• Costa Rica Guide

  • Introduction to Costa Rica
  • Weather
  • Things not to miss
  • Getting Around
  • Public Holidays
  • Entry requirements
  • Money

• Explore Costa Rica

  • San José
  • The Valle Central and the highlands
  • Limón Province and the Caribbean coast
  • The Zona Norte
  • Guanacaste
  • The Central Pacific and southern Nicoya
  • The Zona Sur

• Cities

  • San José
    

Costa Rica Guide

Guanacaste

Parque Nacional Santa Rosa

Established in 1971 to protect a stretch of increasingly rare dry tropical forest, PARQUE NACIONAL SANTA ROSA (daily 8am–4pm; $6), 35km north of Liberia, is Costa Rica's oldest national park. Today it's one of the most popular in the country, thanks to its good trails, great surfing (though poor swimming) and prolific turtle-spotting opportunities. It's also, given a few official restrictions, a great destination for campers, with a couple of sites on the beach.