City: Costa Rica
Top Things to do in Costa Rica
Top Hotels in Costa Rica
- 1. Shana By The Beach Manuel Antonio
- 2. Tulemar Resort
- 3. Nayara Gardens
- 4. Arenal Manoa Resort Hotel & Hot Springs
- 5. The Westin Reserva Conchal, an All-Inclusive Golf Resort & Spa
- 6. Jardin del Eden Boutique Hotel
- 7. The Royal Corin Thermal Water Spa & Resort
- 8. The Springs Resort and Spa
- 9. Tabacon Thermal Resort & Spa
- 10. Hotel Lomas del Volcan
The 10 Best Hidden Gems Things to do in Costa Rica, Costa Rica
Coordinates: 10°N 84°W / 10°N 84°W / 10; -84
Restaurants in Costa Rica
1. Proyecto Asis
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,698 reviews
Previous Reservation is required. Proyecto Asis is a Wildlife Shelter and Environmental Education Center located very close to La Fortuna. Wild animals which have been found wounded, forsaken or are rescued from the black market by the local forest rangers are brought here. Those that cannot be released are used within our educational programs. In order to finance our shelter, we offer daily tours and volunteer activities. Schedules: Monday to Saturday at 8:30 am or at 1:00 pm. Sundays Closed. Easy access facilities and trails for all ages.
Reviewed By connierussell - Thunder Bay, Canada
My husband and I spent the full day at Proyecto Asis. We had a guided tour of the Sloth Rescue Centre in the morning (which ended up being a very good idea since it was a hot day and rescued sloths' enclosure requires standing in the sun so better to do that early), walked down to the local 'soda' for lunch, then had a guided tour of the main rescue centre in the morning, finishing with a short volunteer stint where we helped prepare and deliver food to some of the wildlife. Both guides were very good, explaining the reasons various animals were at the centre, which ones would be able to released, and rehabilitation/release process. We very much appreciated the philosophy of the place and were impressed with the good work they were doing. (One has to be careful in Costa Rica not to be sucked in by shady places who pretend to be doing wildlife rescue but are in fact exploiting animals for profit.) Spending time at Proyecto Asis was one of the highlights of our trip. Highly recommended!
2. Nature Observatorio
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 248 reviews
Nature Observatorio is a beautiful treehouse suspended 25 meters up on a tree in the middle of the jungle in the Gandoca Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge at the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Enjoy wonderful nature hike through primary forest, exercise yourself climbing up the tree with ropes, and sleep up on the tree in the middle on the jungle. This is not just your ordinary accommodation. We are offering the ultimate 3-in-1 Costa Rica Tour Adventure: 1. Hike through real prime rainforest. Watch wildlife in its real natural habitat and listen to the sounds and whispers of the nature. 2. Climb 25 meters (8 stories) high up the tree. Use our safe climbing technique to hoist yourselves up to Nature Observatorio. 3. Spend a night up on the tree in the middle of the jungle. Enjoy one of the most memorable nights of your life and feel like Tarzan and Jane. To prepare yourselves for the adventure we suggest to read Frequently Asked Questions on our website.
Reviewed By MrGolem
Simply the single best way to spend a night in Costa Rica, or anywhere in the world! Peter has built a unique place, and has kept it unique by not mass producing and making it too easy! Even though I'm scared of heights, I got both up and down fine with help from our great guides. There was also a heavy rainstorm at night, but I never felt unsafe in the treehouse. The cloud touched the trees at times and the rainforest lived up to its name, but we still saw lots of monkeys, even a throwing fruit and branches fight between howler monkeys and spider monkeys on the tree next to the treehouse! Furthermore we saw a white falcon, tucans, parrots, parakeets, and on the trek we saw an eyelash viper, three different poison dart frogs and plenty of cool bugs! Good binoculars and species books are available in the tree! After almost a month in CR I can safely say Peter was the best wildlife spotter I had the pleasure to encounter. Some people say it is if it is a bit expensive, but you get both a tour, a dinner and an overnight stay that you will remember for the rest of your life. In addition there is a true care for nature and native rights in this company! I will surely book two nights if I get a chance to come back!
3. Hidden Garden Art Gallery
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 72 reviews
A haven for the arts since 2010, the Hidden Garden Art Gallery offers quality original art in many mediums. HG is the largest of its kind in Guanacaste, more than 60 artists on exhibit, and 15 rooms full of paintings, sculptures and diverse artistic expressions. The gallery has 3,500 square feet of wall space, and more than 400 pieces on display. Rooms are coordinated by styles, ranging from geometric abstraction, to typical art, to underwater images. The Gallery is also home to the permanent exhibits of our resident artist Carlos Hiller underwater scenes, Susan Adams, Rebeca Alvarado Soto and many more. Our location, designed with a marvelous architecture, is the perfect setting for our cultural center. Our mission is to strengthen and heighten local artists' works and share the beauty and culture of Costa Rica.
