Luxury hotels in Guanacaste

Guanacaste guide

Guanacaste: Costa Rica's Pacific coast

Dry-season beaches, the Rincón de la Vieja volcano and surf at sunset.

Guanacaste, in north-west Costa Rica, is the country's sunniest region and its beaches, from the Papagayo Peninsula to Tamarindo and Nosara, are what most visitors come for. December to April brings dry, sunny days and calm seas on the sheltered bays.

Inland, Rincón de la Vieja National Park has hot springs, bubbling mud pots and waterfalls, and a zip line through the forest canopy is the classic adventure. Sunset surf lessons and boat trips to see dolphins and whales round off a stay.

Rincón de la Vieja and the volcanoes

Rincón de la Vieja National Park, about an hour from the Guanacaste coast, is the region's most cited excursion inland: trails pass bubbling mud pots, fumaroles and waterfalls, and the surrounding ranches offer zip lines, horse riding and river tubing.

The day often ends at hot springs with volcanic mud baths. The Río Celeste, with its sky-blue water in Tenorio Volcano National Park, is about two hours away and one of Costa Rica's most photographed sights.

Turtles at Ostional and the Nicoya coast

Ostional, on the Nicoya Peninsula, is one of the few places in the world where olive ridley turtles nest in mass arrivals, the arribadas, when thousands come ashore over a few nights; seeing them with a local guide is among the most cited experiences in Guanacaste. Arribadas are most frequent in the rainy season.

Nearby, Nosara is known for surf and yoga, and Nicoya is one of the world's Blue Zones, where people live notably long lives. Tamarindo and Playa Grande, a leatherback turtle reserve, are further north.