What to do in Costa Rica | Costa Rica Adventure Wedding Photographers

Well, if you’re planning a Costa Rica Wedding or a vacation to the land of Pura Vida we know you’re the adventurous type!

While there are a few all-inclusive resorts sprinkled throughout the country, for the most part you’ll find hotels to home rentals to even surf hostels. Most of them will have access to a list of tours available but it’s so hard to know what ones to choose - and also what companies are still in business.

We absolutely adore Costa Rica and getting out into nature but you will find a lot of “fly by night” types of tourist attractions so you’ll want to be cautious when picking out things to book. You’ll want to make sure they’re a real business and that they’ll still be there by the time your trip comes around.

Before we get into all the things you should definitely do while you are in the country, lets get a few things out of the way that you shouldn’t do.

**We’ve personally done all of the things we recommend under the “To do in Costa Rica” header. How can we recommend things to our couples and their guests if we haven’t done them ourselves! We are not compensated in anyway for our recommendations.

Things you shouldn’t do in Costa Rica

1) Wildlife tours that involve feeding, touching, petting or otherwise interacting with the wildlife

Feeding a crocodile sounds amazing right? Maybe getting to hold baby sea turtles is your dream or snuggling with sloths. Now there are legitimate rehabilitation groups where you will be able to help baby sea turtles into the ocean or snuggling sloths that otherwise won’t be released back into the wild. But other than that - the policy is hands off!

You’ll find tours all over the place that will take you out in search of crocodiles, turtles and sloths but be cautious if they say you can interact, or they interact with the wild animals. Any interaction with humans can be dangerous to them and in the cases of crocodiles be dangerous to the humans as well. It may be really cool to see a croc jump out of the water to grab food being dangled by a tourism boat but locals may fish those waterways and once crocs start associating humans with food, it puts locals in danger of being considered food.

2) Be cautious of taking transportation that isn’t a Tourismo van or a taxi

Both Tourismo vans and taxis are well marked. Uber is available but is not regulated and can be a bit risky if you’re jumping in a random car. When you land at the airport you’ll be greeted by a huge amount of options for transportation (some rather aggressive!). Make sure you have a plan in place for transportation before you land that way you’re not worried about trying to figure that all out while all the different companies and drivers vie for your attention and $$ at the exit of the airport. You’ll also want to set aside some smaller bills for tips for your driver when you get to your location. US currency is readily accepted both in payment for services and as tips. You will get Costa Rican colones back if you need change. We recommend a currency conversion app - as most ATMs at the airport and major areas will disperse both US and Costa Rican currency but not display the conversion info.

3) Drugs (duh)

That goes without saying! However while marijuana is legal in some US states it’s illegal in Costa Rica - even medicinally so you’re not going to want to be bringing that with you or look to buy it there. We’ve heard horror stories from others about bachelor parties, spring breakers, etc. We can’t caution you enough to stay away from all of that while visiting. The nature and adventures should be enough of a rush!

Things you SHOULD do in Costa Rica

1) Learn to surf and enjoy the beaches!

We know that lounging poolside or sunning yourself on the beach is fantastic but you should absolutely see more than just your hotel/resort while you are here! Brittany has been surfing off and on since college and introduced Dean to surfing when we moved to Maine. But nothing compares to hopping on a surfboard in Costa Rica. Warm water, stronger/bigger waves that make learning that much easier. With everything from baby waves to pro-level surf there’s a break for every skill level!

Most seaside towns will have restaurants lining the beach with tables right in the sand. It’s our favorite way to enjoy a meal - toes in the sand and chirping birds or monkeys overhead in the trees. In Tamarindo you’ll find fire dancers on the beach for your after sunset entertainment.

2) Catamaran Tour

This is my absolute go-to adventure when we are here and especially when we have guests visiting. You can’t go wrong with a sunset tour aboard the Marlin del Rey. You’ll most likely see rays jumping out of the ocean, beautiful secluded beaches, uniquely shaped islands and stacks rising out of the ocean, and get to snorkel with tropical fish! Not only that, they’ve got a bar on board and yummy food to snack on after you snorkel and swim. All gear for snorkeling is included as is the food and drink. It is NOT a booze cruise as the amazing staff will reiterate when you are on board. The tours go our of several places along the coast from Playa del Coco to Tamarindo. We’ve done tours from both locations and I prefer the Playa del Coco trip - but in all fairness I’ve only done the Tamarindo location once on an exceptionally windy day where they weren’t able to raise sails outside of the protected bay area. Both tours start from popular towns so if you did have a bit too much to drink on the boat, or need a minute to get your land legs back there’s plenty of dining options in both places.

3) Turtle Tour

As we mentioned above you don’t want to do a tour that promises interacting with the animals. We’ve done a few where you hike in at night and sit in silence as you watch the females come up onto the shore to lay their eggs. For most of the tour you’re hiking with just a flashlight until you get to the beach where it’s either by the light of the moon or the guides provide a red light. The tours we’ve done were very strict about lighting as the turtles can’t register the red light but any other forms of light/noise can discourage the turtles from nesting and laying eggs. They only have three days to successfully nest or they’ll lay their eggs at sea where they will die. We did a tour through on Playa Grande. During nesting season the beaches are off limits from sunset to sunrise to people not on a sanctioned tour. Turtle watching tours are offered through the MINAET office near Hotel Las Tortugas, and all visitors need is a passport to sign up. Contact the Playa Grande MINAE office directly to book a tour to see the Leatherbacks at 2653-0470

You can take a boat from Tamarindo, across the estuary, to Playa Grande. DO NOT SWIM. It seems like an easy swim - or even a wade across at low tide but the estuary is filled with crocodiles!

