What To See
Rincon de la Vieja National Park begins on the flanks of the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano and includes an active crater. Down lower you will find an area of geothermal activity similar to Yellowstone National Park. Fumaroles, geysers, and hot pools cover this small area creating a bizarre otherworldly landscape you can also explore waterfalls, a lake and the craters. The entrance is 15 miles northeast of Liberia.
Santa Rosa National Park is best known for its pristine beaches. It's a fine place to ramble, surf, swim, or just watch wildlife.
Catalina and Bat Islands are great for seeing the underwater world. Giant manta rays, whales, sharks, and huge schools of tropical fish regularly greet the divers.
Watch nesting sea turtles at the nearby Play Grande now part of Las Baulas National Park the principal nesting site in Costa Rica for the giant leatherback turtle, the largest turtle in the world (late September until mid-March).
Guanacaste's beaches comply with most of the requirements upon which a good beach is judged. From calm waters with great swimming to fine sand beaches with magnificent panoramas, these shores are now receiving international recognition. Monteverde Biological Cloud Forest Preserve is well known among scientific researchers and eco-travelers. The mountain ridge is blanketed almost daily in dense clouds, giving rise to an incredible bio-diversity including jaguars, ocelots, tapirs, 400 species of birds and 100 species of mammal.
