Best Things to Do in Tamarindo, Costa Rica

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.