Topo's Tree House

The Cahuita National Park under 10 minutes' drive away is one of the most compact and diverse not just in Guanacaste province but Costa Rica as a whole. Book a guided snorkelling tour of the coral reefs to see the colours and forms of this endangered habitat and its marine life, or take a scuba diving trip to explore the shipwrecks. Inland, the forests are home to toucans, anteaters and raccoons. A similar distance away, the Tree of Life Wildlife Rescue Centre and Botanical Gardens does exactly what its lengthy name suggests: within the limits of this carefully managed park, you'll meet spider monkeys and howler monkeys, peccaries, iguanas and other species rescued from poachers or dwindling habitats. Your visit will be helping the good work continue, and it's the same deal at the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica and the Jaguar Rescue Centre, 15 and 30 minutes' drive away. Wildlife watchers should also very much like the Nature Observatorio a 40-minute drive away, where mountain hikes through the rainforest end in a treehouse 80 feet up, with views across the canopy to the mountains and down to the wildlife below. If such an experience can be topped, then it can only be with a visit to Veragua Rainforest, an hour and a half away: think monkeys, toucans and luminous tree frogs, plus zipwires and an aerial tramway.