**When photographing turtles only use red lights that do not disturb the turtles and do not use flash/loud camera clicks

4) Volcanoes, waterfalls, and hot springs. Oh my.

Another big favorite of ours to recommend are trips through Rincon de la Vieja National Park. If you’re heading from the Liberia airport to the coast in Guanacaste you’ll likely see this mountain range in the distance. The summits are probably covered in clouds - but if they were to lift you’d see the volcanoes! We’ve unfortunately never been able to hike to the top as every time we’ve tried the trail has been closed due to volcanic activity and in 2020 the volcano did erupt with a bit of ash. Don’t worry, while it’s an active volcano, it’s safe to be around. We’ve done plenty of hiking through the park where you can either do a self-guided tour or join a group tour lead by a guide going through the park. The paths through the Rincon aren’t like a regular US national park - these paths are groomed with steps in places along with crushed stone and nice borders so you can easily avoid accidentally stepping off trail.

While you’re visiting the Rincon you can book tours to see several waterfalls and hot springs in the area. You’ll have to do those from the Adventure Center at the Hacienda Guachipelin Hotel. They also have Zipline and horse back riding tours you can schedule through them as well. I highly recommend going this route if you’re looking for some more dare-devil style activities. The hotel is fabulous and all the tours they offer and top notch! They also have a small gift shop and restaurants on property for meals. We haven’t stayed at the hotel as it’s just an hour from where we are, but it also looks amazing if you’d like to spend a few days exploring the Rincon de la Vieja and all the adventures in the area.

5) Waterfall trek

If you are looking for something a little more off the beaten path we 110% recommend a tour to Catarata la Leona through Don Rafa’s Tours. It’s located just outside the Rincon de la Vieja National Park on a dirt road in a small town. If you weren’t looking for it, you’d miss it. From what I’ve been told they do have english speaking guides but when Dean and I toured with them our guide didn’t understand English so I had to do some basic translation for Dean (and I kept forgetting to translate!!)

When we reached out to book our tour with them we used WhatsApp so that it was easier to translate. I have a much easier time with Spanish in writing than I do with speaking it. So there is an option if you need English.

This hike involves climbing up and down some rocks with shallow river crossings in several spots before arriving at the most amazing cavern with a booming waterfall. You get to swim in the gorgeous teal water and then there’s lots of swimming and vine swinging on the way back to the home base.

You’ll definitely want to make sure you have a very sturdy 4 wheel drive vehicle to get to the tour start. Or if you have a car, like we do, you’ll be parking at the Soda (a traditional Costa Rican diner) at the top of the dirt road and then walking the approx. 1/2mi to Don Rafa’s Finca (farm).

It’s one of those tours that you’ll never forget. Dean and I lucked out and were the only ones on the tour that morning so we had the guide all to ourselves and the BEST time we’ve ever had here.

6) Manuel Antonio National Park

If you’re heading farther south on the west coast, Manuel Antonio National Park is a must. It’s another park where you can go in and wander on your own or hire a guide for a group tour once you’re inside the park. There are lots of people offering tours on the streets but to get an official guide you can do that at the park itself. We got to see a lot of monkeys, sloths and beautiful birds - including Scarlet Macaws. Again I recommend bringing along small bills for tips for the tour guides. It’s been a few years since we have been into the park but I do remember our tour through the park ended at a rocky outcrop where we had to cross a small estuary to get back to the main beach. Again, DO NOT SWIM/WADE. There are crocodiles here again.

There are several different micro climates in Costa Rica so in each section you’ll see a variety of different wildlife!

7) Find hidden gems!

Talk to the locals and find out some great places but always be cautious! If you don’t know Spanish, it’s a good idea to pick up a few key words. My go-to’s are for “crocodile” and “caution”. It’s also best to know a few other key words for directions without needing your phone as you can’t always rely on cell service. And I never cross or swim in freshwater without checking with a local if there is anything in the water we should avoid! Another good tip is to keep an eye on the tide schedules. One of our favorite adventures just exploring around was stumbling across a black sand beach called Playa Carbon. To get there we had to walk two long stretches of beaches before climbing around on lava rocks/bottoms of cliffs. This walk was only accessible at low tide and if we got stuck at high tide we would have had to wait it out! On our way home we stumbled across the best outdoor pizza restaurant with fresh pineapple pizza - don’t debate me. Fresh pineapple on a pizza cooked in a stone oven in the tropics is the best pizza ever.

The same rule applies in Costa Rica as it does anywhere else. If you’re going off on a fun trek on your own, let others know where you’ll be, take water (lots! It’s hot!), snacks, and something to keep you warm in case you’re out longer than expected. And if you’re like me - sunblock!

Brittany and Dean of Two Adventurous Souls are creative Costa Rica Wedding Photographers and Videographers for weddings and up and down the west coast and inland. If you’re interested in chatting with us about your wedding please reach out!