Costa Rica

By Linda Garrison, About.com Guide

Traveling to Costa Rica is high on many people's bucket lists. Since the Central American country borders on both the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, cruise ships visit ports on both coasts. Puerto Caldera and Puntarenas are the most popular ports of call on the Pacific, and Puerto Limon is the most popular port on the Caribbean. Most cruise ships transiting the Panama Canal include a stopover in Costa Rica. Ships repositioning between Alaska and the Caribbean also include Costa Rica on their itineraries. World cruises and South American itineraries sometimes stop in Costa Rica.

Unfortunately, most cruise ships only spend one or two days in Costa Rica. These cruise lines include Celebrity, Costa, Cunard, Holland America, NCL, Oceania, Paul Gauguin, Princess, Regent Seven Seas, Royal Caribbean, Silversea, and Voyages of Discovery. Those who wish to cruise for several days on a Costa Rica itinerary should consider either Star Clippers or Windstar Cruises. These two small ship cruise lines feature sailing ships that can easily visit the smaller coastal towns of Costa Rica that are inaccessible to larger cruise ships.

Those looking for a more in-depth visit to Costa Rica should consider exploring the country on their own before or after a cruise or taking an organized tour. Some well-traveled friends of mine had done a land tour of this amazing Central American country with Caravan Tours, and thought it was an excellent value. Although I had visited both Puerto Caldera and Puerto Limon on cruise ships, I was anxious to spend more time in Costa Rica. One of my bucket list friends, Julie, who I had toured with in Peru and New Zealand, also wanted to visit Costa Rica, so we were off!

This 14-page article details our ten-day tour of Costa Rica. First, we flew to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica.

Costa Rica Tour

• Costa Rica Cruises
• Arrival in San Jose
• San Jose - Poas Volcano and Coffee Plantation
• Tortuguero - Canal Cruise
• Tortuguero - Cano Palma Cruise
• Tortuguero to La Fortuna - Canal Cruise and Pineapple Plantation
• La Fortuna - Arenal Volcano
• La Fortuna - Rio Frio and Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge
• La Fortuna - Baldi Hot Springs
• La Fortuna - Hanging Bridges Hike
• La Fortuna to Guanacaste
• Guanacaste - Rest Day!
• Guanacaste to San Jose - Tarcoles River Cruise
• San Jose and Home