Costa Rica Bucket List: 12 Experiences You Must Have in 2025

12 Reasons Costa Rica Will Stay With You Forever 🇨🇷

There's a reason Costa Rica consistently tops global travel ranking surveys — it's a country of extraordinary natural richness, genuine sustainability credentials, and a warmth of welcome that makes every experience feel personal. Covering barely 51,000 square kilometres, it contains over 5% of the world's entire biodiversity. Whatever your interests — wildlife, adventure, beaches, wellness, food — Costa Rica delivers.

Here are 12 experiences you simply cannot miss.

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1. Soak in Arenal's Hot Springs

After a day of hiking through lava fields and jungle trails around Arenal Volcano, sinking into a natural thermal pool fed by volcanic heat is an experience of pure bliss. The Tabacón Resort has the most spectacular hot spring complex — tiered pools of different temperatures surrounded by lush rainforest — but Baldi and Ecotermales offer excellent, less expensive alternatives. Doing this at night, under a sky of stars, with tree frogs calling from the jungle around you, is a memory you'll carry for the rest of your life.

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2. Zip-Line Through the Monteverde Cloud Forest

High in the mountains above the Pacific coast, Monteverde's cloud forest is perpetually draped in mist, and the zip-lines here are among the most spectacular in the world. Flying at speed through the forest canopy, 100 metres above the jungle floor, with views extending to the Pacific on a clear day — it's thrilling, beautiful, and completely exhilarating.

The Original Canopy Tour at Monteverde, which pioneered zip-lining as a tourist experience in the 1990s, remains one of the finest operations.

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3. Watch Sea Turtles Nest at Tortuguero

Between June and October, four species of sea turtle — including the massive leatherback — come ashore at Tortuguero to nest on the beaches. The national park here is accessible only by plane or boat, which keeps crowds manageable. Watching a giant turtle drag herself up the beach at night and laying her eggs is one of those wildlife encounters that resets your perspective on the natural world entirely.

Book a guided night tour; rangers know where the turtles are and ensure minimal disturbance.

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4. Spot a Resplendent Quetzal in Monteverde

The resplendent quetzal — iridescent green and crimson, with tail feathers up to a metre long — is one of the most beautiful birds on earth and the symbol of Central American culture. Quetzals are rare, elusive, and deeply special. Monteverde's cloud forest is one of the best places on earth to see them, particularly during nesting season (February–April). A good local guide can dramatically increase your chances.

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5. White-Water Raft the Pacuare River

The Rio Pacuare is widely considered one of the best white-water rafting rivers in the world — a spectacular, full-day descent through pristine tropical rainforest with Class III and IV rapids. The river gorge is extraordinary, the rapids are genuinely exciting (and manageable for first-timers with a good guide), and the surrounding jungle is simply incredible.

Many operators offer the option of spending a night at a riverside jungle lodge, which is highly recommended.

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6. Walk the Cloud Forest at Monteverde

Beyond the zip-lines, Monteverde's cloud forest deserves unhurried exploration on foot. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve has an excellent network of well-maintained trails through primary forest, with suspension bridges offering stunning views of the canopy below. Early morning is the best time — the mist is thickest, the birdlife is most active, and the light is extraordinary.

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7. Explore Manuel Antonio National Park

Costa Rica's most popular national park, and with very good reason — here, the Pacific rainforest meets a series of beautiful white sand beaches in a way that exists nowhere else. White-faced capuchin monkeys wander along the trails within arm's reach. Three-toed sloths are visible in the trees overhead. Squirrel monkeys, agouti, and raccoons complete the cast. The park beaches (particularly Playa Manuel Antonio) are among the finest on the Pacific coast.

The park limits daily visitor numbers, so book your entrance tickets in advance.

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8. Visit the Osa Peninsula

Costa Rica's wildest, most remote, and most biodiverse corner — described by National Geographic as "the most biologically intense place on earth." The Osa Peninsula contains Corcovado National Park, home to jaguars, tapirs, harpy eagles, scarlet macaws, and four species of sea turtle. Getting here requires effort (a small plane, boat, and 4WD vehicle), but the wildlife encounters available are unrivalled anywhere in Central America.

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9. Swim at Playa Conchal

One of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica — a remarkable natural beach formed entirely from billions of crushed white shells rather than sand. The result is a sparkling white surface that's completely unique, with extraordinarily clear water and excellent snorkelling just offshore.

Located on the Guanacaste coast, about 45 minutes from Liberia Airport.

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10. Experience a Coffee Tour

Costa Rica is one of the world's finest coffee-producing countries — the only nation to have legally protected the purity of its coffee (no robusta allowed). A tour of a working coffee plantation — walking through the fields, learning the production process, drinking freshly roasted beans — is a fascinating experience. The Doka Estate near San José and the coffee farms of the Central Valley are the most accessible.

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11. Sunset at Playa Tamarindo

Tamarindo on the Guanacaste coast is famous for two things: world-class surfing and legendary sunsets. The Pacific sunsets here — the sun sinking into a perfectly flat ocean in an explosion of colour — are among the most spectacular in Central America. Whether you surf, take a lesson, or simply sit at a beachside bar with a cold beer, this is Pura Vida at its purest.

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12. Night Walk in a Rainforest

Costa Rica's forests come alive at night in ways that are completely invisible during the day. A guided night walk in a primary rainforest reveals a world of extraordinary creatures: red-eyed tree frogs clinging to leaves, kinkajous moving silently through the canopy, olingos, tarantulas, poison dart frogs, and a cast of nocturnal life that seems almost impossible in its density and variety. Many lodges in Arenal, Manuel Antonio, and the Osa offer excellent guided night walks.

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Book Your Costa Rica Transfer with My Holiday Taxi

Whether you're flying into San José or Liberia, we'll get you to your Costa Rican adventure safely and comfortably. Our drivers know every road and every destination across this extraordinary country. Pre-book your transfer today. Pura Vida!