San Jose is the Capital city of Costa Rica and where most international flights fly in and out of.  San Jose is in the center of the country and is interior from the coast about 1½ hours.  This is a great place to stay and take advantage of various day trips and cultural activities.  Many travelers enjoy staying in San Jose for a couple of days so that they can schedule a river rafting trip or perhaps a city tour visiting the National Theater and Museum or a trip to the Sarchi craft market and Oxcart factory.  There are also trips to the local coffee plantations or a butterfly farm.

There are two main rafting trips from this area; they are the Reventazon River which is a class II-III or the Pacuare River, which is a more advanced trip with rapids equaling a  class III-IV.  The Reventazon trip is great for families and rafting beginners.  The Pacuare River is a trip for those who are 12 and over and who enjoy a more challenging river rapid trip.  Both river trips will take you through some of the most beautiful, tropical areas of Costa Rica where you will have many opportunities to see a wide variety of wildlife.

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Probably to be less than 3,000 years old, the Arenal volcano is a geologically very young volcano.

The Arenal Volcano had remained silent for more than 410 years. In fact the population and authorities were considering this volcano extinct. The local population was calling it a mountain: Cerro Arenal. Of course, it trembled often and sometimes in some places it was feeling hot under the feet but nothing more than that.

Tamarindo Beach is a three and a half kilometer stretch of white sand and warm blue water. This beach is part of a bay formed by a cape, Cabo Velas ( Cap sail in Spanish) where you will find also Playa Grande, which is the main beach in Tamarindo, lying to the north of Tamarindo Beach inside the bay. A natural salt-water estuary separates the two beaches.

Both Playa Grande and Playa Langosta are protected beaches because they are part of the Costa Rican Natinoal Park's nesting areas for the giant leatherback turtle. These beaches are considered one of the major worldwide nesting areas.  The turtles usually arrive from October to March to lay their eggs in the soft sand of Tamarindo. Special tours are organized during this period, with professional guides, to discover the best of what Mother Nature can offer…

Nature is abundant, Howler Monkeys are heard and seen swinging on branches all over Tamarindo and in some restaurants giant Iguanas will come up to your table expecting table scraps. In the late afternoons you can hear the parakeets screeching in the trees, preparing to settle down for the night.

International Air Transportation:
All air traffic to and from Costa Rica is handled through the Juan Santamaría International Airport, located 25 minutes from San José, in the city of Alajuela and the new Liberia Airport located in the North portion of Guanacaste.
All you need to know about transportation