Hotel at a Glance: Hotel Poseidon

Hotel Poseidon is less than a block from the shores of Jaco Beach, where surfers conquer breaking waves and beachcombers hone their tans on gray volcanic sand. The intimate property has just 14 guest rooms and a friendly staff ready to arrange rainforest tours, horseback rides, and other outdoor adventures in the area.

• Wake up to a complimentary continental breakfast of freshly baked sweets and local Costa Rican coffee (room delivery is available).
• Cool off in the outdoor pool or cool-water jacuzzi, or in your guest room with cool tile floors.
• Asian-inspired cuisine and fresh seafood at Hotel Poseidon Restaurant, where the rotating menu includes grilled lobster tails and imported New Zealand lamb chops
• American sports on flat-screen TVs at Sky Lounge & Sports Bar<p>

Puntarenas, Costa Rica: Surfing Beaches and Tropical Rainforests near San José

In Puntarenas, you’re never far from a beach. Costa Rica’s biggest province occupies a long, thin section of the country alongside nearly 500 miles of Pacific coastline. Overlooking the Gulf of Nicoya, the town of Jacó attracts surfers from all over the globe thanks to its consistently big waves and good breaks. The best wave chasers make beelines for Playa Hermosa, a 6-mile stretch of black sand that’s considered one of the top surfing destinations in Central America.

Though beaches are a big draw, Puntarenas also has a wide variety of national parks and nature reserves—part of the reason Costa Rica has become such a popular destination for ecotourism. Just a few miles inland from Jacó, Carara National Park is the country’s northernmost tropical rainforest. The park provides shelter for poison-dart frogs, two-toed sloths, and hundreds of scarlet macaws (a rare sight in most parts of the country). Los Quetzales National Park lies to the southwest in the neighboring province of San José. The park features 14 ecosystems in the Cordillera de Talamanca mountain range and is named for one of its most colorful inhabitants: the quetzal, a lime-green and scarlet bird.

The Costa Rican capital of San José is located about 60 miles northeast of Jacó. By day, the big city bustles with open-air artisan markets and street vendors selling tamales and pupusas (corn tortillas stuffed with cheese and meat). By night, flashy discos can be found in all flavors, from ultrasophisticated to full-on rowdy. Wandering the streets of San José, you’ll encounter a confluence of architecture styles—part Spanish, part Moorish—and some of the older neighborhoods still have homes made of wood and adobe.