¡Pura Vida! A Wild and wonderful Adventure in Costa Rica

We travelled with G-Adventures and I can’t recommend them enough. They set the global standard in small group, responsible, adventure travel. Expert guides, a mission to give back to the places they visit, and like-minded people to share an adventure with. I'm a huge fan...

Our first stop after orientation in San Jose is Costa Rica’s most popular national park and for good reason. Lush jungle spilling down to golden beaches, and wildlife absolutely everywhere. We were only here for two nights, but managed to cram in enough for a week! Manuel Antonio

We headed straight to the beach for our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean; hot sun, warm water, and the kind of surf that makes you instantly relax. That evening we took a night-time mangrove boat tour, lit by flickers of lightning in the distance and the crack of thunder all around us. The atmosphere was electric (literally!) and the wildlife blew me away. We spotted boa constrictors, American crocodiles, sloths, and more colourful birds and lizards than I could possibly name.

The next morning we were up early for a guided walk in the park itself, and if you check out my Instagram page then yes all the photos we posted are our own! Some were taken through a guide’s spotting scope, but they genuinely show what you can see with your own eyes. The afternoon was pure paradise. We lounged on one of Tripadvisor’s top 25 beaches in the world, before heading up to El Avion Bar for a sunset cocktail (or two) next to an actual CIA cargo plane with a rather shady past (look up Iran-Contra affair, this is a genuine plane from that crisis!).

The list of animals we spotted over just 48 hours is longer than my arm, but a few favourites were: yellow-throated toucan, sloths (six in total, both two- and three-toed), a green & black poison dart frog (rare!), Jesus Christ lizards literally running across water, squirrel monkeys and white-faced capuchins (one of which tried to rob the bar kitchen!), pygmy kingfishers, huge iguanas, blue land crabs, and—bizarrely—a deer trotting through the rainforest!!

And that was just the beginning...

Next up was Monteverde, home to the legendary, and mystical cloud forest. Dream-like views across the mountains, misty trails and swaying canopy bridges. It was a wonderful and starkly different scene and instantly fascinating. We took a self-guided walk through the ‘Hanging Bridges’ canopy trail in the afternoon, a network of walkways high in the forest canopy, with clouds swirling all around us . Then that evening we were back out exploring, this time on a guided night walk where we met more sloths, some incredibly beautiful birds, and insects that looked like they belonged in a sci-fi movie. A memorable day was finished off perfectly with a lovely meal at a local, traditional ‘Soda’ restaurant.

The following day, and I still can't quite believe I did it, I zip-lined through the treetops hundreds of metres above the forest floor! Including a 1 mile long zipline! Adrenaline pumping, heart racing… and I LOVED every second of it. If you’re even remotely tempted, go for it. That same afternoon, we had a completely different forest walk (it’s stunning how much the eco-system changes in such a short area) with an incredibly knowledgeable guide and spotted the quite simply incredible resplendent quetzal. Just google it – it’s spellbindingly beautiful.

On the move again we swapped misty mountains to active volcanos! La Fortuna, nestled beside the perfectly conical Arenal Volcano, was our home for the next 3 nights. This place is pure Costa Rica: active geology, lush rainforest, and never-ending adventure.

As we arrived the heavens opened. Rain like I’ve not seen outside of Indian monsoons. So what do you do when you’re already drenched?? Well you go swim at a waterfall!! The power of the water, the jungle backdrop, the warm tropical rain… I won’t forget that afternoon for a very very long time.

We felt rested after an early night and clearly ziplining wasn’t enough, so we added rappelling and canyoning into the mix. Scaling waterfalls, lowering ourselves into jungle canyons, loving every minute of it. Later that day, we joined a guided walk to the lava fields, where you can really appreciate the force of nature that shaped this land. It’s quite something walking close to a thoroughly active volcano!

One last expertly guided walk in the Arenal National Park, with jaw-dropping volcano views and more wildlife encounters (yes, more poison dart frogs—Costa Rica’s unofficial mascot!). Then that evening we toasted a perfect time in La Fortuna with the whole group relaxing at a natural hot spa. An ice cold beer, natural hot springs, right in the forest. Magical!

But we were nowhere near done!! A bus & boat transfer to Tortuguero national park, only accessible by water and a haven for turtles. It wasn’t hatching season whilst we were there but exploring the backwaters by kayak, visiting the turtle conservancy, soaking up the traditional village life of people that have made this area their home, and just relaxing with wildlife literally all around you made this yet another highlight of the trip.

Finally it was time for some Caribbean vibes in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. Where I ticked off some snorkelling firsts: a white tipped reef shark, a lion fish, a ray, and swimming with turtles… We celebrated such a perfect trip with some live music, proper locals atmosphere and a few drinks!! After one final trip to perfect beaches, we headed back to San Jose, and back to our reality… I know how this will sound, but honestly it’s true; Costa Rica isn’t just a destination. it’s a feeling. A wild, warm, hugely welcoming place where every single day brings a new adventure, and you are always greeted with smiles and friendly faces. Whether you're a nature-lover, adrenaline-junkie or just in need of a serious reset, you need to visit.

As they say in Costa Rica; Pura vida!!