Costa RicaCorcovado, Monteverde, Manuel Antonio, Arenal

Costa Rica punches far above its size when it comes to biodiversity — this small Central American country contains around 5% of the world's known species. For photographers, that means extraordinary wildlife encounters: red-eyed tree frogs in Tortuguero, scarlet macaws in Corcovado, sloths hanging from cecropia trees in Manuel Antonio, and leatherback turtles laying eggs on Caribbean beaches at night. Add steaming volcanoes like Arenal, misty cloud forests around Monteverde, and the Pacific's surf-battered coastline, and Costa Rica offers photographic subjects in almost every direction.

● Monteverde Cloud Forest — the mist rolls through the canopy in a way that makes every shot look like it was taken on a movie set. Resplendent quetzals are found here, and the hanging bridges give you canopy-level perspectives on a landscape that's otherwise very difficult to access.

● Tortuguero National Park — accessible only by boat or small plane, this network of jungle canals on the Caribbean coast is wildlife photography territory. Caimans, green turtles, manatees, and hundreds of bird species are all reachable by small wooden boat with a knowledgeable guide.

● Arenal Volcano — on a clear morning the perfect cone rising above the lake makes for one of Central America's most recognisable landscape shots. Clear mornings are rare — when you get one, make the most of it.

● Cahuita National Park — the coral reef here is one of the most accessible in Costa Rica, and the white-faced capuchin monkeys that wander the beach are entirely unbothered by cameras.

Manuel Antonio National Park — the most visited national park in Costa Rica, and the best for combining wildlife with beach. The forest trails run directly onto white sand beaches backed by primary rainforest, and the wildlife encounters are extraordinary in their accessibility: white-faced capuchin monkeys (bold, curious, and extremely good at stealing food), three-toed sloths visible in the cecropia trees along the main trail at a frequency that surprises visitors accustomed to searching for them, iguanas on the beach, and occasionally scarlet macaws flying low overhead. The park limits daily visitors strictly — book tickets online at least a week ahead in high season. The approach road through Quepos is lined with hotels and restaurants; the park itself is entirely undeveloped.

Guanacaste — the Pacific dry coast — the northern Pacific region has Costa Rica's finest beaches, a distinct dry season (the entire province is almost entirely rainless from December to April), and the laid-back surf culture that defines the popular image of the country internationally. Tamarindo is the main surf town — well developed, with consistent waves, multiple surf schools, and an active digital nomad and expat community. Nosara (further south, on the Nicoya Peninsula) is the more sophisticated, wellness-oriented version: yoga retreats, organic restaurants, the Playa Guiones beach break, and a community that has deliberately limited development to preserve the natural setting. Santa Teresa, at the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, is the wildest and most beautiful — accessible by a long and rough road, with powerful beach break waves, a creative community of surfers and artists, and sunsets that regularly stop people in their tracks.

The Nicoya Peninsula Blue Zone — the Nicoya Peninsula is one of the world's five designated Blue Zones — regions where people live measurably longer than the global average. The longevity factors identified here include a plant-heavy diet (gallo pinto — rice and beans — is the daily staple, eaten three times a day), strong community bonds, consistent low-level physical activity, and the Pura Vida philosophy. The average life expectancy in the Nicoya Peninsula is among the highest in the Americas.

Costa Rica's Caribbean coast is a completely different country from the Pacific side — Afro-Caribbean culture, reggae music, rice and beans cooked in coconut milk instead of the standard Tico version, a wetter and more unpredictable climate, and an atmosphere that owes more to Jamaica and Panama than to the Spanish-colonial Pacific coast. It is also where some of Costa Rica's most extraordinary wildlife experiences are concentrated.

Tortuguero National Park — accessible only by boat or small plane (no roads reach it), Tortuguero is a labyrinth of canals, rivers, lagoons, and wetland forest that National Geographic described as one of the most important wildlife habitats in Central America. The canals are navigated by small boat and kayak, and the density of wildlife — caimans on the banks, river otters, great green macaws, Jesus Christ lizards running across the water surface, river turtles, and multiple monkey species in the canopy — makes every canal journey feel like a nature documentary. But Tortuguero's defining experience is the green sea turtle nesting season (July to October): the largest green turtle nesting colony in the western hemisphere congregates on Tortuguero's beaches, with females emerging at night to dig nests and lay eggs. Guided night tours (strictly regulated, with red-light-only torches to avoid disorienting the turtles) are one of the most profound wildlife experiences in Costa Rica.

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca — the laid-back Caribbean town that most perfectly captures the coast's distinct character. The Afro-Caribbean culture here — visible in the food (rice and beans, patacones, Caribbean-spiced seafood, the exceptional Bread and Chocolate café), the music (Bob Marley played on every corner), and the lifestyle — creates an atmosphere completely unlike anywhere else in Costa Rica. The Playa Cocles and Playa Chiquita beaches south of town are beautiful; the Jaguar Rescue Center (a wildlife rehabilitation centre releasing animals back into the forest — you can hold baby sloths) is the finest wildlife encounter of its type in the country; and the Cahuita National Park combines reef snorkelling with rainforest-to-beach walking trails.

National Geographic called Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula "the most biologically intense place on Earth in terms of biodiversity." Costa Rica contains roughly 5% of the world's known species despite covering less than 0.03% of the planet's surface — and the Osa Peninsula, in the remote southwest corner of the country, contains a disproportionate share of that extraordinary total.

