terrain can be muddy and demands appropriate footwear; the journey is genuinely rewarding but not trivial. The river's color is at its most intense in dry season when sediment levels are lower. Guided tours from La Fortuna provide transport, a naturalist guide, and access to this remote and genuinely breathtaking corner of Costa Rica.

The Children’s Eternal Rainforest (Bosque Eterno de los Niños) is the largest private nature reserve in Costa Rica, encompassing over 22,000 hectares of cloud and rainforest that stretch across the Tilarán Mountain Range adjacent to the Monteverde conservation zone. The reserve owes its extraordinary origin to a 1987 fundraising campaign launched by Swedish schoolchildren who raised money to purchase and protect rainforest — a campaign that quickly spread globally, with children from over 44 countries ultimately contributing funds.

Today the reserve is managed by the Monteverde Conservation League and functions as a critical wildlife corridor connecting several adjacent protected areas. Guided night tours departing from the Bajo del Tigre trail entrance in Monteverde are the most popular visitor experience, revealing the forest’s nocturnal cast of red-eyed tree frogs, porcupines, kinkajous, and tarantulas through the beams of headlamps.

• Bajo del Tigre trail is the primary visitor access point, well-suited to families
• Reserve buffers the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve to the east
• Educational programmes actively support local schools and conservation outreach

The story behind the Children’s Eternal Rainforest is as compelling as the forest itself — it stands as living proof that collective action by ordinary people can protect extraordinary places. Walking through land saved by schoolchildren armed with nothing but enthusiasm and pocket money gives every visit a genuinely moving dimension that lingers long afterward.

Children’s Museum (Museo de los Ninos) in San José, Costa Rica, is one of Latin America’s most celebrated interactive museums for young visitors. Housed in a magnificently restored 19th-century prison — the former Penitenciaría Central — the building itself is a landmark worth admiring before you even step inside. Over 40 permanent interactive exhibitions span themes from science and technology to ecology, outer space, and Costa Rican culture.

Kids can explore a simulated earthquake room, pilot a virtual spacecraft, and discover how ecosystems function in the tropics. The museum shares its campus with the National Auditorium and the Children’s Cultural Center, making it a full cultural hub for families. Weekend programs often include live science demonstrations and arts workshops. Located on Avenue 9 beneath La Union, it’s easily reachable from San José’s center by public bus or taxi. Admission is affordable, and multilingual materials help international visitors feel at home. Whether you’re navigating the human-body exhibit or marveling at the colonial-era architecture, the Museo de los Ninos earns its reputation as Costa Rica’s premier destination for curious young minds and the adults who travel with them.

Chirripó National Park protects the highest peak in Costa Rica — and indeed in all of Central America. Cerro Chirripó rises to 3,821 meters above sea level, and summiting it is considered one of the great hiking challenges of the continent. The park covers roughly 50,000 hectares of páramo, cloud forest, and glacial lakes, offering a landscape utterly unlike the tropical lowlands most visitors associate with Costa Rica.

The summit trail begins in the town of San Gerardo de Rivas, near Pérez Zeledón, and ascends through dense forest before breaking into open páramo grasslands dotted with hardy bromeliads and alpine wildflowers. Most hikers complete the ascent over two days, spending a night at the SINAC refuge hut at 3,400 meters. On clear mornings, both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts are simultaneously visible from the summit. Wildlife includes the resplendent quetzal, tapirs, pumas, and the rare Chirripó oak forest salamander. Permits are strictly limited and must be reserved months in advance through Costa Rica’s national park system — a policy that preserves the pristine character of one of the country’s most extraordinary wild places.

Spread across 250 hectares of Caribbean-slope lowland rainforest in the Sarapiquí region of Heredia province, Cinco Ceibas Rainforest Reserve and Adventure Park takes its name from five ancient ceiba trees — the sacred tree of Mesoamerican indigenous cosmology — that tower above a landscape rich with rivers, wildlife, and well-developed adventure infrastructure. The reserve protects a meaningful patch of forest adjacent to the world-renowned La Selva Biological Station, giving it genuine ecological value beyond its extensive recreational appeal.

