Activities
Making your Costa Rica visit a memorable experience is our goal. Please do not hesitate to contact Azul Paraíso Sales Team, to help arrange the details of your vacation.
Eco-tourism
Guanacaste offers a wide variety of eco-tourism activities for all ages. This type of tourism promotes and supports environmental conservation while offering the ultimate nature experience.
Canopy Tour (Zip lining)
What is a canopy tour?
A canopy (known also as zip lining) tour involves crossing the forest from one side to another holding onto a steel cable high above the ground. Canopy tours are eco-friendly and exhilarating giving you a bird’s eye view of the forest. Safety harnesses and protective gear are provided.
More than a quarter of the country’s territory is rainforest making this the ideal way to enjoy Costa Rica’s lush vegetation and abundant wildlife. Canopy tours are not only a great way to see things, they are a completely different mode of travel and something the entire family will enjoy.
US scientists originally designed canopy tours. They did so with the purpose of studying trees without having to touch them or harm the insects and animals that live in the trees.
Guanacaste has several canopy tours to offer. The popular Congo Trail Canopy Tour is located 15 km southwest of Coco Beach, a 15-minute drive from Azul Paraíso. This canopy tour is one of the oldest with 10 exhilarating different cables. After a short hike through the rainforest, you will enjoy the ride of your life… hopefully in the company of monkeys!
Canopy tours are also available in the Rincón de la Vieja National Park. Day passes for a variety of activities are available. There are also canopy tours in Liberia and Coco Beach.
Water Activities
Located in the North Pacific region of Costa Rica, Guanacaste is the country’s sunniest province. It offers a wide variety of activities and attractions for all ages and interests.
Its beaches are the country’s best… many with excellent surf breaks, some with ideal snorkeling and scuba diving spots, and others with world-class sports fishing facilities.
Whatever water sports you are interested in, Guanacaste has it and all within close proximity to Azul Paraíso.
Scuba Diving
Guanacaste’s rich coast is a diving haven. Ocotal Beach and Coco Beach are local diving hotspots and arguably the best places to dive in Costa Rica. You will be able to see schools of fish, rays, giant mantas, sharks, whales, sea turtles, bull sharks and more in the 30 dive sites in the Gulf of Papagayo. A 20-minute boat ride from Coco Beach will get you there.
Diving enthusiasts can also visit nearby Bat or Catalina Islands. Catalina Island is an hour’s boat ride from Coco Beach and its surrounding waters are home to manta rays, white tip sharks, turtles, amberjacks, eagle rays and more. Bull sharks reaching 12 feet in length swim in the waters that surround Bat Islands. Cow-nosed rays, eagle rays and much more can also be seen here.
Local dive shops offer excellent underwater viewing where you can see schools of yellow tail snapper, frog fish, sea horses, harlequin clown shrimp, moorish idol, banded guitar fish, cortez and angel fish.
If you have never dived before, Guanacaste is the best place for you to start.
Swimming and Snorkeling
Guanacaste’s beaches are beautiful and unspoiled and some are ideal for swimming. Ocotal Beach is one of these.
Ocotal Beach was awarded the Bandera Azul Ecológica (Ecological Blue Flag) because of its clean waters and well-kept beach. It is one of 20 beaches in Costa Rica that can lay claim to this highly prestigious award. Though all of Costa Rica’s beaches are remarkably clean, Ocotal has amazing visibility and crystal clear water.
Ocotal is a great place to swim, sun bathe or snorkel. The water is so transparent that visibility is perfect for snorkeling. There are several spots close to the shore that are great for snorkeling… full of different types of fish.
Take a relaxing stroll along its beautiful rock-lined horseshoe-shaped beach and sink your feet into its multicolored sand. Walk over patches of volcanic rock and into the water where the sand and warm water will gently massage your feet.
Surfing
Quality breaks and awesome waves make Guanacaste a surfer’s paradise. A 35-minute boat ride from Ocotal, experienced surfers can enjoy the world-renowned surfing points of Witch’s Rock and Ollies Point. Charters are available daily. For those who feel like venturing further, Grande Beach, Tamarindo, Avellanas, and Negra Beach are located south of Ocotal with good waves all year round. Negra Beach is very well known and often appears in Surfer Magazine! All of these beaches are a one to two hour’s drive away. Surfing lessons are offered at most of the mentioned spots above.
Hiring a Boat
Sports fishing is extremely popular in Guanacaste. What better way to enjoy the waters of the Pacific than by hiring a boat and - why not - catching sailfish, marlin, mahi mahi, dorado, tuna, wahoo, grouper, snapper and more... There are many places to hire a boat in Guanacaste. Coco Beach was traditionally a fishing village and therefore, has excellent fishing facilities. It is one of the best places for sports fishing in the peninsula.
You can hire a boat for the day or just half a day. Arrangements for lunch can also be made, so all you have to do is sit back and enjoy fishing. A full day’s trip will take you into deep waters where you might be lucky and catch a marlin. Half-day trips are closer to the shore where tuna, dorado or snapper bite.
Whether you are interested in deep-water fishing or shoreline fishing, many options are available near Azul Paraíso. Just ask your concierge for assistance.
Golf
Several 18-hole golf courses are located close to Ocotal Beach. The Garra de Leon golf course is located in Conchal at 45 minutes drive from Ocotal and the Royal Pacific Golf Club is 20 minutes from Ocotal Beach, near Tamarindo Beach and Grande Beach. The Hacienda Pinilla Golf Club is located just south of Tamarindo, at 55 minutes drive from Ocotal Beach. There is also a golf course at the Country Club in Sardinal, a 15 minutes drive from Ocotal Beach. Several other courses are in the planning stages throughout Guanacaste making the area an appealing destination for golf lovers.
Turtle Nesting
Guanacaste is home to another very important turtle nesting site in Nancite Beach in the Santa Rosa National Park. From August to December, hundreds of thousands of olive ridley sea turtles arrive to the beach to lay their eggs before migrating as far as Mexico and Peru. Access to Nancite Beach is restricted due to these very important guests. Usually only those with research permits are allowed into the beach during the turtlenesting season.