Corcovado is one of the last remaining lowland primary rainforests in Central America — most of the original forest that covered Costa Rica has been cleared for agriculture, but Corcovado's combination of inaccessibility (it requires a flight or a very long drive to reach the gateway town of Puerto Jiménez or Drake Bay, followed by a boat or a multi-day hike to enter the park) and strong legal protection has preserved a forest of genuine wilderness character. All four species of Costa Rican monkey (howler, spider, squirrel, and white-faced capuchin) are present; the Baird's tapir — the largest land mammal in Central America, increasingly rare — is more commonly seen in Corcovado than anywhere else in the country; the jaguar population is present though rarely seen; and the scarlet macaw colony here is the largest and most easily observed in Costa Rica.

Entry to Corcovado requires a certified guide, a park permit booked in advance, and a willingness to accept that the experience is genuinely remote — the ranger stations are hours from the nearest town, the trails are muddy, and the wildlife encounters are earned rather than presented. This is precisely what makes it extraordinary.

Drake Bay — the small community on the northwest edge of the Osa Peninsula — offers the finest eco-lodges in Costa Rica (Aguila de Osa, La Paloma Lodge) and access to Corcovado's Sirena ranger station by boat. Caño Island Marine Reserve, offshore, provides exceptional snorkelling and diving with sharks, rays, sea turtles, and whale sharks in season (July–October for humpback whales). The Osa Peninsula requires at least 4–5 days to justify the travel time; those who make the effort consistently rate it as the finest natural experience in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica's wildlife is the primary reason most visitors come, and the variety and accessibility of encounters is genuinely world-class. The country protects over 30% of its land area in national parks, reserves, and private wildlife refuges, creating a network of protected habitat that allows wildlife to persist at densities impossible in less protected landscapes. Here is the honest guide to what you'll see and where.

Sloths — both two-toed and three-toed sloths are found throughout Costa Rica's lowland forests. Manuel Antonio, Tortuguero, and Cahuita are the most reliable locations; a naturalist guide will spot them in cecropia trees that you would walk straight past. Sloths move, breathe, and digest in slow motion — their metabolism runs at approximately 40% of a similar-sized mammal — and they sleep up to 20 hours a day. They are also extraordinarily difficult to photograph without a good lens.

Monkeys — four species: howler monkeys (the alarm call at dawn, a sound like distant thunder or a lion, is one of the defining sounds of Costa Rican rainforest; they are large, slow, and easily spotted in the canopy); white-faced capuchins (small, intelligent, and completely unafraid of humans — Manuel Antonio has habituated populations that will approach very close); spider monkeys (agile, long-limbed, swing through the high canopy at speed — Corcovado and Tortuguero are the best locations); squirrel monkeys (small, golden-bellied, found only in the southern Pacific region — Manuel Antonio and Corcovado). Seeing all four on a single visit is an achievable goal with the right itinerary.

Turtles — sea turtle nesting on Costa Rican beaches is one of the finest wildlife experiences in the Americas. Green turtles at Tortuguero (July–October), leatherbacks at Playa Grande and Gandoca-Manzanillo (October–March — leatherbacks are the world's largest reptile, reaching 700kg), and olive ridley mass nestings (arribadas — thousands of turtles emerging simultaneously) at Ostional on the Nicoya Peninsula. All turtle watching is guided and strictly regulated.

Scarlet macaws — the most visually spectacular bird in Costa Rica: brilliant red, yellow, and blue, flying in pairs with loud calls through the rainforest canopy. Corcovado and the Osa Peninsula have the densest population; the Carara National Park (easily accessible from San José) has a reliable resident population visible from the road.

Red-eyed tree frogs — the iconic image of Costa Rican wildlife: vivid green body, enormous red eyes, orange feet, and blue-striped sides. Found in lowland rainforests, active only at night. Night walks in Tortuguero, Corcovado, Cahuita, and the La Selva Biological Reserve near Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí give excellent sighting opportunities.

Quetzals — as above in the Monteverde section: February–May, cloud forest, specialist guide.

The phrase pura vida — literally "pure life" — is the phrase you will hear most in Costa Rica, used as greeting, farewell, expression of contentment, response to "how are you?", and general statement of satisfaction with existence. It is the most succinct expression of Costa Rican cultural identity, and understanding it unlocks the country.

Pura vida is not simply a positive attitude — it is a philosophy rooted in a specific social and ecological reality. Costa Rica abolished its military in 1948 (the constitution permanently prohibits it), redirecting defence spending into education and healthcare. It has one of the highest literacy rates and longest life expectancies in Latin America. It protects over 30% of its territory. 90% of its electricity comes from renewable sources. These are not accidents but the products of long-term political commitment to a particular vision of what a good society looks like — and pura vida is both the expression and the reinforcement of that vision.

The Nicoya Peninsula is officially one of the world's five Blue Zones — regions where people regularly live past 100 — and the lifestyle factors identified here (plant-based diet centred on gallo pinto and fresh fruit, physical activity as part of daily routine, strong community bonds, sense of purpose, and reduced stress) align precisely with what pura vida describes: a life in which the basics are sufficient, nature is accessible, and social connection is prioritised over material accumulation.

For visitors, pura vida translates practically into a pace of life that is genuinely slower than Western European or North American norms. Ticos (Costa Ricans) are unfailingly warm and patient, traffic and queues rarely produce frustration, and the standard response to any delay or difficulty is the shrug and smile of pura vida. Leaning into this rather than fighting it is the difference between a frustrating and a joyful visit to Costa Rica.