My January tour of Costa Rica’s tropical gardens and landscapes was an amazing experience. Our group of 12 travelers from various corners of the US, along with our local guide, Jose, and driver Danny, enjoyed wonderful camaraderie, stunning views, varied terrain, beautiful flowers and delicious cuisine in a week-long exploration of this Central American haven.

Day 1

Our first stop on the Costa Rica Garden Tour was the stunning private garden of Senora Ileana Terán in Turrialba. Senora Terán began her garden 60 years ago as a new bride on the coffee plantation. Located on a mountain side, this terraced garden features collections of bromeliads, tropical foliage plants, miniatures, and a large collection of orchids. The plants are beautifully displayed and accented with native stone and ancient vessels. Senora Terán toured us around her garden, and shared her stories, her considerable knowledge of horticulture, and refreshments in her amazing home.

After lunch we continued on to Cartago, one of the seven provinces of Costa Rica, and its capital in colonial times. Here we toured the Sólo Rosas Rose Garden, where more than 500 varieties of roses are grown for the floral industry as well as for the pleasure of visitors. The owner has collected roses from all over the world, particularly England, France and Germany. The roses are grown organically in an enclosed environment and reach amazing sizes. As you stroll through the garden, you enjoy the sounds of classical music, the array of lovely colors, and the beautiful scents of the gorgeous flowers.

Day 2

We stayed for two nights in Villa Florencia, a small family hotel surrounded by sugarcane plantations and tropical forests. We woke up to the songs of tropical birds and the sight of dozens of Montezuma Oropendolas building their hanging nests in a huge tree in the hotel courtyard. On the way to breakfast, we were greeted by a sloth lounging in a tall tree. Our hotel building was shaded by two towering monkey puzzle trees, and blooming hibiscus adorned the grounds. A kidney-shaped pool beckoned for an early evening swim.

resident sloth, photographed by our guide Jose Saenz

The second day began with a visit of Hacienda Sitio de Mata, a historic sugar plantation with stunning views. Our tour guided greeted us with a refreshing drink called Agua de Sapo, made with brown sugar, lemon and fresh ginger. We learned about the traditional ways of growing, harvesting, and processing sugar cane in an interactive demonstration with two oxen and cooking over an open fire. Throughout the tour, we tasted sugar cane in many different forms - from raw cane to a “fudge” made for plantation children, and the final brown sugar product. The Hacienda is also home to a colonial church from 1850, a pond filled with lotuses, a shrub maze, and a plank house built in 1750 on the slopes of the Irazú volcano. Our visit included a delicious Costa Rican lunch and coffee grown on the plantation.

In the afternoon we continued to the Tropical Agronomy Center for Research and Learning (CATIE), and enjoyed a guided tour of their botanical gardens. The Botanical Garden of CATIE is a special place. There are exotic trees from around the world, collections of gingers and heliconias, robust stands of bamboo and a medicinal plant garden. The research at CATIE focuses on coffee and tropical fruits among other things, and the grounds include 2,000 varieties of coffee plants, and more than 500 varieties of tropical fruits. The garden serves as a laboratory for students and scientists investigating the molecular and morphological characteristics of the conserved species. It is also an educational site focused on environmental conservation and the sustainable use and protection of natural resources. We were able to sample some of the many tropical fruits that are displayed daily for visitors.

Day 3

Our first stop was at the Lankester Botanical Garden, a beautiful 27-acre property with more than 3,000 species of plants. Here, rare trees and flowers are displayed in a Bromeliad Garden, Japanese Garden, Cactus and Succulent Garden and water gardens. Lankester focuses on the conservation and research of tropical epiphytic plants, particularly orchids. Hundreds of orchids were on display both in the ground (terrestrial orchids) and in containers.

Driving through the city of Cartago in light rain, we decided to make a spontaneous stop at the historic Ruins of Cartago. The site was home to several churches, the oldest of which was built in the mid-16th century. The original church was destroyed by an earthquake in 1630 and earthquakes continued to plague the location for centuries. Each time the church was rebuilt, only to be leveled by a tornado or earthquake several decades later. In 1910, the infamous and catastrophic Santa Monica earthquake permanently cancelled plans of a church on the site. The remaining ruins now frame a beautiful garden with a walking paths, benches, ponds and flowers.

Our final destination for the day was the Savegre Hotel Natural Reserve and Spa. This family-owned hotel is located on 1,200 acres of nature preserves and cloud forests in the Talamanca Mountains. At an altitude of 2,400 ft, it features miles of hiking trails, colorful trees and flowers, and 170 species of birds. A steep, narrow road with a series of sharp switchbacks brought us to our destination. The hotel is located on the banks of the Savegre River, one of the cleanest rivers in Central America. The property is dotted with cabins set in lush gardens of hibiscus, clivias, agapanthus and apricot brugmansias. We say many varieties of hummingbirds flying from flower to flower, and gathering at feeders. The hotel is popular with birdwatchers from all over the world, and on the way to breakfast, I saw a group with giant cameras on tripods pointed at a tree with the brilliant green Quetzal. A Chinese couple offered me an up-close look through their 2-foot long camera lens.