Activity options are impressively broad: white-water tubing on the Río Sardinal, zip-lining through the rainforest canopy, hanging bridge walks above the forest floor, kayaking, horseback riding, and guided wildlife hikes that regularly reveal sloths, toucans, poison dart frogs, and howler monkey troops. The aerial tram offers a slower, more contemplative canopy experience particularly valued by birdwatchers and photographers seeking unhurried observation time.

• Located along the main San José to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí road — convenient for travellers in transit
• On-site cabins available for extended forest immersion overnight stays
• Night hikes reveal a dramatically different and richly active cast of forest inhabitants

What truly distinguishes Cinco Ceibas from similar parks is the authenticity of the surrounding forest. Trees, rivers, and wildlife are genuinely wild rather than curated for display, giving the experience a raw, exploratory quality that more polished eco-parks often lack despite their infrastructure.

Conchal Beach in Guanacaste derives its name from the millions of crushed shells — conchas — that compose its shoreline, creating a surface unlike any conventional sand beach in Central America. The tiny, multi-coloured shell fragments give the beach a distinctive pinkish-beige hue and a firm, sparkling texture underfoot that catches sunlight in constantly shifting patterns. The water offshore is a remarkable gradient of turquoise and sapphire, exceptionally clear due to minimal river runoff in this arid corner of the Nicoya Peninsula, and warm year-round with temperatures rarely dropping below 28 °C. Snorkelling is rewarding along the rocky southern headland where coral outcrops shelter parrotfish, wrasse, and occasional manta rays in the deeper channels. The beach is flanked by the exclusive Westin Playa Conchal resort on one side, which helps limit excessive commercialisation, though public access is maintained along the shoreline. Monkey troops from the adjacent dry forest frequently descend to the treeline at the beach's edge in the late afternoon. Reaching Playa Conchal requires a short walk or quad through soft sand from neighbouring Playa Brasilito, adding a small sense of arrival that keeps casual day-trippers to a minimum and preserves the beach's serene character.

The Costa Rican Art Museum (Museo de Arte Costarricense) occupies one of San José's most elegant buildings: the former international airport terminal of La Sabana, a 1940s Art Deco structure that has been beautifully repurposed as the nation's premier visual arts institution. Located at the eastern entrance of La Sabana Metropolitan Park, the museum houses a permanent collection of over 4,000 works spanning the 19th century to the present day, tracing the development of Costa Rican painting, sculpture, printmaking, and photography. Highlights of the collection include works by Francisco Amighetti and Max Jiménez, two of the country's most celebrated modernist artists. The museum's crown jewel is the extraordinary Golden Room (Salón Dorado), a ceremonial hall whose walls and ceiling are covered in a monumental bas-relief frieze created by sculptor Luis Ferrero depicting the history and culture of Costa Rica in exceptional detail. Temporary exhibitions showcase contemporary Costa Rican and Latin American artists, ensuring that the museum remains a living, evolving cultural space rather than a static archive. Admission is free on Sundays, and the museum's location adjacent to La Sabana Park makes it easy to combine with a walk through the capital's largest green space. The museum is an essential stop for travelers seeking cultural depth beyond Costa Rica's celebrated natural wonders.

Curi-Cancha Reserve is one of Monteverde’s finest private cloud forest sanctuaries, spanning roughly 148 acres of pristine highland habitat in Costa Rica’s Puntarenas highlands. Unlike the more crowded Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve nearby, Curi-Cancha strictly limits daily visitor numbers, creating a genuinely intimate wildlife encounter along well-maintained, clearly signed trails that wind through mist-draped, epiphyte-laden forest.

Birdwatchers consistently rank this reserve among the very top sites in the entire country for spotting the resplendent quetzal, particularly during the March-to-May nesting season when males display their spectacular elongated tail plumes. More than 200 bird species have been recorded here, alongside howler monkeys, two-toed sloths, coatis, and the occasional puma track pressed into the muddy trail. The canopy drips with mosses and bromeliads, creating an almost mythical, otherworldly atmosphere at every turn.

