Western Canada’s Alberta region is a treasure trove of natural beauty, featuring vast grasslands and towering snowy peaks. The two main cities, Edmonton and Calgary, offer a unique blend of modernity and frontier charm. Alberta loves the arts and embraces its diverse cultural background by hosting various music and film festivals throughout the year. If you’re an outdoor enthusiast, then Alberta is the place for you, be it summer or winter. Plus, if you’re traveling with aspiring paleontologists, you’re in luck, as Alberta is home to some of the most prolific dinosaur fossil beds on the planet.
Costa Rica is a small but beautiful country, situated on the Central American isthmus between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. It is a popular destination for eco-tourism and adventure enthusiasts, thanks to its abundance of breathtaking natural attractions. Costa Rica is a tiny nation with a landscape as diverse as the country itself, boasting mountains, valleys, forests, volcanoes, beaches, lakes, and rivers.
National parks cover almost 20% of Costa Rica and are home to a wide variety of wildlife, including sea turtles, monkeys, jaguars, tapirs, and macaws. Parks like Arenal Volcano, Manuel Antonio, and Tortuguero are some of the highlights. Hiking, whitewater rafting, zip-lining, abseiling, and exploring hidden caverns are some of the popular activities in these parks. The Santa Elena and Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserves are two more examples of magnificent protected landscapes that are rich with exotic flora and fauna.
But Costa Rica is not just about ecotourism. It also offers high-end spas, seaside communities, and stunning stretches of sand. San Jose, the capital, offers colonial architecture, food, shopping, and fun activities for the whole family. Puerto Limón and Quesada are two other major cities in the region with a lot to offer. If you’re into surfing, some of the best waves in the nation can be found in and around the beach communities of Jaco, Santa Teresa, and Tamarindo.
Costa Rica’s Pacific and Caribbean coastlines are home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. They are surrounded by untamed jungle on one side and a glistening blue ocean on the other, making for a stunning sight. And if you’re a wildlife enthusiast, several beaches serve as breeding grounds for sea turtles, providing a fantastic wildlife sighting opportunity.
10. Playa Guiones
Playa Guion’s beach in Novara, Costa Rica. Image source: Colin D. Young/Shutterstock.com
Playa Guiones, which stretches for seven kilometers along Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, is known for its brilliant white sands and excellent surfing conditions.
Playa Guiones is wonderfully unspoiled since it is so far apart from the mainstream, making it perfect for anyone seeking a relaxing vacation. This village has a chill vibe since there aren’t many places to eat and stay.
Playa Guiones is not far from the fascinating Ostional National Wildlife Refuge. Thousands of hatchling sea turtles cover the refuge’s beaches during the hatching season, all making their way to the ocean for the first time.
9. Playa Montezuma
Scenic view of the blue waters of Playa Montezuma beach in Costa Rica. Image source: Fotos593/Shutterstock.com
Playa Montezuma, affectionately referred to as “monte fuma” by the local hippy community, is a popular destination for budget travelers because of its laid-back atmosphere and picturesque beach.
The beach is surrounded by unspoiled rainforest, making it an ideal location for a variety of hikes and excursions. If you’re up for the challenge of hiking through the rainforest’s thick vegetation, you’ll be rewarded with a number of beautiful waterfalls. These provide a welcome opportunity to wash away the sand and salt after a day at the beach.
The warm seas that surround Playa Montezuma provide excellent scuba diving conditions, and as a result, the beach is gaining in popularity. Divers may explore three shipwrecks in addition to the dazzling coral reefs and schools of fish that populate the area.
8. Playa Samara
Tourists enjoying horseback riding on Samara Beach in Costa Rica. Image source: iFerol/Shutterstock.com
Samara Beach is an excellent area to go swimming, surfing, or kayaking since the bay that surrounds it keeps the waves at bay. The bay is teeming with beautiful marine life, and it is a terrific place to swim, kayak, or snorkel; there are also several excellent diving sites in the vicinity.
Despite its growing popularity, Samara Beach remains relatively undiscovered due to its remote position on the Nicoya Peninsula. However, this is beginning to change as word travels about the area’s stunning beaches, warm seas, and breathtaking landscape.
Still, there are plenty of places to buy, eat, and stay, and the area has a friendly, family-oriented atmosphere. Sunsets are especially beautiful here, and relaxing at a beach bar while watching the sun sink beyond the horizon is a great way to cap off another fantastic day in paradise.
7. Tortuguero Beach
Scenic view of Tortuguero Beach in Costa Rica. Image source: iacomino FRiMAGES/Shutterstock.com
Tortuguero, located on the Caribbean coast, will make you feel like you’ve arrived in paradise thanks to its abundance of breathtaking natural attractions.
Although it is difficult to get there since it is situated deep inside a secluded national park of the same name, the fauna and landscape there are almost unparalleled. The jungle is so dense that it is almost touching the shore, and its inhabitants include tapirs, crocodiles, monkeys, and many more. Thousands of sea turtles nest along the shores of Tortuguero, and if you time your visit correctly, you may see them hatching.
