Costa Rica

Favorites
White-faced Capuchin, Santa Rosa National Park
We loved the national parks and other preserved natural areas of Costa Rica. They are expensive to visit, but if you're willing to spend a bit of money you can experience some truly unique natural areas. During our time there we visited Santa Rosa National Park, Santa Elena Nature Preserve (near Monteverde), Lake Arenal next to Volcan Arenal National Park, and Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula.



Least Favorites
If you are off of a main highway in Costa Rica expect insane gradients and brake-killing hills. We didn´t find a single switchback in the entire country.


The Basics: Food, Water, Shelter

Food
Beans and rice are a staple. Food in general is a bit more expensive, but supermarkets are easy to find and had plenty of good options.

Water
Costa Rican water is good to drink from the tap.  We didn't purify our water and had no problems.

Shelter
Camping is an option in many of the national parks, for a fee. People along the way were friendly and let us camp in their backyards. Camping on the beach is free in Dominical, but watch out for falling coconuts! Hotels are easy to find but generally a bit more pricey than elsewhere in Central America.

Our Route
Deserted tropical beach near Carate, Osa Peninsula
We crossed from Nicaragua at Peñas Blancas. From here we followed the main road (the 1) to the town of Cañas.  The road is in the process of being widened and there is a large shoulder. From here we climbed up to the town of Tronadora on Lake Arenal. We then biked around the lake and descended to the coast at Tarcoles. Following the coast brought us to the Osa Peninsula, where we made a detour to visit Corcovado National Park before entering Panama at Paso Canoas.


Click here for all our blog posts from our time biking and backpacking through Costa Rica.

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