Costa Rica's Majestic Arenal

There are tropics, and most of us have learned to love them—at least in theory. Then, there are volcanoes—and most of us have learned to be in awe of them. The magic of Arenal in Costa Rica is that it combines these two natural states, showing through its mere existence that you don’t need a beach to achieve vacation bliss, and that it is entirely possible to find complete serenity in the shadow of an active volcano.

And make no mistake—Arenal is alive and well. In fact, it’s ranked among the world’s ten most active volcanoes, and a night-time sighting of fiery lava is tops on most visitors’ “must see” list. Even if the volcano happens to be snoozing for a couple days, visitors still thrill to the magic of the lowland rainforest, where howler monkeys hang out in the trees and sloths hang from them. Watch where you walk, sit or lean—even the caterpillars here can measure as long as a man’s hand.

Five Amazing Costa Rica Zip Lines & Canopy Tours

Though you can now find zip lines everywhere from zoos to ski resorts to the Mountain View campus of Google, Costa Rica was one of the first destinations to introduce zip lines and canopy tours as a sightseeing activity—and today, zip lines in Costa Rica are as common as jungle gyms in Middle America. These rides will exhilarate you while taking you either right above or straight through the most breathtaking scenery in the country.

Selvatura Canopy Tour & Walkways
What could be more of a storybook adventure than zooming through a cloud forest? This relatively new canopy tour takes place in Selvatura Park, which is actually located within the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Zip line down 13 cables which take you right through the trees… or explore the forest slowly on a treetop walking tour which traverses eight individual suspension bridges.