The restaurants and motels in this picturesque setting are more costly than those in nearby Puerto Limon because of the beach’s immaculate condition and the difficulty of getting there from the city.
6. Playa Grande
Aerial view of Playa Grande beach in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Image source: Stefan Neumann/Shutterstock.com
Playa Grande, also known as Salinas, is a big beach on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, next to the wild and magnificent Marino Las Baulas National Park.
The beach remains unspoiled since it is located in a conservation area. Here, you won’t find any trash or crowds of visitors. The area is also used by leatherback turtles as a breeding ground. The beach is carefully guarded by police during the nesting season to protect this endangered species as tourists see the turtles in their natural environment.
Playa Grande has some of the greatest surf breaks in the nation and is well worth a visit if you’re interested in trying out your surfing talents. If you’re looking to visit another one of Costa Rica’s finest beaches, Tamarindo is conveniently close by.
5. Playa Santa Teresa
Beautiful view of the palm-fringed beach in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. Image source: iacomino FRiMAGES/Shutterstock.com
Playa Santa Teresa is as tranquil as you’d expect it to be, attracting a diverse crowd of beachgoers, including yogis and surfers alike.
Playa Santa Teresa is less developed than other Costa Rican beaches, but there are still plenty of places to eat and stay, as well as a surprising number of clubs where you can dance the night away.
The beach on the Nicoya Peninsula is famous for its golden sands and tranquil atmosphere. If you’re in the mood to get moving, there’s always the option of taking to the waves for a surf lesson or stretching out with a yoga session.
4. Playa Dominical
A breathtaking aerial view of the beautiful Dominical Beach in Costa Rica. Image source: Gianfranco Vivi/Shutterstock.com
Dominical Beach may be the perfect spot to go if you’re looking for stunning surroundings. It has white beaches that are almost completely surrounded by forested hills that slope down to the ocean.
Dominical Beach is one of the greatest sites in the nation to go surfing since the waves that crash against the coast are so tremendous. Going on a forest excursion with a beach vacation is also highly recommended. Beautiful waterfalls may be seen in several local national parks.
So far, Dominical has managed to stay relatively undiscovered by tourists. Because of this, there aren’t many places to eat or stay, and the ones that do exist tend to be rather basic. However, it does make the atmosphere more casual and friendly.
3. Tamarindo Beach
Beautiful view of Tamarindo Beach in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Image source: Mihai-Bogdan Lazar/Shutterstock.com
Tamarindo provides everything a traveler might want, whether it’s the nightlife or the natural beauty of the area; the sea, the beach, or the surf. It’s little wonder that this is one of the country’s most visited tourist spots.
Regardless of your travel budget, there are plenty of great eating and lodging options in this bustling city. Some of the liveliest nightlife on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica can be found in Tamarindo, thanks to the town’s popularity with tourists.
Guests may enjoy the scenic outdoors at their leisure thanks to the proximity of Marino Las Baulas National Park to the beach. The town of Tamarindo itself seems to have been lifted straight from a glossy vacation brochure.
Many visitors travel to this area to learn to surf since it is home to some of the nation’s greatest waves.
2. Playa Flamingo
A beautiful view of Playa Flamingo in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Image source: Valerija Polakovska/Shutterstock.com
Playa Flamingo is a magnificent beach in the northwest of Costa Rica, known for the beach’s sand’s wonderful pinky-white tint.
Playa Flamingo is one of the most upscale beach communities in Costa Rica, with numerous luxurious resorts and hotels to choose from. Due to their cliffside location facing the Pacific, sunsets here are unlike any other.
After a day of relaxing in the sun and taking in the breathtaking views, you may retire to one of the many luxurious hotels that dot the coastline. The warm waters of Playa Flamingo are ideal for swimming and snorkeling, and the beach itself has a pleasant, laid-back atmosphere.
1. Playa Manuel Antonio
A breathtaking aerial drone view of Manuel Antonio Beach in Costa Rica. Image source: Stefan Neumann/Shutterstock.com
One of the most stunning beaches in Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio, has towering palm trees that gaze out over its seductive golden dunes and sparkling blue seas.
Within Manuel Antonio National Park on the Pacific coast of the nation is where you’ll find the beach. Many scenic paths wind through the jungle’s thick foliage for adventure seekers to explore. Howler monkeys, iguanas, and a plethora of avian species may all be seen by visitors as they wander the lush jungle.
Outside the park’s gates, in the town of Quepos, you’ll find several lodging options as well as a wide variety of pubs, restaurants, and cafés. That’s why Manuel Antonio is so great: you can relax in luxury after a day exploring the great outdoors.
The beach is in its natural, unaltered state and is thus quite stunning. Scuba diving is fantastic here because of the rich marine life just offshore.
