Skip the Crowds: 7 Underrated Costa Rican Towns That Belong on Every Bold Traveler's Map
Skip the Crowds: 7 Underrated Costa Rican Towns That Belong on Every Bold Traveler's Map
Let's have a little talk about the Costa Rica that doesn't show up in the first three pages of Google results.
The country's marquee destinations — Tamarindo, Manuel Antonio, La Fortuna — are popular for good reason. They're beautiful, accessible, and well-equipped for tourism. But there's a version of Costa Rica that exists just beyond the resort strip, where the streets aren't lined with souvenir shops, where the wildlife is genuinely wild, and where the people you meet are living their actual lives rather than performing them for tourists.
These seven towns are that Costa Rica. They're the places bold, curious women travelers come back raving about — the ones you'll want to share in hushed tones, like a really good restaurant you're not quite ready to go fully public with.
1. Zarcero — The Cloud Town With Topiary Dreams
What makes it special: Perched at nearly 5,600 feet in the Cordillera Central, Zarcero is the kind of place that makes you wonder if you've accidentally wandered into a magical realism novel. The town's central park — Parque Francisco Alvarado — features an extraordinary collection of topiary sculptures: arched tunnels of clipped cypress, animals emerging from hedgerows, and abstract forms that a gardener named Evangelisto Blanco began creating in 1964 and that the town has maintained with obvious pride ever since. The church behind the park is painted in soft pastels and catches the mountain light in a way that will absolutely ruin your camera roll (in the best way).
Standout experience: The area around Zarcero is dairy country, and the local cheese and fresh cream products are exceptional. Visit the weekend farmers' market to pick up palmito cheese and natilla — a thick, tangy sour cream that Costa Ricans use on everything — from the producers themselves.
Eat here: Restaurante Don Beto is a straightforward, no-frills local spot near the park serving hearty mountain food — think bean soups, grilled meats, and the kind of rice and beans that taste like someone's grandmother made them.
Getting there: Zarcero is about 1.5 hours from San José via the Pan-American Highway. Buses depart regularly from the Terminal Atlántico Norte in San José. A rental car makes it easy to combine with a stop in Grecia (see below).
2. Grecia — The Red Metal Church Town That Earns Its Reputation
What makes it special: Grecia is famous — at least among those who know it — for its remarkable church, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, built entirely from red metal panels imported from Belgium in the 1890s. It's genuinely one of the most striking pieces of architecture in the country, and it anchors a town square that feels lived-in and warm rather than curated for tourism. Grecia has also been cited multiple times as one of the best small towns in the world for retirees, which means it has good infrastructure, English is spoken here and there, and the general quality of life is high.
Standout experience: The World of Snakes (Mundo de Serpientes) just outside town is a surprisingly excellent reptile sanctuary with over 50 species of snakes, plus frogs, turtles, and other reptiles. It's run by a passionate local conservationist and is a great low-key half-day activity.
Eat here: Café Las Delicias on the main square does excellent pastries and strong Costa Rican coffee. Sit outside, watch the town go about its morning, and order a second cup.
Getting there: About one hour from San José via the Pan-American Highway. Frequent bus service from Terminal Atlántico Norte. Easily combined with Zarcero as a day trip or overnight.
3. Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí — Jungle River Town With a Conservation Soul
What makes it special: Not to be confused with Puerto Viejo de Limón on the Caribbean coast, this Puerto Viejo sits in the northern lowlands where the Sarapiquí River winds through some of the most biodiverse rainforest remaining in Costa Rica. The town itself is unpretentious and working-class, but it's surrounded by extraordinary nature — the La Selva Biological Station nearby is one of the most important tropical research sites in the world, and the river offers some of the best wildlife-spotting in the country (sloths, river otters, caimans, toucans).
Standout experience: A dawn kayak or boat tour on the Sarapiquí River. Serious. The early morning light through the jungle canopy, the herons standing in the shallows, the howler monkeys warming up in the trees above — it's the kind of thing that recalibrates your entire sense of what "beautiful" means.
Eat here: Restaurante El Garrobo near the riverfront is beloved by locals for its river fish dishes, particularly the whole fried tilapia. Order the fried plantains on the side.
Getting there: Approximately two hours from San José via Highway 32 (the road to Limón) and then north on Highway 4. Buses depart from the Gran Terminal del Caribe in San José.
4. Turrialba — White Water, Ancient Ruins, and Zero Tourist Pretense
What makes it special: Turrialba sits in a fertile valley in the Cartago province, in the shadow of an active volcano that has been known to close the nearby airport with ash clouds — which, admittedly, is part of its rugged charm. The town is the white-water capital of Costa Rica; the Reventazón and Pacuare rivers offer some of the best rafting in the Americas. But Turrialba is also the gateway to Guayabo National Monument, the most significant pre-Columbian archaeological site in Costa Rica, featuring ancient causeways, aqueducts, and ceremonial mounds dating back to 1000 BCE.
