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Costa Rica
Photo: Fabzgy, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
North Costa Rica, also known as "Región Norte" or "Huetar Norte" (in Spanish) is a region located within Costa Rica and borders in the north to Rio San Juan Region of Nicaragua.
The best way to get to the North Zone is by car. There are also local buses that travel San José and San Ramon, but the car offers the most flexibility to stop and experience the local culture on your trip to the North.
Read in the guideFrequent buses travel the area. Bus times are considerably unreliable and infrequent in La Fortuna, probably due to forcing tourists into taking a taxi.
Read in the guideChoose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
La Fortuna · Regional · FON
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Ciudad Quesada is a city in the North Zone of Costa Rica. It is the capital city of the canton San Carlos in the province of Alajuela.
La Fortuna de San Carlos is a small town in the north of Costa Rica. It is known mainly for the nearby Arenal Volcano (1,633 m), a destination for scientists and tourists.
San Ramón is a small town of about 7,700 people (2022) in the Central Valley. It is a mountainous area surrounded by cloud forests including privately held reserves such as the El Cocoro and El Silencio de los Angeles cloud forests.
Los Chiles is a border town in the north of Costa Rica.
notable for attractive rain forest nearby, with wildlife viewing (particularly birdwatching)
known for its primary growth rainforest
Juan Castro Blanco National Park (also known as Parque de Aguas) is a Costa Rica national park in North Costa Rica.
La Fortuna de San Carlos is a small town in the north of Costa Rica. It is known mainly for the nearby Arenal Volcano (1,633 m), a destination for scientists and tourists.
Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge is an internationally important wetland in North Costa Rica, near the border with Nicaragua. Its seasonal lagoon, flooded forests, marshes and the Río Frío support one of Costa Rica's richest concentrations of waterbirds, together with monkeys, sloths, caimans, turtles and the unusual tropical gar known locally as gaspar.
Guanacaste National Park is a large protected natural area in the province of Guanacaste in northwestern Costa Rica. The park is adjacent to the Santa Rosa National Park, the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano National Park, and other conservation areas surrounding nearby volcanoes.
The Tenorio Volcano National Park straddles the border between Guanacaste province and Alajuela province of Costa Rica, it is home to the beautiful Rio Celeste. The river has an unworldly milky blue color which comes from sulfur produced by the volcano.
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