Luxury hotels in Arenal: La Fortuna
The volcano and its national park — hot springs, hanging bridges through the canopy and the villas at the park's edge.
Other neighborhoods in Costa Rica
Papagayo & Guanacaste
The Pacific north-west — the Papagayo peninsula's clifftop resorts and the beaches of Guanacaste. The zone also takes in Guanacaste's dry-forest hills, the car-free town of Las Catalinas, the river gorges near Bagaces and the surf at Tamarindo and Nosara; Liberia airport is under an hour away.
Bajos del Toro
A valley of cloud forest and waterfalls in the highlands north-west of San José, with one lodge in the forest. The valley holds the Toro and Catarata del Toro falls, trout streams and coffee farms on the slopes, about two hours from the capital.
The Pacuare River
The rainforest river of the Caribbean slope — world-class rapids and the lodge on its bank. The lodge is reached by raft or by road, about three hours east of San José; indigenous Cabécar communities live upstream and the Turrialba volcano rises above.