National park 路 Central Pacific
Manuel Antonio
Rainforest that runs down to white sand beaches, with monkeys and sloths in the trees above them. About 3 hours from San Jos茅.
National parks in Costa Rica
Sixteen parks and reserves on one map: rainforest down to the beach at Manuel Antonio, the volcano at Arenal, the cloud forest at Monteverde and the turtle canals of Tortuguero.
The short answer
Which national parks should you see?
Costa Rica has 30 national parks, by the count of SINAC, the national parks service, and with its reserves and wildlife refuges it protects more than a quarter of its land. Four are the ones our clients visit most: Manuel Antonio, where the rainforest runs down to the beach; Arenal, with hot springs below the volcano; the Monteverde cloud forest; and Tortuguero, where green turtles nest from June to October. Corcovado on the Osa Peninsula is the wildest, with Drake Bay as the gateway. We recommend a guide for every park walk, because a guide with a telescope finds the sloths, monkeys and birds you would walk straight past.
The map
![Map of Costa Rica with 16 national parks and reserves, numbered]()
Costa Rica national parks map
The 16 parks and reserves, numbered from the ones our clients visit most.
- 1Manuel Antonio
- 2Arenal Volcano National Park
- 3Monteverde Cloud Forest
- 4Tortuguero National Park
- 5Po谩s Volcano National Park
- 6Rinc贸n de la Vieja
- 7Cahuita National Park
- 8Corcovado National Park
- 9Carara National Park
- 10Palo Verde National Park
- 11Braulio Carrillo National Park
- 12Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve
- 13Santa Rosa National Park
- 14Chirrip贸 National Park
- 15Barra Honda National Park
- 16La Amistad International Park
The parks and reserves worth the visit
Each one links to our full guide: what you will see, how to get there and where to stay.
National park 路 Northern Zone
Arenal Volcano National Park
Trails across the old lava flows of Costa Rica's best known volcano, with hot springs at its base. Quiet since 2010.
Cloud forest reserves 路 Northern Zone
Monteverde Cloud Forest
Three reserves protect the cloud forest, where some 400 species of birds live or pass through, the resplendent quetzal among them.
National park 路 Caribbean
Tortuguero National Park
Canals through the rainforest, reached only by boat or small plane. Green turtles nest on its beaches from June to October.
National park 路 Central Valley
Po谩s Volcano National Park
One of the largest active craters in the world, over 900 feet deep and a mile wide. About an hour from San Jos茅.
National park 路 Guanacaste
Rinc贸n de la Vieja
Mud pots, fumaroles and sulfur lagoons, about an hour from Liberia airport. An easy day out from the Papagayo beaches.
National park 路 Caribbean
Cahuita National Park
A beach park on the Caribbean coast south of Lim贸n, protecting one of the largest coral reefs in Costa Rica.
National park 路 Osa Peninsula
Corcovado National Park
The largest primary forest on the Pacific coast of the Americas, with scarlet macaws, tapirs and all four of Costa Rica's monkeys. Drake Bay is the gateway.
National park 路 Central Pacific
Carara National Park
Forest beside the T谩rcoles River, protected since 1978, and less than 2 hours from San Jos茅 on the way to the Pacific.
National park 路 Guanacaste
Palo Verde National Park
Wetlands on the Tempisque River, protected under the Ramsar Convention, with the largest gathering of water birds on the Pacific coast of Central America.
National park 路 Central Valley to Caribbean
Braulio Carrillo National Park
Mostly primary forest, with the Barva Volcano inside it and the highway from San Jos茅 to the Caribbean running straight through.
Nature reserve 路 Nicoya Peninsula
Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve
Costa Rica's first protected reserve, founded in 1963 at the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, around the corner from Montezuma and Santa Teresa.
Since 1963Read the guide
National park 路 Guanacaste
Santa Rosa National Park
Dry forest in the far north of Guanacaste, the site of the Battle of Santa Rosa, with two beaches where olive ridley turtles nest.
National park 路 Talamanca Mountains
Chirrip贸 National Park
The highest mountain in Costa Rica: a hard climb with cold nights, and on a clear day both oceans from the summit.
National park 路 Nicoya Peninsula
Barra Honda National Park
Limestone caves under the Nicoya Peninsula, with stalactites and stalagmites in its 42 caverns.
42 cavernsRead the guide
International park 路 Talamanca Mountains
La Amistad International Park
The largest national park in Costa Rica, shared with Panama and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Remote, rugged and largely unexplored.
Good to know
National park questions we answer every week
How many national parks are in Costa Rica?
30, according to SINAC's register of protected areas (August 2025), among 150 protected wild areas that also include wildlife refuges, biological reserves and forest reserves. Together they protect more than a quarter of the country. Fourteen of the parks are on this page, with the Monteverde and Cabo Blanco reserves: the ones worth building a day around.
Which national park is best to visit?
Manuel Antonio, for rainforest and beach in the same morning. Arenal, for the volcano and the hot springs. Monteverde, to walk inside a cloud forest. Tortuguero, for the canals and, from June to October, nesting turtles. Corcovado, if you want the wildest of them.
Do I need a guide in the national parks?
We recommend one. Wildlife is hard to spot on your own, and a guide with a telescope shows you the sloths and monkeys up close. Turtle tours in Tortuguero must go with a licensed guide.
Do I need to book park entry ahead?
For some parks, yes. Entry to Po谩s is booked ahead, and the Monteverde reserves limit how many people go in at a time, so in high season your hike starts early. We arrange the entry with your tours.
When is the best time to visit the national parks?
December to April is the dry season across most of the country, with the best weather in Manuel Antonio and the clearest views of Arenal. May to November is the green season, with more rain. Tortuguero's turtles nest from June to October.
Do I need a car to visit the national parks?
No. Our clients travel with a private driver who leaves on their schedule and waits while they visit, so nobody has to drive the mountain roads.
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