Travel & Experiences

Photos: Costa Rica’s wild side picks up a larger following

The Arenal Volcano, perhaps one of Costa Rica's most notable topographical features, is surrounded by a national park and is near to rural tourism sites as well as spots for zip-lining, whitewater rafting and soaking in the hot springs.

The Arenal Volcano, perhaps one of Costa Rica’s most notable topographical features, is surrounded by a national park and is near to rural tourism sites as well as spots for zip-lining, whitewater rafting and soaking in the hot springs.  (Terri Colby / Chicago Tribune)

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Deep-sea diving, zip-lining and surfing are well-known draws for tourists in Costa Rica, but rural tourism is on the rise.

Beaches are like magnets

Beaches, like this one at Manuel Antonio National Park, are big tourist draws in Costa Rica.  (Terri Colby / Chicago Tribune)

Have a cow

Travelers can tour Freddo Leche, a farm where visitors can milk cows.  (Terri Colby / Chicago Tribune)

Roadside diner

If you stop at one of the roadside diners known as sodas, you’ll be able to get a full meal with meat, rice and beans, salad and maybe some plantains for about $5.  (Terri Colby / Chicago Tribune)

$5 meal

At the roadside diners, or sodas, a full meal with meat, rice and beans, salad and maybe some plantains goes for about $5.  (Terri Colby / Chicago Tribune)

Coffee time

Morning coffee in the bungalows at the Chayote Lodge is served on an outdoor deck overlooking the farmland where the beans are grown.  (Terri Colby / Chicago Tribune)

The old-fashioned way

If you visit Don Juan Educational Farm in La Fortuna, make sure to stop for coffee, made the Costa Rican way, brewed in a chorreador with water poured over the coffee and through a cloth.  (Terri Colby / Chicago Tribune)

Coffee in the rough

The beans that are roasted and ground for coffee start out inside the green fruit of the coffee tree.  (Terri Colby / Chicago Tribune)

Plenty of privacy

Individual cottages at Rancho Margot, a sustainable eco-lodge in the shadow of Arenal, are very private.  (Terri Colby / Chicago Tribune)

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