Day 4

Day 4 began with a tour of Coopedota Coffee Plantation in Dota, one of the highest-ranking coffee production areas in the world! The Coopedota Coffee Plantation is a farm and processing cooperative where local farmers take their coffee beans to be washed, dried, and prepared for shipping. Our tour included the growing fields, where we learned about coffee cultivation and tasted coffee berries in all stages of processing. Coffee is a prized agricultural product in Costa Rica, and the berries are harvested manually. The farm focuses on environmentally friendly techniques and artisinal coffees. We were able to sample their coffee with lunch, and purchase beans to bring home.

From the Coffee Plantation we drove to the Pacific coast. Hotel San Bada is a contemporary hotel located next to the entrance to Manuel Antonio National Park and the beaches of Quepos. The hotel has a full restaurant and roof-top sushi bar with stunning views of the ocean and two swimming pools. Our rooms included balconies with sliding doors, which we were warned to keep locked to keep out the clever monkeys that live in the surrounding trees. The weather on the west coast was dramatically different than our previous few days—in the mid-80s and humid, perfect for the pools and the beach.

Day 5

Our morning began with a Rainforest Spices Farm Tour. Villa Vanilla Spice Plantation is located in the Central Pacific rain forest. Spanning over 27 acres of agriculture production and 125 acres of rainforest, the plantation produces vanilla, as well as true Ceylon cinnamon, cocoa, black pepper, allspice, turmeric, and a variety of exotic fruits, essential oils, and medicinal plants. Our tour guide welcomed us with a refreshing iced tea made of hibiscus, clove, cinnamon and allspice. We first learned about the laborious process of growing, hand-pollinating, hand-harvesting and drying vanilla pods, which grow on a species of orchid called Vanilla planifollia. During the tour, we learned about the cultivation and production of spices grown on the farm, saw many beautiful tropical flowers, and sampled cocoa, cookies, and three types of ice cream enhanced with vanilla and spices.

In the afternoon, some of us went to the town beach where we saw capuchin monkeys cavorting in the trees and stealing trash from barrels. More monkeys devoured the fruits of palms at our hotel.

Day 6

This day focused on Manuel Antonio National Park, which was located next to our hotel. This is a very popular tourist destination, and there were many groups with guides pointing out the plants and wildlife. Manuel Antonio National Park is one of the most bio-diverse areas in the world, with rain forests, beaches, and gorgeous coral reefs. It is a mecca for birdwatchers, with more than 350 bird species including toucans and emerald amazon kingfishers. During our park visit, we saw iguanas, sloths, lizards, butterflies, capuchin monkeys, brightly-colored crabs and tropical vegetation. The walk brought us to a pristine beach in a small cove where we enjoyed a long swim in the warm, crystal clear ocean water.

In the afternoon we toured the Quepos farmers market where local farmers sold gorgeous fruits, vegetables, crafts, and jewelry, amidst a festive atmosphere of music and dancing. We then headed to a ranch in the small town of Londres, where we had a cooking demonstration and participated in the preparation of a true farm-to-table Costa Rican dinner of plantain ceviche, braised chicken, rice, beans, and corn tortillas made with fresh ingredients and local flavors.

Day 7

As we made our way inland from the Pacific coast, we stopped to learn all about chocolate at Cacao Santo. The founders of this small plantation were originally missionaries, and focused on the spiritual and religious history of chocolate in the culture of Central American indigenous peoples. Cacao is a fruit that grows on understory trees. Its use dates back to Ecuador, some 5,000 years ago. We toured the home farm, tasted the cacao fruit, and then helped to shell and grind dried cocoa beans on a metase and an old-fashioned hand-crank grinder. We then sampled cocoa made from our our ground cacao beans, observing toucans, tanagers, and Montezuma birds in the garden.

Our final botanical garden was the Green Ark in Santa Barbara de Heredia. The Green Ark is a foundation and public garden that focuses on the many uses of plants in our daily lives. Plants from all over the world are displayed on terraces that feature a medicinal garden, a culinary garden, a tropical food garden, an essential oils garden, and a natural colorants garden. After a gourmet lunch prepared with fresh herbs and produce from the garden, Green Ark’s founder, a fascinating gentleman originally from Arkansas, took us on an educational tour of the grounds.

We ended our tour with a final night and Farewell Dinner at Hotel Bougainvillea. Located in a suburb just 10 minutes from downtown San José, Hotel Bougainvillea is a boutique hotel decorated with original artwork, stained glass, minerals, and artifacts. The hotel is nestled within a 1-acre award-winning tropical botanical garden with meandering paths, seating areas, sculpture, specimen trees, and flowers that attract birds and butterflies.

Perhaps no other country has a motto so charming, so universally quoted and so life-affirming as pura vida. It’s Costa Rica’s unofficial national slogan, and you hear it everywhere. You can say pura vida to mean “thank you,” “you’re welcome,” “that’s great” or “life is good.” The literal meaning of pura vida is “pure life,” but it’s come to symbolize the cheerful outlook and simple lifestyle of what is often called the happiest country in the world.

We all returned from our trip to Costa Rica with that feeling of pura vida, with wonderful memories, new friendships and thousands of photos! Join me on a Costa Rica adventure in January 2026!

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Pura Vida in Costa Rica