• Open daily for both guided and self-guided morning and afternoon tours
• Night tours reveal kinkajous, glass frogs, and owls in the forest darkness
• Elevation around 1,500 metres keeps temperatures refreshingly cool — a light jacket is advisable

Knowledgeable local guides decode the forest’s complex layers, from the fern-carpeted floor to the mist-wrapped canopy overhead. For travellers seeking authentic cloud forest immersion without the crowds that can overwhelm the main Monteverde reserve, Curi-Cancha consistently delivers an unforgettable experience that wildlife photographers and casual nature lovers alike rate extraordinarily highly.

Diamante Eco Adventure Park on the Pacific coast near Puntarenas packs an extraordinary range of activities into a single destination, making it one of Costa Rica's most versatile adventure venues for visitors who want to maximise experiences in a single day. The park's signature attraction is its zipline circuit — one of the longest in the country — soaring through tropical forest canopy with views extending to the Gulf of Nicoya. A wildlife sanctuary within the park houses rescued animals including jaguars, ocelots, scarlet macaws, tapirs, and crocodiles that cannot be returned to the wild, providing close-up encounters with species most visitors never see in their natural habitat. The 'Animal Encounter' experience allows supervised interaction with sloths and other non-dangerous residents under the guidance of trained wildlife educators. Additional activities include a ropes course, ATV tours, crocodile boat safari on the Tárcoles River, and a visit to the on-site butterfly garden. The park operates day and night tours, with the nocturnal option revealing a completely different cast of forest creatures. Diamante's all-inclusive packages are well-structured for groups, families, and cruise passengers arriving at nearby Puntarenas. The combination of adventure, wildlife conservation, and ecological education makes it genuinely more than a standard thrill park.

Dino Park Blue River occupies a strikingly active geothermal landscape near Rincón de la Vieja volcano in Guanacaste, combining the playful novelty of life-sized dinosaur sculptures with the genuinely spectacular natural phenomena of volcanic hot springs, bubbling mud pools, and a vivid turquoise thermal river. The park appeals equally to families with children and to travellers who simply want a quirky, memorable way to explore one of Costa Rica’s most volcanically dynamic and undervisited regions.

The "blue river" itself — the Río Blanco — gets its vivid turquoise colouration from dissolved minerals carried by deep geothermal activity. Visitors wade in thermally heated pools fed by this striking river, surrounded by jungle vegetation and the park’s dramatic prehistoric installations. Bubbling mud volcanoes and active fumaroles complete an otherworldly setting that feels almost prehistoric in its own right.

• Dinosaur sculptures are placed throughout the jungle trail for discovery-style family exploration
• Thermal river pool temperatures vary — some soothingly warm, others refreshingly cool
• Located about 30 minutes from Liberia, ideal as a practical day excursion

The broader Rincón de la Vieja area remains one of Costa Rica’s most rewarding and underrated destinations. Dino Park Blue River gives first-time visitors a fun, accessible introduction to its volcanic wonders, with children loving the dinosaur theme and adults appreciating the genuine natural spectacle of the thermal landscape surrounding it.

Doka Estate is one of Costa Rica's most celebrated coffee farms, a third-generation family estate in the highlands of Alajuela province where some of the country's finest Strictly Hard Bean Arabica coffee has been grown and processed since 1929. Situated at around 1,500 meters on the slopes of the Poás Volcano, Doka benefits from the combination of volcanic soil, consistent rainfall, cloud cover, and altitude that defines the ideal coffee-growing environment of the Central Valley. The estate operates one of the last remaining traditional drum coffee roasters in Costa Rica — a heritage machine that roasts beans in rotating cylinders over a wood fire, a process that imparts a distinctly complex flavor profile. Guided tours of the farm and mill run daily, taking visitors through every stage of the wet processing method: from the handpicking of ripe red cherries to pulping, fermentation, washing, drying on raised beds, and final milling. The tour concludes with a cupping session where guests taste the estate's own production alongside other Costa Rican coffees. Doka's coffee has won multiple Cup of Excellence awards and is exported to specialty roasters worldwide. The estate also encompasses botanical gardens, a plant nursery, and a small museum dedicated to Costa Rican coffee history. Just 45 minutes from San José, Doka Estate provides one of the most authentic and historically grounded coffee experiences in Central America.

