8 Best Sights in Tortuguero and the Caribbean Coast, Costa Rica

At the confluence of the Puerto Viejo and Sarapiquí rivers, La Selva packs about 700 bird species, 700 tree species, and 500 butterfly species into just 15 square km (6 square miles). Sightings might include the spider monkey, poison dart frog, agouti, collared peccary, and dozens of other rare creatures. Extensive, well-marked trails and swing bridges, many of which are wheelchair accessible, connect habitats as varied as tropical wet forest, swamps, creeks, rivers, secondary regenerating forest, and pasture. The site is a project of the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), a research consortium of 63 U.S., Australian, South African, and Latin American universities, and is the oldest of three biological stations OTS operates in Costa Rica. (OTS also operates one research station in South Africa.) To see the place, take an informative three-hour morning or afternoon nature walk with one of La Selva's bilingual guides, who are among the country's best. Walks start every day at 8 am and 1:30 pm. For a completely different view of the forest, set off on a guided two-hour walk at 5:45 am or the night tour at 7 pm. If you get at least seven people together, you can enroll in the daylong Bird-Watching 101 course, which can be arranged anytime for $80 per person; if you have at least six, you can tag along with one of the resident research scientists for a half day. Young children won't feel left out either, with a very basic nature-identification course geared to them. Even with all the offerings, La Selva can custom-design excursions to suit your own special interests, too. Advance reservations are required for the dawn and night walks and any of the courses.

There is no better place in Costa Rica to observe sea turtles nesting, hatching, and scurrying to the ocean. The July–October nesting season for the green turtle is Tortuguero's most popular time to visit. Toss in the hawksbill, loggerhead, and leatherback—the three other species of sea turtle that nest here, although to a lesser extent—and you expand the season from February through October. Hatching takes place September to December. You can undertake night tours only with an authorized guide, who will be the only person in your party with a light, and that will be a light with a red covering. Photography, flash or otherwise, is strictly prohibited. The sight of a mother turtle furiously digging in the sand to bury her eggs is amazing, even from several yards away, and the spectacle of a wave of hatchlings scurrying out to sea is simply magnificent. This outstanding natural resource is also home to 138 mammal species including manatees, monkeys, and jaguars.

For more information see the highlighted listing in this chapter.

An ambitious project begun two decades ago has slowly improved the survival prospects for the once-endangered great green (Ara ambiguus) and scarlet macaws (Ara macao). A daily 3 pm tour of the field station here acquaints you with the breeding and reintroduction into the wild of these colorful birds. Throughout the 98-acre property are approximately 100 macaws. Advance reservations are required.

Cacao once ruled the Talamanca region, but few plantations are left these days. One friendly Swiss couple continues the tradition and shows you the workings of their chocolate plantation on their chocolate tour. Follow the little-known life cycle of this crop from cultivation to processing. There's sampling at the tour's conclusion. Call or email to reserve a 2-hour tour, and aim to come with a group to avoid the $80 minimum tour fee. Since these folks are Swiss, they can tailor the commentary in German, French, or Italian, in addition to the standard English or Spanish.

One of a growing number of Costa Rica's serpentaria, the Snake Garden shows off some 60 species of reptiles, including all the poisonous snakes (and most of the nonpoisonous ones) found in Costa Rica, as well as pythons, anacondas, and rattlesnakes from elsewhere in North and South America. You can handle a few specimens upon request and under supervision.

Capuchin and howler monkeys, peccaries, sloths, iguanas, raccoons—they're all here at this wildlife sanctuary just off the Playa Negra road. As much as possible, the goal is to reintroduce these rescued animals back to nature, although the fragile condition of some means this will be their permanent home. Your admission for an 11 am guided tour supports the good work these folks do. As is the case in such facilities, visitors may not touch or hold the animals.