Costa Rica Guide

travel information and maps

  • Vacation Planning
  • Best Trips Ever>>
  • More Fun Than Humanly Possible
  • Costa Rica
    • Top Ten
    • Best Time to Visit Costa Rica
    • Things To Do in Costa Rica
    • Maps
    • Transportation
      • Rental Cars
        • Advantages of Driving
        • Disadvantages Driving
        • Code of the Road
        • Navigation & Drive Time
        • Rental Insurance Explained
        • Can’t Get There
      • Airports
        • Flights Worth Taking
        • LIR or SJO
        • Airfare Deals
        • Domestic Airlines
        • Domestic Air Tips
      • Taxis
      • Bus Schedule
    • Food
      • Typical Menu
      • Batidos & Refrescos
      • Gallo Pinto
      • Tamales
      • Ceviche
      • Ensalada Palmito
      • Sopa Negra
      • Vinagre Chilera
    • Weather
      • Seasons in Costa Rica
      • Current Storms in Costa Rica
    • Regions
  • Nature & Wildlife
    • National Parks
    • Wildlife Refuges
    • Ecozones
    • Best Places to See Wildlife in Costa Rica
  • Practical Info
    • Health & Safety
      • Health Tips
        • Altitude Sickness
        • Chikungunya
        • Natural Disasters
      • Crime
        • Cons & Rip-offs
        • Corruption
        • Violent Crime
    • Will My Phone Work?
    • Packing List
    • Passports & Docs
    • Money – How To?
    • How Much Does it Cost?
    • Travel Tips
  • Stories
    • Photos
    • Trek Across Costa Rica
    • Sendero de Oro
    • Quebrada Gata
    • Bicycle Touring
    • About Us
  • Move to Costa Rica
  • Free Travel Pack
no obligation custom trip plan & price quote

1-866-816-0197

· Copyright © 2025 ·

Costa Rica's National Park System

Modeled on the U.S. national parks after a couple of young Tico soon to be conservationists visited the Great Smokey Mountains the whole story of the birth of Costa Rica's park system is told in a fascinating book called The Quetzal and the Macaw. However they came to be they are now the foundation of Costa Rica's billion dollar travel industry, the source of water for the population and the reason that in early 2015 Costa Rica could declare that 100% of it's electricity was from green energy - the vast majority from hydro on National Park fed rivers.

No matter where you visit in Costa Rica there is always a park nearby.

Guanacaste National Park

Geoffroy's Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) are called mono aranya in Spanish

Guanacaste National Park was created in 1989 to connect Santa Rosa National Park with the high elevation cloud forest of Orosi and Cacao volcanoes and across the continental divide to the Caribbean rainforest of Northern Costa Rica. The hope is that together these two parks protect enough land to … [Read more...]

Ray & Sue

Cost · ToDo · Plan·Costa Rica Guide logo animated·Top10 · Best Time · Contact

Isla del Cocos National Park

Cocos Island Google Map

Hundreds of years ago Cocos Island was a hideout for pirates (and some say the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's, Treasure Island). Stories tell of buccaneers burying treasures here… Edward Davis in 1685, Benito Bonito in 1820, and William Thompson in 1821, but if they did leave treasure … [Read more...]

Ray & Sue

Cost · ToDo · Plan·Costa Rica Guide logo animated·Top10 · Best Time · Contact

Juan Castro Blanco/Parque de Aguas National Park

Above Bajo del Toro

Juan Castro Blanco National Park is also known as Parque de Aguas (the park of the waters) and protects mid-elevation wet forest and high altitude cloud forest on the slopes of three extinct volcano peaks, Porvenir (2,267 meters), Platanar (2,183 meters), and Viejo (2,060 meters). Currently the … [Read more...]

Ray & Sue

Cost · ToDo · Plan·Costa Rica Guide logo animated·Top10 · Best Time · Contact

Miravalles Volcano National Park

Jumping Pit Viper - Atropoides nummifer in the trail on Miravalles

The Bagaces Side of Miravalles Our first ever visit started out from Fortuna de Bagaces (not the Arenal La Fortuna) and was one of the most memorable days of hiking we ever enjoyed. Our friend The Priest (his name is Climaco but The Priest is what his family and friends call him) gave us the … [Read more...]

Ray & Sue

Cost · ToDo · Plan·Costa Rica Guide logo animated·Top10 · Best Time · Contact

Palo Verde National Park

Great Egrets and Roseate Spoonbills

Palo Verde National Park has a uniquely dichotomous character.  It’s simultaneously a spectacular wetlands and one of the best examples of tropical dry forests remaining anywhere in the world.  This dual nature is a result of the Río Tempisque flooding over land located in a relatively arid climate … [Read more...]

Ray & Sue

Cost · ToDo · Plan·Costa Rica Guide logo animated·Top10 · Best Time · Contact

Santa Rosa National Park

Infant spider monkey

Tropical Dry Forest Santa Rosa National Park protects some of the last remaining tropical dry forest in the world. The small patch of oak forest near the entrance to the Comelco Ranch is probably representative of the original habitat of much of the park. Ranchers burned most of the plateau … [Read more...]

Ray & Sue

Cost · ToDo · Plan·Costa Rica Guide logo animated·Top10 · Best Time · Contact

« Previous Page

toll free Costa Rica travel desk!
1-866-816-0197

CONTACT US

National Parks

National Parks
  • Corcovado National Park
  • Irazú Volcano National Park
  • Carara National Park
  • Manuel Antonio National Park
  • Cerro Chirripó National Park
  • Poás Volcano National Park
  • Tenorio Volcano National Park
  • Official National Park Reservation System SINAC
  • Poás Volcano – Tickets & Visitor Information
  • Tortuguero National Park
  • Arenal Volcano National Park
  • Rincón de la Vieja National Park
  • La Cangreja National Park
  • La Amistad International Peace Park
  • Ballena National Park
  • Barbilla National Park
  • Barra Honda Caverns National Park
  • Las Baulas National Marine Park
  • Braulio Carrillo National Park
  • Cahuita National Park



Costa Rica Guide on facebook
Costa Rica Guide on Facebook