Rion Explores: A Grand Tour of Costa Rica in a Week (pt.2)

Welcome back to Rion Explores! In this second edition, I’m continuing my depiction of my first week in Costa Rica, exploring it from southern to northern tip on its western half. In the previous issue (published on September 16th, 2024), I shared my adventures with my partner in Atenas, Jacó, Uvita, Nicoya and Cabuya. This issue shares the second half of our week as we explored Guanacaste Province’s most famous and hidden spots, Playa Portero, Liberia, Rincón de la Vieja, Nuevo Arenal, and La Fortuna. 

Playa Portero, Guanacaste

After our night in Cabuya, Guanacaste, we drove back the way we came to the southern tip of the Nicoyan Peninsula, north through Nicoya. With Nicoya as a sort of pivoting point, we drove west back toward the Pacific Coast. Just north of the better-known beach towns of Tamarindo and Playa Flamingo, we stayed in the beautiful but tiny Playa Portero. As a warning to anyone else looking to explore this coast of Guanacaste: we recommend looking at your map critically before blindly accepting Google Map’s route recommendations. 

After two hours of driving from Nicoya, we reached an incredibly steep dirt road that we traversed through the rain. Just 15 minutes from our resort, we reached an aggressive but small river. Defeated, and nearly ready to return the way we came, a kind tico drove through the river and stopped to teach us how to cross the river, insisting we wouldn’t get stuck. He waited to ensure we did make it through the river before driving off. 

We stayed at the Bahía Esmeralda, a small complex of rooms overlooking the well-manicured grounds and pool. During a break in the rain, we ventured toward the immaculate beach where we walked for 20 minutes. Looking over the water were tall and densely forested islands that were unlike anything I had seen before and that reminded my partner of El Nido, Philippines. Without much notice, we got caught in a heavy but warm tropical downpour that we walked through back home.

We spent our evening playing pool and sharing a wood-fire pizza that they baked on-site. The next morning, we enjoyed the social nature of our breakfast before hitting the road, this time on paved highway back through Playa Flamingo. 

Liberia, Guanacaste

On our way to our stay in the Rincón de la Vieja, we drove through Liberia. Although we didn’t stop in the town, we enjoyed seeing the difference in infrastructure around the airport and in the city compared with what we had seen of San José. This city is way less mountainous than San José and provides an easier drive for tourists just landing in the country. If you’re landing after dark, are nervous driving in the mountains, or want to be close to the beach, we definitely recommend landing in Liberia’s Daniel Oduber Quiros Airport (LIR). 

Rincón de la Vieja, Guanacaste

By far, the prettiest drive we did was between the highway and our stay north of Dos Ríos, overlooking the Rincón de la Vieja volcanoes. We drove slowly for an hour through the increasingly dense jungle and rainforest to Gávilan House, a cabin next to the town’s tourism hub. Our hosts, Gerardo and his family were the kindest and most hospitable people we met during our trip. We spent hours speaking with them about the area and its tourism, enjoying the property’s river and views of the smoking volcanoes, and enjoying their remarkable home cooking. 

This region of Costa Rica remains mostly untouched, but combines some of the most popular biodiversity and terrain tourists seek from more popular places such as at Arenal and Manuel Antonio. This region combines active volcanoes with dense jungle, serene blue waters, soft but tall rock formations, hot springs, and unbelievable wildlife, from jungle cats to multiple species of hummingbirds. 

Nuevo Arenal, Guanacaste

On our last full night of exploration, we did the trek out of the jungle, back through Liberia, and southeast to Nuevo Arenal. After three hours of driving, we stopped at the German Bakery for lunch, where we enjoyed typical German fare and a remarkable view of both the town and the mountains. From there, we drove down the hill to our hotel, the Tinajas Lakefront Lodge, directly on Lake Arenal, overlooking the volcano.

We spent our afternoon walking around, swimming in the lake and enjoying the red dirt lakeshore. We had dinner overlooking the water at our hotel’s restaurant, that sources all of its ingredients locally, and watched in awe as purple lightning lit up the dusk sky. 

La Fortuna, Alajuela

The next morning, we had breakfast back at the German Bakery after a walk down at the town’s lakefront park. On our way back to the Central Mountain Range, we drove through La Fortuna, which we noted had a similar feel to Jacó, just in the mountains rather than on the beach. We stopped for coffee on our drive and made wonderful conversation with a tico who share how much he loved this window between La Fortuna and Atenas, calling it the most beautiful place in the world. Because we took the scenic route south, the roads grew increasingly windy and nerve-wracking—they are certainly not for a beginner who has never driven through the mountains. 

After our week of exploring Costa Rica, we can certainly say that every inch we saw of this country was impeccably beautiful, and its impossible to say which part we preferred visiting over the others. Overall, we were amazed by the friendliness and hospitality of everyone we met, the delicious local fare, and the density and diversity of wildlife we encountered. In the next edition of Rion Explores, I’ll write about my exploration of the Central Valley as I get to know this area more intimately. 

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