Costa Rican Hotels Central Pacific, Costa Rica Fun Travel

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	CENTRAL PACIFIC:

	With its varied landscape of both wet and dry tropical rain forests and a sun-drenched coastline teeming with big fish and even bigger surf, the central Pacific coast is one of the most popular destinations in Costa Rica for hikers, anglers, surfers and sun-worshippers alike. National parks hug the coastline providing refuge for rare species of animals such as the squirrel monkey and scarlet macaw, while more commonly sighted creatures like iguanas and white-faced capuchins ensure that every outing is memorable. The region also boasts well-paved roads leading from San José and the Central Valley out to the coastline, so it’s no surprise that Ticos flock to the Pacific looking for the perfect weekend escape. Offering visitors a plethora of activities to enjoy, including sportfishing, surfing and sunbathing, undoubtedly, the biggest crowd puller of this area is the wonderful Manuel Antonio National Park. This National Park attracts the highest number of tourists in the country. Manuel Antonio is home to many endemic species of plant and animal life. Nearby sits the town of Manuel Antonio, a good place to use as a base while exploring the park. When visiting the Manuel Antonio National Park, one of the best and more economical places to stay at is in Quepos, around 7 kilometers away. This rapidly booming tourist town is the sportfishing capital of Costa Rica, with its own small airport and boasting a number of cozy hotels, chic restaurants and an active nightlife. North of Quepos is the popular resort town of Jaco, which for a long time has been a pillar of tourism in Costa Rica. Due to its close proximity to San Jose City, this beach town is the ideal spring board for those touring the west coast and its wonderful beaches. Nearby Jaco is the excellent surf town of Playa Hermosa, which even hosts an international surfing competition every year such as the Billabong World Surfing Games. North of Jaco is Tarcoles, the nation’s foremost site for viewing crocodiles (best done on boat safaris), while nearby Carara National Park offers world class wildlife viewing. A good place to visit while exploring Costa Rica’s Central Pacific region, is the provincial capital of Puntarenas City. A bustling seaport, this city offers some of the best seafood and Costa Rican cuisine on the Pacific Coast.


		Jaco:

		A laidback bustling town, Jaco is one of the most popular Costa Rican beaches. Located less than 2 hours from San Jose, Jaco has the fun here is casual and relaxed, and the people here are nice and friendly. Catering mostly to a huge number of foreign tourists who want to enjoy a more tranquil lifestyle, Jaco has a nice clean beach that is especially popular in the summer. In Jaco you will enjoy good food, plenty of restaurants and a number of local sodas and stores. There are also plenty of tours from horseback rides on the beach, to some excellent off shore sport fishing and sea kayaking. One of this town’s major attractions is the fantastic surfing here as the waves are consistently big and the breaks are very good. A yearly international surf contest is also held in the nearby Playa Hermosa that attracts a huge number of surfers from all over the globe to this beach. Easily accessible by all, Playa Jaco is about 3 km long and is best reached by catching an International flight to San Jose and then driving out here. The areas to the north and south of Jaco are some of the most picturesque and cleanest, with stunningly gorgeous panoramic ocean views. You need to be careful about swimming here, as riptides are quite common along the beach shore. Go into the water not much beyond your waist.

	Esterillos:

	Playa Esterillos is a deserted beach, with a few good surf spots, that's relatively undiscovered and little visited. It is a great place to enjoy a few waves all to yourself. The condition of the waves here are also very similar to those of Playa Hermosa with long stretches of break peaks all year round and the best conditions when the tide is rising. Playa Esterillos is 22km (14 miles) south of Jacó, and is long and wide. Playa Esterillos is so long, in fact, that there are three separate entrances and sections, Esterillos Oeste, Centro, and Este -- West, Center, and East, in order as you head away from Jacó. Most surfers camp underneath the trees at the northern edge of the beach. Just beyond Playa Esterillos is Playa Bejuco, another long, wide, nearly deserted stretch of sand. There is easy access and lots of accommodations around.


	Manuel Antonio:

	Manuel Antonio is one of the most exclusive areas in Costa Rica, however budget hotels can be found. It started out as a tiny village that had a beautiful National Park, Manuel Antonio National Park, next to it. As the park started to become more known more hotels started springing up. Because of Manuel Antonio’s size, or lack of size, hotels started building on the road to Manuel Antonio and many started taking advantage of the magnificent panoramic views. Soon very exclusive hotels arrived, thus bringing us to present day Manuel Antonio, however budget hotels can be found but most are found down near the beach. More expensive hotels have loftier, breezy perches and most offer off season rates. Many hilltop hotels may have beach if you don’t want to wait for the bus, however this does run every half hour. The National Park is small only 682 hectares however it epitomizes everything tourists flock to Costa Rica to see: stunning beaches, a magnificent setting with islands offshore, lush rainforest laced with a network of easy to walk trails, and wildlife galore. There is good chance that you will see monkeys (howler, white faced, and possibly squirrel monkeys), sloths, and coatimundis. Scarlet macaws do frequent the area however you may need a bit of luck to see them. Despite Manuel Antonio’s size, it is one of the country’s most popular parks, with as many as 150,000 visitors annually in recent years. If you wish to do your bit to help preserve Manuel Antonio, consider visiting in the “green” or wet season. Litter and pollution are additional problems, pack out what you pack in. Nonetheless, the park is too small to sustain a healthy and viable population of certain animals. If the monkeys do not have access to areas outside the park, the population will decline because they cannot breed. Corridors that allow the animals’ access to areas outside the park have been taken up by hotels, so that the park has, in recent years, become an island. As a result, the squirrel monkey (mono titi) population is declining. Fortunately, in 2000, a decree was issued to triple the park’s size to just under 1800 hectares, almost tripling the size of the park.