Puerto Limon (San Jose), Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s Caribbean coastal port gives access to a number of natural attractions. The canopy of the coastal rain forest can be visited by gondolas on aerial cable systems at the Veragua Rain Forest Park, which also offers zip-line adventures, as does the nearby Jungle Breeze park. The mangrove forests of the Tortuguero Canal are an easy way to get close to sloths, monkeys and numerous varieties of birds and reptiles on canal boats. Visitors often combine these with visits to one of the area’s banana plantations. Alternatively, it’s possible to head inland to Costa Rica’s cosmopolitan capital, San Jose, just over two hours away by highway through lush highland coffee plantations.