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Jaco sunset

Jaco, Costa Rica is a perfect vacation place as it has something for everyone. Lush rainforests abut sand beaches with hiking, surfing, ziplining, bird-watching, and kayaking available for adventure enthusiasts. For those not as adventurous, there is ample opportunity to just relax on the beach and catch some rays or lay around the pool.

Travel partners who have varied interests will love Jaco. Each can pursue their own interest or switch off doing one interest one day and the other the next. Most people enjoy both adventure and relaxation, so Jaco is great for those who like to mix it up.

Relax at a Jaco pool

Jaco is also a great party place. You can enjoy a cocktail or an Imperial beer at a beach side bar during the day and then hit the happening night club later. Visitors can also play a game of Blackjack or two at the hotel Casino right on the beach.

Five things to do in Jaco

5. Ziplining/rapelling

There is no shortage of ziplining and or rappelling tours in Jaco. One can soar over rainforests while viewing birds and monkeys and then rappel down waterfalls only a short distance from this beach town.

My best run of the day

4. Learn to surf

I enjoyed a two hour introductory surf lesson with the Jaco surf club. The waves at Jaco Beach are perfect for learning as they are not too intense, but big enough to make it interesting for more experienced surfers. Once you get started, you can then rent surfboards and continue to practice in order to hone this new skill.

Step off the beach and hike the lush rainforest covered hills

3. Hike up into the jungle hills

Just a short distance from the beach are trails that wind up the rainforest covered hills. The trails afford a beautiful view of the beach and perhaps you will see a toucan, macaw, or a monkey.

2. ATV waterfall tour

Another popular tour found around town is riding ATVs into the jungle. