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Costa Rica’s diversity of ecosystems is a nature lover’s paradise.
On this cool trip we’ll cover the Central Pacific rainforest and then we’ll drive to the highlands of the Monteverde Cloud Forest in a beautiful Quaker community.
Lastly, we’ll visit the dry forest of Guanacaste Province with its beautiful beaches and excellent weather. All of this is on the Pacific side which is a great section of the country to appreciate the incredible diversity and variety of ecosystems that we have.
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Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is only 100 miles northwest of San José, right on the Continental Divide at 5,000 feet above sea level. The rainforest ecosystem is very different from the rainforest at lower elevations. It will impress you.
Next we’ll drive to the very top of the mountain where we’ll find a beautiful Quaker community — a gorgeous town in the middle of nowhere with incredible views. Here we’ll spend the next two nights and do a lot of activities.
Driving from Monteverde to Guanacaste Province is like going from the everglades to San Diego, California in terms of weather. The activities are very diverse. You could go from snorkeling to deep sea fishing, surfing, hiking and exploring high volcanoes or swimming in a beautiful river with waterfalls around. You could also do canopy tours, horseback riding or simply enjoy the beach.
Three or four days there will be enough time to fully explore the area.
We’ll drive to the beautiful rainforest in the Central Pacific for the last two nights. This area is known for having mangrove forest, which is a different forest ecosystem, and the famous Tárcoles river where we’ll do a boat trip safari. The wildlife is simply awesome. Also, Carara Rainforest National Park is considered one of the most diverse rainforest in the whole northern hemisphere — something like the epicenter of evolution.
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Click on the regions over the map
to see a description.
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Guanacaste Province
At the time of freedom from Spain in 1821, Guanacaste was an autochthonous province, so it was not part of Costa Rica until 1824 when it was decided to annex it to our country. At that time in history the access to this region was difficult for Costa Ricans, but easier for Nicaraguans.
So, for many years Guanacaste had a very strong Nicaraguan influence until the arrival of Costa Ricans during the 1970s. Costa Ricans loved Guanacaste because of its beautiful beaches, great weather and, most of all, its beautiful people. It is a great vacationing place for us. I personally think Costa Ricans are very proud of having Guanacaste as a part of our country.
Getting there is a very easy drive on the beautiful Pan-American highway or by flying to the second most important international airport, Liberia. In this area you’ll find good roads, restaurants and some excellent hotels.
Monteverde Region
Before the 1950s there were only few Costa Rican families up in Monteverde where the major industry was farming crops like coffee, sugar cane and some vegetables.
That’s all they did up to the 1950s. Then some Quakers came from America to avoid the draft, as they didn’t believe in fighting. Monteverde became a peaceful and safe place to stay for the newcomers as Costa Ricans had abolished the army two years before in 1948. Also, land was less expensive than in some other parts of the country.
During that time there was a breakout of Malaria in Central America including Costa Rica, but Malaria mosquitoes don’t like the cooler weather in Monteverde. These are some of the major reasons why the Quakers moved up there.
Eleven families came from the United States, four families came first from Alabama and then seven families a few months later from other parts of the country. In total, 44 members moved to our country. A few years later they founded the cheese factory. Finally in the 1980s tourism became one of the important industries in the area.
Central Pacific
Central Pacific is located in Puntarenas which is the largest province in the country. It will take less than two hours on a very good road. Here you can find all kinds of hotels and excellent restaurants.
The weather is great from November to April. The rainy season is from May to late October, in normal conditions. Some of the surfing tournaments take place at the famous Jacó Beach. Another big attraction there is Río Tárcoles with the beautiful mangrove forest where wildlife is abundant. Carara National Park is another big attraction in the area because of its geographical location.
In the Central Pacific you can find Manuel Antonio National Park, one of our mountain gems. Good roads all the way, very swimmable beaches and lots of things to do make the Central Pacific area a desirable place to visit.
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Pacific Eco-Safari 