Standout experience: Guayabo National Monument deserves more attention than it gets. Walking the site with a knowledgeable guide — ask your hotel to connect you with a local one — is a genuinely moving experience that connects you to the deep human history of this land in a way that most Costa Rica itineraries completely skip.
Eat here: Restaurante La Garza is a local institution known for its casados and fresh trout from nearby farms. The portions are generous and the price is right.
Getting there: About 1.5 hours from San José via Highway 10. Bus service is available from the San José bus terminal. A rental car is recommended if you plan to visit Guayabo.
5. Nicoya — The Blue Zone Peninsula Town Living Its Best Life
What makes it special: The Nicoya Peninsula is one of the world's five designated Blue Zones — regions where people live measurably longer, healthier lives than the global average. The town of Nicoya is the colonial heart of the peninsula, with a lovely central church (Iglesia Colonial de San Blas, built in the 1600s), a relaxed pace, and a local culture deeply rooted in the indigenous Chorotega heritage. It's not a beach town — the coast is a short drive away — but it's a genuinely charming place to base yourself for exploring the southern peninsula.
Standout experience: The Chorotega pottery tradition is alive and well in the villages around Nicoya, particularly in Guaitil. A visit to the artisan workshops there, where women potters create traditional ceramics using pre-Columbian techniques, is one of the most culturally rich experiences available anywhere in Costa Rica.
Eat here: Soda El Rancho near the central park serves exceptional traditional Nicoya food — corn-based dishes, black bean soup, and chorreadas (corn pancakes) that are specific to this region and unlike anything you'll find elsewhere.
Getting there: About four hours from San José, crossing the Gulf of Nicoya by ferry from Puntarenas (the ferry ride itself is a lovely experience). Buses connect San José to Puntarenas, and ferry + bus connections continue to Nicoya.
6. Bagaces — Gateway to the Forgotten National Park
What makes it special: Bagaces is a small, sun-baked town in the Guanacaste province that most travelers zoom past on their way to Liberia and the beach resorts. That's their loss. The town sits at the entrance to Palo Verde National Park, a wetland ecosystem that is arguably the best bird-watching destination in the entire country — and one of the least visited. During the dry season, the lagoons concentrate thousands of birds in an almost absurdly spectacular display: roseate spoonbills, jabiru storks, hundreds of species of migratory waterfowl.
Standout experience: A boat tour through the Palo Verde wetlands at sunrise. The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) runs tours from their research station within the park. It's an early morning, but the payoff is extraordinary.
Eat here: Options in Bagaces are simple and local — the sodas near the central square serve solid traditional Guanacaste food. Look for sopa de mondongo (tripe soup, a regional specialty) if you're feeling adventurous.
Getting there: About four hours from San José via the Pan-American Highway. Buses run to Bagaces from the Coca-Cola terminal in San José. A rental car is strongly recommended for accessing Palo Verde.
7. Cahuita — Caribbean Soul on a Smaller Scale
What makes it special: Puerto Viejo de Limón gets most of the Caribbean coast attention, but its quieter neighbor Cahuita — about 45 minutes up the coast — has a character all its own. The town is small, deeply Afro-Caribbean in its culture and cuisine, and fronted by Cahuita National Park, which protects one of Costa Rica's only coral reefs. The vibe is unhurried to the point of being almost dreamy. Reggae drifts out of open windows. The beaches are backed by coconut palms. Nobody is in a hurry, and after about 20 minutes, you won't be either.
Standout experience: Snorkeling the coral reef in Cahuita National Park is a must — but equally special is simply walking the jungle trail that runs along the coast through the park. It's flat, manageable, and absolutely teeming with wildlife: howler monkeys, white-faced capuchins, poison dart frogs, and if you're lucky, a sloth hanging in the canopy.
Eat here: Miss Edith's is a legendary institution. The Afro-Caribbean cooking here — rice and beans cooked in coconut milk, rondon stew, fresh seafood — is among the most distinctive and delicious food in the country. Go for dinner and be prepared to wait; it's worth it.
Getting there: About four hours from San José via Highway 32 through the Braulio Carrillo National Park (one of the most scenic drives in Costa Rica). Buses run from the Gran Terminal del Caribe in San José directly to Cahuita.
A Final Note for the Bold Traveler
The Costa Rica in these seven towns doesn't ask anything of you except curiosity and a willingness to show up without a rigid agenda. The rewards — a conversation over coffee that turns into a two-hour cultural education, a bird you've never seen before and can't stop thinking about, a meal that makes you want to move here — are the kinds of things that don't photograph well but live in you for years.
That's the real pura vida. Go find it.