Reviewed By ALentz11
Specializing in artistic expression of Costa Rica, the Hidden Garden Art Gallery should not be overlooked. Whatever your tastes in art, the Hidden Gallery has something from a local artist to suit your needs. Owners Greg and Charlene Golojuch are wonderful hosts and curators of this collection.
4. Hacienda El Viejo Wetlands
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 281 reviews
Reviewed By SandeeGeislinger - Calgary, Canada
We had a great experience on our last day in Costa Rica at Hacienda el Viejo. Our nature guide Richard, Rum experience host Roberto and Cultural experience hosts, Tono and Victoria were attentive, knowledgeable, passionate and friendly. We booked our tour with them day prior and drove ourselves there from Playa Ocotal, about an hours drive. The road is a pretty typical Costa Rica road and actually in a pretty good shape in comparison to many others we’ve been on in the country. They are called a “Costa Rican” massage for a reason!! We saw so many birds, crocs, bats, birds, capuchins and howlers, and even an anteater and white tailed deer and thoroughly enjoyed tasting and infusing rums, forming, baking and eating tortillas, cheese, coffee and molasses sweets, not to mention learning about the hacienda and a bit of the history and importance of the location, the trees on the property and the road passing by. Oh and the lunch?? Delicious!! All in all a great day and we would recommend it!!
5. Bogarin Trail
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 578 reviews
Our private trail offer a lot of wildlife just 5 minutes away from downtown La Fortuna, this tour is for nature lovers, we oofer a selfguided tour or a guided tour with pur experts guides. To make a reservation with us please contact us directly!
Reviewed By nkrul - Rehoboth Beach, United States
We had gone hiking on other trails in the area without a guide, and hadn’t seen any wildlife yet. So we went with a guided tour by William at Bogarin trail and it was one of the best tours I’ve ever done!! William has an amazing eye to spot the wildlife. We caught a mom and her baby sloth on video and poison frogs and many other animals. A must do tour when you are in Arenal!
6. Rancho Raices de Osa
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 106 reviews
We are a local family farm, we do home made traditional chocolat and we share all about our culture, traditions, fruit trees, cultivations, animal farm and more !!!
Reviewed By Eagar4Nature
This was a wonderful tour given by a beautiful Costa Rican family who share their chocolate farm experience directly with you. They let you and your kids participate as much as you want in the whole chocolate making experience. The guide Herman was very knowledgeable about native plants that he grows on his farm and their various uses and you get to sample many along the way. If you visit the Osa peninsula I highly recommend you visit this family and support their tour! Covid has hurt many families like this in Costa Rica who depend on ecotourism and I recommend you support a beautiful family like this over some ecotourism corporation.
7. Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 900 reviews
Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary is a non-profit organization where we Rescue, Rehabilitate and Release Costa Rica's exotic wildlife back into the jungle! 100% of your donation goes to care for the animals. You will see a variety of species and hopefully walk away with an understand on the importance of conservation.
Reviewed By buckeyes08 - San Jose, Costa Rica
We enjoyed this tour. We were prepared or thinking this was going to be a long hike/walk however, this is just a short circle around their sanctuary. Our guide was great, shared the great work their team is doing, shared some sad stories and most importantly educated us on what to watch for and what to do should you see an injured animal or sloth. We got really lucky and seen the two sloths being active. Highly recommend.
8. dondeJavitours
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 97 reviews
Reviewed By JohnY699 - Espanola, United States
We kayaked out to Chora Island and snorkeled in the Samara Bay reef with Jarvier "Jarvi" and it was the best adventure during our three weeks traveling in amazing Costa Rica. Jarvi is a really well rounded naturalist and gave us so much information about Playa Samara and Costa Rica in general. He really cares and loves Samara and is a really good representative of his native home. Don't miss this opportunity.
9. Tio Leo Coffee Tour
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 165 reviews
A Cultural tour which explains the crops and folklore of Guanacaste. Tio Leo himself will show you the techniques that were used to harvest the coffee. In addition to that explanations on sugar cane and chocolate will be provided as part of the tour.
Reviewed By gregpoe
A wonderful tour. Very interesting. Guide gave a great history of coffee and the roasting process. We truly enjoyed walking through the coffee plants, cocoa plants, and other vegetation. Had our bags of coffee signed by the roaster. Highly recommended.
10. Parque Nacional Rincon de la Vieja
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 838 reviews
This 35,000-acre national park centers around a volcano that last erupted in 1995.
Reviewed By Moseywood - Center Valley, United States
Loved Jeody, our guide thru Gabriel’s Tours. He took our family of 6 on a great nature hike, swam in a 55 degree waterfall pool, saw fumeroles and mud pots, howler monkeys, aqua colored butterflies and iguanas. Beautiful park. Picked us up at Dreams Las Mareas resort which is close to Nicaragua and the drive was 1 1/2 hrs. Jeody made the day even better! Fun, very bright and knowledgeable. I would ask for him to be your guide. You will be delighted you did. Tell him Mo and Dave rec. him!
