Guanacaste

Guanacaste is a large area in northwestern Costa Rica that is easily accessible from the Liberia Airport, which has nonstop flights to many U.S. airports. Needing a short break to a warm climate, I hopped on a last-minute flight to Costa Rica to visit this World Heritage Site. Over 48 hours split over three days, I managed to visit three different areas of the vast site. Although the site is huge, most parts are within a two hour drive of the Liberia airport, off the Pan-American Highway; which is pretty well maintained.

The site is a broad Conservation Area of at least seven different national parks/reserves under separate administration that are generally disconnected, at least as far as the human entrances are concerned. Planning is essential, and so based on reviews here, the trusty Lonely Planet Guide, and a perusal of the website, I picked three areas to visit. The reviews on here were immensely helpful in describing the different areas of the park, so I wanted to leave my own to hopefully help future travelers.

After arriving at noon, I picked up a rental car nearby Liberia Airport and set off for Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Bahia Junquillal, which was about a 90-minute drive. This area is a national reserve that consists of a wide beach where families visit and camp. I did a walk on the beach along the bay and also a short nature trail through the woods. There were plenty of people but …

I stayed three nights in Liberia in March 2024 and used the full first day to visit the Rincon de la Torre national park. I took an uber taxi there for around $22. The driver gave me his number in case I needed a pickup for the way back at the going rate of $30.

One has to book the tickets online, they cannot be bought at the park itself, though there is wifi and it shouldn't be a problem to book there for the same day.

I was there a bit before 8am and I had to wait to be registered. It was a windy day and I started off with the trail to the waterfalls. There are several karst phenomena, such as an underground river shortly coming to surface.

The hike up to the Hidden Waterfall was quite steep plus the wind was so strong that it was difficult to keep my balance on the rocks. Also, there was a spray of water a few times, and I wasn't sure if it was from the clouds or from the river. In any case, this mountain wind is partly responsible for the dryness on this side of the mountains, so I considered myself lucky to be able to experience this feature of the world heritage site so intensely. The last part down to the waterfall was steep, but there is a rope. I hadn't met anyone so far but was soon joined by a family. The …

I dedicated 3 days to exploring the Area de Conservación Guanacaste in March 2024. Every day we made sure to arrive at the park gate when it opened at 8am (pay attention to which parks are open each day). Our logic was - do the hike in the morning (avoid peak temperatures), higher potential of spotting wildlife, and to finish in time for a late lunch. In the end, we felt we succeeded as we arrived to all parks between 8:00 and 8:30 in the morning, the heat was not uncomfortable, and we did indeed spot plenty of wildlife. Access to each park was reserved in advance online, with the exception of the Junquillal Sector.

Day 1: Monday - Santa María Sector

Day 2: Tuesday - Pailas Sector

Day 3: Wednesday - Santa Rosa Sector & Junquillal Sector

In our Toyota Cross SUV rental, every drive was fine. However, I will note the road to the Santa María Sector is the most difficult. Unfortunately, once you're a few kilometers outside of Liberia you pass by a dumpsite for the city that is an unpleasant reminder of the challenges of Waste Management in the country and the effects of mass tourism. The last few kilometers to Santa María Sector are particularly bumpy and should not be attempted in a sedan car. Not long before the gate entrance we spotted a red Coati, our first mammal!

Santa María Sector is wonderfully remote and off-the-beaten path compared to …

Like Talamanca, Guanacaste is a vast area whose value is hard to summarize in one phrase. One can easily spend days visiting its specific features, its OUV ranges from the marine (turtle nesting sites) to the terrestrial with dry tropical forests and much more. I am only the third reviewer on this website, 11(!) years after the last one. However, parts of the included area close to Liberia are quite popular with beach tourists that mostly come from the USA.

There’s a similar choice to make as with Talamanca as to which included area to visit. The WHS comprises a contiguous area of seven protected zones. I did a half-day visit from Liberia to “Horizontes Forestry Experiment Station”. I had also wanted to add a stay near “Rincon de la Vieja National Park” (probably the most touristy part), but a rescheduling of my flight back to Europe forced me to cut my stay short.

Horizontes was a late discovery during my preparations. It needed pre-booking for Covid reasons as well, however, the process wasn’t as smooth as with other parks in Costa Rica. Payment could only be done by bank transfer in USD (15) or colones, for which my bank asked a 50 EUR fee. Fortunately, Wise did it much cheaper.

This former cattle ranch has been turned into a cultivation site for native forest species and their associated forest ecosystems. It lies almost directly behind Liberia airport. Only the final 4km is on a dirt road …

Guanacaste Conservation Area is in the northeastern cantones (counties) of Liberia, La Cruz, Bagaces and Upala, spanning between the provinces of Guanacaste and Alajuela. This area comprises three national parks: Rincón de la Vieja Volcano NP, Guanacaste NP and Santa Rosa-Bolaños island NP, the recreational area of Junquillal, Horizontes experimental station and some smaller protected areas.

The particularity of this part of the country, regarding the rest of the country, is it´s drier climate to the pacific side of the mountain slopes. So, it´s considered the last relict of the dry tropical forest that sometime covered from Guanacaste to southern Mexico. With this respect, it´s the largest area to include such forest. It also has some other important aspects: the large biodiversity that it houses, somewhat different to what is usual in the wetter parts of the country, the savanna-type vegetation, the presence of different species such as: deers, coaties, monkeys, armadillos, snakes, etc. The marine part is also particulary rich and pristine in terms of biodiversity.

Bolaños island is considered a sanctuary for marine birds, Junquillal and Naranjo beaches are extremely appreciated for their waves and rugged landscape, Santa Elena peninsula in Santa Rosa NP is the driest and geologically oldest part in the country and it´s in a great deal untammed by human action, Murciélagos islands are also representative of the historic and biological evolution of the area. Santa Rosa has the biggest section of dry forest, a mariine area, and coastal marshlands, and also has Nancite Beach, …

Guanacaste is now very popular as a gateway to the resorts in northern Costa Rica. It has been explosive since the airport opened in Liberia and hotels like Four Seasons in Papagoya became chic.

There is much to do and I signed up for the zip line experience and horse back trail ride in the Rincon de la Vieja National Park. A highlight of the trail ride is a dip in hot springs in the forest.

The one other highlight is to get near Tamarine Beach to watch the Leatherback turtles come up and lay eggs on the beach. I do not think the beach is part of Guanacaste but no matter. The quantity of turtles are diminishing rapidly. Their shells are 5-6 feet and are amazing to watch in the middle of the night.