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Ever since Costa Rica enacted legislation in 2021 allowing superyachts to charter, the country’s 800 miles of tropical coastline have attracted cruisers craving something new and different. Costa Rica is different. It’s one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, despite being about the size of West Virginia.
Costa Rica has more than 850 bird species, for example, plus 160 amphibian species, and 205 mammal species—and those only scratch the wildlife surface. As I discovered recently, an ordinary yacht charter in Costa Rica is an extraordinary experience of encountering whales one day, spider monkeys another, and bioluminescent waters under inky night skies the next. The list includes land and sea activities. It’s both a nature-lover’s and adventure-seeker’s paradise, with protected rain forests, coastlines, and exceptional marine life on both its Caribbean and Pacific coasts. Chartering a yacht is the antithesis of sitting on the back deck in the Med and watching people move by. Here, you’re part of the action.
Below are nine reasons why Costa Rica should be at the top of the list for a yacht visit.
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Swimming With Megapods of Dolphins
Image Credit: Origen Escapes A short cruise into Golfo Dolce from Marina Bahia Golfito, the low-density resort and marina where our charter party was based, and you’re sure to encounter pods—even megapods—of dolphins. We came across about 80 of these playful swimmers and couldn’t take our eyes off them. The dolphins had no issue with us snorkeling and swimming nearby, even coming a little closer to check us out. Amazingly, our guides from Origen Escapes, which works with most superyacht guests in Costa Rica, says hundreds of dolphins (the “mega” in “megapod”) aren’t uncommon.
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Rain Forest Hiking
Image Credit: Getty Images Costa Rica has significant protected acreage, including 26 forests and 20 national parks. The guides know the best rain forest trails, as well as the flora and fauna, like the backs of their hands. The Osa Conservation site on the largely protected Osa Peninsula (which National Geographic calls “the most biologically intense place on earth”) is one such hiking area. Toucans as well as capuchin and spider monkeys soar over your head, while legions of leaf-cutter ants march in tight formation alongside your feet.
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Mangrove Kayaking
Image Credit: Getty Images There are forests, and then there are mangrove forests. Even if you’ve kayaked amid mangroves before, there’s nothing quite like paddling along the Rio Esquinas in search of birds, turtles, and other creatures. The mangroves are so dense in growth that they form narrow natural channels and cathedral-like passageways. You can touch dozens of mangrove crabs scampering out of your way along the lowest branches, too.
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Tree Climbing into the Rainforest Canopy
Image Credit: Origen Escapes Channel your inner child with a challenging but fun climb 100 feet and higher into the canopy for amazing views. There are multiple opportunities among the nation’s many Strangler Fig trees (which offer nooks and crannies to facilitate the climbing). Reserves like the Arboreal Tree Climbing Park even have circuits of trees of different heights, allowing visitors to climb into the cloud forest canopy.
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Bioluminescence Swimming
Image Credit: Getty Images Bioluminescence is a fascinating natural phenomenon. It’s a chemical reaction in micro-organisms that causes them to glow like tiny megawatt lightbulbs. The effect is visible only at night. The waters of Golfo Dolce, or “Sweet Gulf,” in southern Costa Rica are teeming with these micro-organisms, to the point where even gentle motion through the water causes them to glow. Swimming with a snorkel and mask lets you see the light show under water all around your body.
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Chasing Waterfalls
Image Credit: Origen Escapes Imagine being atop a canyon cliff, with an exceptional view of the landscape, and then rappelling down the sheer rock face of a waterfall into the canyon below. This experience, offered in multiple Costa Rican destinations such as Guanacaste, Arenal, and Bajos del Toro, is exceptional, thanks to its location in an untouched rainforest. Despite the adrenaline surges, the sport is relatively safe, with no previous experience necessary. The rappelling can be combined with other activities like rock climbing, tree-climbing, rafting, and even Tarzan swings.
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Horseback Riding
Image Credit: Getty Images Toward the tip of the Osa Peninsula, Rancho Tropical is a cattle farm turned horse ranch. The same cowboys who previously herded the cattle take you on a horseback ride through the ranch’s forest and across its small rivers. No prior experience is necessary, since the horses naturally follow one another and respond to reign movements readily. Only your group is on the trail, too, letting you appreciate the wild beauty. Since the ranch shares a border with a national park, the spirit of protecting the wildlife is strong.
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Sportfishing
Image Credit: Getty Images Costa Rica offers some of the best angling opportunities in the world—largely because the country has been aggressive in protecting its waters from outside boats. On both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, local marinas have a number of sportfishing charter vessels or inshore guides available to go after every species an angler could dream of—marlin, sailfish, and yellowfin tuna for bluewater trolling; tarpon, roosterfish, and snapper for inshore and fly-fishing; there are even bonefish, though in much smaller numbers than other parts of Central America.
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World-Class Marinas and Superyacht Charters
Image Credit: Marina Bahia Golfito Dozens of marinas exist across Costa Rica, but a handful like Marina Bahia Golfito, Marina Papagayo, Marina Paz Vela (Quepos), and Marina Los Sueños (Herradura) all cater to superyachts. They have excellent facilities and friendly staff members (many of which will know you by name during the stay), and are official marinas of entry, so can issue a cruising permit for Costa Rican waters. Thanks to changes in the chartering law in 2021, outside superyachts also visit Costa Rica during the winter season, including the 266-foot Sea Eagle, 130-foot Serengheti, 164-foot TCB, and 142-foot Baca, as well as others. Considering its attractions, both land and sea, Costa Rica is one of the most pristine cruising grounds in the Americas, a relatively undiscovered destination for yachties who thrive in nature.
