A Costa Rica vacation is a great choice for both adventure and relaxation. With all of the cultural, ecological and geographical variety that exists in Costa Rica, there are a multitude of opportunities for tourists to see and experience new things. Prominent attractions include the beautiful beaches, surfing, snorkeling, eco-tourism, active volcanoes, white-water rafting, crocodile-watching, many hot springs, and various festivales and cultural activities of the country. Check out Explore Costa Rica for event schedules to plan your vacation during cultural events. There are also quiet spots for relaxation and yoga instruction, and there are many places like this that are situated near ecological reserves for exploring the rich diversity of species found in this country. You can also combine instruction in Spanish with a vacation as well.

Here you can find a review of the active volcanoes and some of the top beaches in Costa Rica, and on the right of this page there are links for top-ranked sites to get Costa Rica Vacation Packages and links to photo galleries. There are also links for various vacation sites and for other Mahalo pages such as Costa Rica Hotels, Costa Rica Restaurants, Tamarindo Beach Vacation, Jaco Costa Rica and Costa Rica Tours. Included on the pages are blogs, Google search results, and news sections for more information.

1. Arenal - Located between the town on La Fortuna and the eastern shores of Lake Arenal, this is one of the most active volcanoes in Costa Rica. It had a significant eruption in 1968 and lava flows continue from vents at the summit and on its western flank. http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1405-033
2. Irazu - The only volcano in Central America where you can see both the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. It has two active magma chambers and had seven eruptive phases during the 20th century. Seismic events are common in the area. http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~carr/Alv%20Irazu.pdf
3. Turrialba - This volcano was dormant for 140 years until January of 2010, when it released gas and ash, resuming activity. http://blog.costaricatodo.com/turrialba_volcano/20100111-194544-Turrialba-activity-means-trouble-for-residents
4. Poas - There are 3 craters for this volcano. There are several crater-formed lakes and eruptions resemble geysers when they eject water from these crater lakes. There is one lake which is very acidic, having a pH of around 0. http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1405-04=

Pacific-North, Guanacaste Province

1. Tamarindo - You can find shopping, dining, surfing, dining. There are expensive and low budget accommodations and many great places to eat. The are very long, beautiful beaches adjacent to Tamarindo with at least 3 areas where surfers gather to catch the waves. To the north of Tamarindo beach, on Playa Grande, giant leatherback turtles (and other types) annually lay their eggs from November to April.
2. Playa Conchal - This beach is unique in Costa Rica because it is made up of little tiny shells instead of sand. Very clean water and there is good snorkeling around the rocks on the north end of the beach. To get to the beach, you can walk 15-20 min from Playa Brasilito. Some people take cars on Brausalito to get to Conchal. A popular beach for Costa Ricans. The hotels located on this beach include Reserva Conchal and Paradisus, of which the later has mixed reviews on TripAdvisor. From Reserva Conchal, it takes about a 15 minutes to walk to the town of Brausilito for shopping and restaurants. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g309242-d293329-Reviews-Paradisus_Playa_Conchal_Playa_Conchal_Province_of_Guanacaste.html

Nicoya Peninsula, Puntarenas Province

1. Playa Montezuma - You can find yoga retreats, classes on how to play with fire, go horseback riding to the waterfalls at the end of Playa Grande (different from that near Tamarindo), and if you are lucky, you can see the Capuchin monkeys that frequent the area. This area is a quiet destination that is popular with the younger crowd. Telephones may not be available at some hotels. Great place to relax.
2. Playa Mal Pais and Playa Santa Teresa. Both beaches are close, with the popular surfing beach of Santa Teresa to the north. A highly recommended hotel in Mal Pais is Casa Chameleon. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g309273-d568106-Reviews-Casa_Chameleon-Mal_Pais_Province_of_Puntarenas.html South of Mal Pais is the 7660-acre Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve, which is the country's oldest protected reserve, where an abundance of flora and fauna of a tropical dry deciduous forest can be found. http://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/bitstream/1808/5442/1/FORECO11365.pdf There aren't too many tourists in these areas, but you can find restaurants and opportunities for shopping.