Travel Costa Rica - Banana Adventure Tours

Cocos Island (not to be confused with Isla de Coco in Panama), is an uninhabited island located approximately 550 km (340 mi) off the shore of Costa Rica on the Pacific Ocean. It has an area of approximately 23.85 km², and it is admired by scuba divers for its populations of Hammerhead sharks, rays, dolphins and other large marine species.

Cocos Island was declared a Costa Rican National Park in 1978, and designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. It is the first of Costa Rica Top Wonders and also a candidate for the 7 New Natural World Wonders.

It is possible to visit the island, and if you are interested, Banana Adventure Tours offers a tour package for professional divers and nature lovers. Please visit the Cocos Island Diving Adventure Package.

Visit this area with Costa Rica Family Tour and Adventure, or Customize your trip with Banana Adventure Tours.

Manuel Antonio, located close to the small town of Quepos on the Central Pacific of Costa Rica, is one of the country top touristic places. With emerald waters, dense lush green forest and kind people, Manuel Antonio has everything a visitor may want. The main attraction of the place is Manuel Antonio National Park, where you can see beautiful beaches, walk on numerous trails and get to see amazing wildlife so close you won´t believe it.

Manuel Antonio contains a great combination of rain forest, beaches and coral reefs. It is without a doubt, one of the most beautiful beaches in the country. Because of that, Manuel Antonio National Park is the most visited park in Costa Rica; with a top of 600 people per day on weekdays, and 800 on weekends. The islands and islets of Manuel Antonio provide an important refuge for a variety of sea birds.

The three primary beaches of the park are Playas Espadilla Sur, Manuel Antonio and Puerto Escondido Costa Rica. Manuel Antonio is one of the top places for tour packages in Costa Rica, and there are many activities for tourist, including surfing, sea and mangrove kayaking, hiking, butterfly farm and chocolate farm, and ATV.

Visit this area with Costa Rica Family Tour and Adventure, or Customize your trip with Banana Adventure Tours.

Tortuguero is located on the North Caribbean side of Costa Rica. Tortuguero beach is the most important nesting site of Costa Rica (green turtle, Giant leatherback, hawksbill, and loggerhead turtles), one of then endangered.

Also, the are becomes an awesome ecotourism place because of the combination of rainforest, swamps, beaches, and lagoons. The Tortuguero National Park now includes over 19,000 hectares (46,900 acres) and protects 22 miles of nesting beach from the mouth of the Tortuguero River south to Parisimina.

Visit this area with Costa Rica Family Tour and Adventure, or Customize your trip with Banana Adventure Tours.

Mostly unknown, Tenorio Volcano is one of the 7 active ones in Costa Rica. It is located on Alajuela Province just in the border with Guanacaste. There are various ways to visit the National Park where the volcano lies; it can be from Bijagua Town or La Fortuna, among others. The Celeste River is an amazing jewel product of the combination of two different rivers coming from the volcano that carry special chemicals. When the combine, there is a chemical reaction that produces the wonderful color the entire river is: celeste or light blue.

Once in the National Park, there is a trail of 7 kilometers where the visitors can enjoy the cold beautifully colored waters of the river and see other interesting points along the way, such as the natural thermal waters, the fumarolas, and the beginning of the river, etc.

Visit this area with Costa Rica Family Tour and Adventure, or Customize your trip with Banana Adventure Tours.

One of the top places to visit in Costa Rica is La Fortuna Town, where the Arenal Volcano is located. For a long time, the Arenal Volcano has been active, showing regularly red hot stones coming out of the crater. Next to the volcano lies the Arenal Lake, a manmade lake that acts as a dam, and where numerous activities can be enjoy (Standing Up Paddling, kayaking, biking, fishing, etc.).

The Arenal Volcano can be seen from many places around La Fortuna, but if you really want to have a close look to the magestic mountain, then you must visit the Arenal Volcano National Park. There you will be directed to various look out points and a trail that goes to where the old lava remains.

Visit this area with Costa Rica Family Tour and Adventure, or Customize your trip with Banana Adventure Tours.

Visit this area with Costa Rica Family Tour and Adventure, or Customize your trip with Banana Adventure Tours.

Cartago Province, where that capital of the country lied some time ago, has a lot to offer. Cartago City is the religious capital os Costa Rica, and there is La Basilica de La Virgen de los Angeles. Beside other nice places such as Ujarras Ruins, Orosi Church and Cachi Dam, the province has two active volcanoes: the Turrialba and de Irazu. Both are very different but because of its closeness they are also called the Twin Volcanoes.

The area is great for hiking and mountain biking, but mostly it is a place where many tourist enjoy some unique views of active volcanoes. On the picture the two craters are shown; it was taken from Irazu Volcano National Park.

Turrialba Town is also a great place to enjoy all kind of activities, specially those that have adventure written all over. Enjoy thermal waters, white water rafting, hiking, biking, bird watching, canopy, ATV, etc.

Visit this area with Costa Rica Family Tour and Adventure, or Customize your trip with Banana Adventure Tours.

Corcovado is a National Park located on the Osa Peninsula in the southeastern part of Costa Rica. It is the only remaining old growth wet forests on the Pacific coast of Central America. Corcovado National Park encompasses 13 major ecosystems including lowland rain forest, highland cloud forest, jolillo palm forest, and mangrove swamps, as well as costal marine and beach habitats.

Corcovado is home to a sizable population of endangered animals, including the Baird's Tapir and the very rare Harpy Eagle. The park protects various threatened plant and animal species, and is known to have about 124 species of mammals; 375 species of birds; 117 species of reptiles and amphibians; 66 freshwater fish species; and 70 species of marine crabs. Among the mammals are 4 monkey species, anteaters, sloths, southern river otter, crab-eating raccoon, 5-6 cat species, peccaries and Baird's tapir.

It is widely considered the crown jewel in the extensive system of national parks and biological reserves spread across the country. A virtually uninterrupted sandy beach extends for 20 km, with cliffs and pocket beaches at the northern and southern park headlands; there is a marine cave near the southern point.

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The Pacuare River is a very beautiful tropical river. Along its course lie a lush green forest, which shelter ocelots, jaguars, monkeys, sloths, and an incredible variety of birds. There are also many waterfalls and a beautiful canyon. It is by far the best whitewater in all of Central America, ranging up to Class V in difficulty. It is also one of the top ten most essenic rivers for white water rafting.

On the Pacuare River, visitors can find many amenities, and a virgin rain forest. The lowland tropical forest in the Reserve is remarkable for its luxuriant variety and the amazing abundance and diversity of wildlife found within it. Other rivers close by, such as the Reventazon, are also beautiful but never like the Pacuare.

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Barra Honda is unique among the National Parks of Costa Rica: its main attraction is an intricate large system of limestone caverns which house a multitude of capricious forms and figures.The caves range from a few feet to over 780 feet (240 meters) deep. Pozo Hediondo (Fetid Pit) Cave was named for the aroma of the guano deposited by thousands of resident bats.

The deepest of the Barra Honda caves is Santa Ana which sinks to 249 meters. La Trampa (the trap) has the deepest precipice - a vertical entrance of 30 m length. The calcareous formations of the limestone caverns at Barra Honda National Park are the main visitor attraction. Only about 50% of the complex has been explored to date.

Visit this area with Costa Rica Family Tour and Adventure, or Customize your trip with Banana Adventure Tours.