Eco Termales Fortuna is widely regarded as the most intimate and authentic hot spring experience in the entire La Fortuna area, deliberately limiting daily visitor numbers to create a serene, unhurried atmosphere that the larger thermal complexes along the main highway simply cannot replicate. Set within a lush garden of heliconias, gingers, and tropical palms, the facility channels geothermally heated water — warmed by volcanic activity beneath nearby Arenal — into naturally shaped pools ranging from 35°C to 42°C.

Unlike the sprawling resort-style parks competing for cruise group business, Eco Termales feels genuinely connected to its volcanic surroundings. The forest canopy overhead is thick enough to shelter tree frogs and the occasional sloth, and the sound of the Río Fortuna rushing below adds rich texture to the sensory experience. A good on-site restaurant serves traditional Costa Rican cuisine, making an evening soak followed by dinner a complete, deeply relaxed experience.

• Entry limited to roughly 100 guests per session — advance booking is essential
• Two daily sessions: afternoon and evening; the evening session is especially atmospheric
• Towel and locker rental available for visitors arriving directly from tours

For travellers who prioritise genuine tranquillity over entertainment spectacle, Eco Termales represents the gold standard of the La Fortuna hot spring circuit. The combination of careful natural landscaping, warm volcanic waters, and authentic calm makes it a highlight of any well-planned Costa Rica itinerary.

Escazú is San José's most affluent and cosmopolitan municipality, a hillside suburb immediately west of the capital that has evolved from a colonial village into one of Central America's most sophisticated urban destinations. The district comprises three distinct villages — San Miguel, San Antonio, and San Rafael de Escazú — each retaining a colonial church and central plaza that provide anchors of traditional Costa Rican character within a broader landscape of international restaurants, luxury hotels, upscale shopping centers, and diplomatic residences. Multiplaza Escazú and the surrounding commercial district represent the most developed face of the suburb, catering to the large expatriate and business community that has made Escazú Costa Rica's preferred address for multinational headquarters. The older, higher-altitude neighborhoods of San Antonio and San Miguel preserve a quieter, more authentically Costa Rican atmosphere, with cobblestone streets, traditional architecture, and sweeping views over the Central Valley and toward the central volcanic range. Escazú has historically been associated with brujas — witches — in Costa Rican folklore, a reputation that lends the older hillside villages a certain enigmatic charm. The culinary scene is exceptional by any regional standard, with restaurants serving Japanese, French, Italian, Peruvian, and innovative Costa Rican cuisine at internationally competitive quality levels. Proximity to the international airport — just 10 minutes by highway — makes Escazú a practical first or last stop for travelers on tight schedules seeking comfort and quality.

Flamingo Beach in Guanacaste is one of Costa Rica's most refined Pacific coastal destinations, a 1.5-kilometre crescent of pale sand fronting calm, clear water in the sheltered Potrero Bay. Unlike the busier beach towns of Tamarindo or Jacó, Playa Flamingo retains a quieter, more exclusive character shaped by its upscale marina — one of the few full-service marinas on Costa Rica's Pacific coast — and a concentration of private villas and boutique hotels rather than mass-market resorts. Sailing and sportfishing charters depart from the marina daily, targeting sailfish, marlin, dorado, and wahoo in waters that rank among Central America's most productive. Snorkelling around the rocky headlands at either end of the bay reveals coral communities, moray eels, and colourful reef fish. The dry season from December through April delivers virtually guaranteed sunshine and flat water ideal for paddleboarding and kayaking. Sunsets viewed from the northern headland are among the finest on the Nicoya Peninsula — the sky turns through amber, magenta, and deep violet as the Pacific horizon swallows the last light. Flamingo's restaurants and beach bars maintain a standard comfortably above typical tourist-strip fare, making evenings here as pleasurable as the days.