Parks and Reserves:
The natural diversity that Costa Rica is famous for can be seen in the range of national parks and private reserves in the Guanacaste region. There's the mist-covered, dense rainforests of the Monteverde and Santa Elena National Cloud Forest Reserves; the lowland wet and dry forestland of Palo Verde; and the network of caverns that mark Barra Honda, Costa Rica's only subterranean park. The Rincón de la Vieja, Santa Rosa and Guanacaste national parks along with the Lomas Barbudal Biological Reserve are also Guanacastan examples of Costa Rica's immense biological diversity.

Volcanoes:
Costa Rica is a land of active volcanoes. Its most famous, Arenal, borders Guanacaste and tourist year round come to watch the volcano smolder and spew lava boulders at regular intervals. Rincón de la Vieja, a compound volcano of nine craters, is known for its percolating mud pots and steaming fumaroles. Also in Guanacaste is the Miravalles volcano, which displays its active state in the form of thermal waters and hot mud pits.

Canopy:
A canopy tour gives you a unique treetop glimpse of rain forest life in Costa Rica. You zip along on cables suspended 60 to 100 feet or more above ground, for an unbeatable adventure and spectacular view of the forest and its wildlife. Monteverde, Arenal, and Rincón de la Vieja offer some of the better known canopy adventures. But numerous others exist through Guancaste, including one a few miles outside of Playas del Coco.

Beaching:
The Gulf of Papagayo is dotted with scores of beaches, from developed stretches of white or black sand to secluded hideaways tucked into rocky coves. Those better-known offer plenty of leisure activities, including surfing, sailing, scuba diving and kayaking. Many more are remote and undeveloped, offering the chance to laze about in the sun, picnic or snorkel in total isolation.

Bird Watching:
Costa Rica is a bird lover's paradise and Guanacaste has over half of the 850-plus species known to reside in the country. Within the parks and reserves--or even within the tropical greenery surrounding your own home--you can spot numerous varieties of hummingbirds, toucans, macaws, parrots, motmots and more. The multi-colored Elegant Trogan lives only in Guanacaste. And in nearby Monteverde, it's possible to spot the region's prize attraction--the Resplendent Quetzel.

Sport Fishing:
Costa Rica and the Papagayo Gulf are world-renowned for game fishing. From Playas del Coco, a hub for the sport, and other nearby beaches, a wide variety of charter boat operators are available to take sport fishermen out in search for that reaches of record-breaking marlin, sailfish or rooster fish. The gulf also offers excellent opportunities for catching dorado, wahoo, cubera, snapper, grouper, tuna and more.

Scuba Diving:
The Papagayo Gulf offers premium diving. Its plankton-rich waters draw in an immense diversity of aquatic life in all shapes, colors and sizes. At local dive sites, huge schools of grunts, damsels, scorpionfish, triggerfish and more make their home within local dive sites as do frogfish, octopus, white tip sharks and several varieties of moray eels and rays. Further afield at the Catalinas or Bat Islands, mantas, huge schools of cow-nose or devil rays and bull sharks are the things to see.

Golf:
The Papagayo Gulf is home to three challenging 18-hole golf courses--all within an hour or so's drive south from Playas del Coco. The Melia Playa Conchal Beach & Gold Resort, a Robert Trentjones II course, is one of the best known in the area. But local golfers also frequent the Pacific Royal and the Hacienda Pinilla courses near Playas Grande and Tamarindo. Several other courses are in the planning stages here, making the area increasing a center for those who love golf.