Three Views of Costa Rica City, Rain Forest, and Beach

Lush costa rica boasts of a spectacular range in terrain, climate and biodiversity. With its sandy hot beaches, live volcanos to jungle rain forests, it’s definitely exotic. Its rugged terrain is complemented with an array of five star luxury resort hotels all appointed with  impeccable interior design, incredible restaurants, and lavish spas. The best way to truly experience costa rica is to hit the road and drive  through its winding rural roads and watch the trees, weather and landscape change before your eyes.

- Debra Winter

When traveling I prefer to get a feel for the entire region I’m visiting. Often that means I spend a lot of time planning my travels between places. But with Costa Rica, it was pure indecision that inspired my multi-faceted journey. I was torn between it’s lively cities, lush rain forests, and tranquil beaches. So I decided not to decide, and instead, to sample a little bit of each.

I began in San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica, lured by its old city charm, and by the promise of an exceptional Spanish colonial-style hotel by Marriott with sweeping mountains views. Built on a 30-acre coffee plantation, the yellow and terracotta trimmed hacienda, boasted several restaurants, two courtyard pools, a state of the art fitness centre, tennis courts and full service spa. While my plan was only to stay one night, to get my grounding in Costa Rica, I could have stayed a few more.

From San Jose, I set out on a three-hour drive to the fivestar Nayara Springs in La Fortuna de San Carlos Resort and Spa, located in the heart of the rainforest. On route is the Parque Nacional Volcán Poás, an active 2,708-metre stratovolcano that has erupted 39 times since 1839, and also Parque Nac. Juan Castro Blanco—a rugged rainforest park with three volcanoes of its own, and covered in dense vegetation brimming with a variety of wildlife including monkeys, armadillos, coyotes and countless reptiles and amphibians.