Costa Rica Hiking Tips

Timing is important. The early morning hours are the best, followed by late afternoon.

Keep your eyes and ears open, walk quietly stopping every few minutes for a few minutes. If there is a breeze try to keep it in your face. Look at all levels from the ground to straight overhead. If there are other people (including guides) around, look where they are looking.

Pick an inconspicuous spot near a clearing, stream side or mud hole. If you can manage to sit absolutely still for 40 minutes to an hour, you'll almost certainly see something amazing.

Gently lift (with a walking stick) or roll rocks and logs, or brush the leaf litter aside to see what's underneath. Please push things back to their original positions as best you can.

It's inevitable that you'll find monkeys and when you do, watch for the things that the monkeys scare up.

Although a few species (humming birds, butterflies, and Africanized bees most noteably) are attracted to bright colors and sometimes perfume, you'll usually have better luck if you are less conspicuous.

If you see droppings or tracks, look around to see if whatever made them is still around.

Get a good local guide when you can.

You can become your own guide too. Tropical Nature: Life and Death in the Rain Forests of Central and South America is an amazing book because you don't need a botanical or ecological science background to read it, it's witty, well written and fascinating, it teaches you what to look for in the rain & cloud forests and how to look for it. It's only eleven bucks from Amazon. Another great (if pricier) resource is the multitude of field guides available (see listings).

You will have indispensable resources at your disposal. Your innkeeper, waiter, the guy at the grocery store, the business man in line behind you in customs. Ticos are fiercely (and rightly) proud of the conservation efforts of their country, and although the hotels and tour operators may seem like schooling piranhas while you try to decide where to spend your money, once you've made a choice they all settle down, and turn back to normal people. They'll do all they can to help you have a good time. My wife and I have been to secret beaches, hotsprings, waterfalls, nesting areas... that I've never seen mentioned in the 13 guidebooks I've read. Just ask where the best places to spot wildlife are!

Safety and comfort

There are a number of things you should have with you to make your excursions as safe and comfortable as possible. Proper clothes (including a jacket at higher elevations) and shoes, water, and a first aid kit.

Beach hiking in Costa Rica is exposed and hot. The tropical sun will put you in the hospital if you don't respect it.

There are numerous river crossings on hikes in Costa Rica.
Inland, the greatest danger is losing the trail on the other side, or during the rainy season being upended and bruised on the rocks (the water can be waist deep).
Along the coast most fords must be at low tide (tide tables are posted at the ranger stations of costal parks). Both crocodiles and hammerhead sharks patrol the waters of some estuaries. Cross at the shallowest point, as far upstream as possible.

Riptides are common, Check with rangers before swimming in unknown waters. If you are caught and being towed out to sea, swim parallel to the beach until you are free of the current, then head to shore.

Numerous snakes call Costa Rica home, including venomous and constricting varieties. It's unlikely you'll be fortunate enough to see them unless you are looking hard, but don't put your hands where you can't see.

Mosquitoes and horseflies are constant pests, and spiders rebuild their webs across the trails at an absolutely astonishing rate. Purrujas (no-see-ums) are mosquito's super evil microscopic twins (not biologically accurate, but the sentiment is valid) that come out on beaches and in marshy areas around dusk. They consider DEET a treat, but thanks go out to C. Baker's Moon handbook for tipping us off to Avon's skin so soft. It's like magic.

Africanized bees are present in Costa Rica. We saw a miniature stampede down the main street of Puerto Jiménez when a group of horses being prepared for a tour group disturbed a hive. Dodging back and forth while running is better than running in a straight line (but don't trip) and there's always that Warner Brothers standby of diving in the pond and breathing through a reed until the bees move on.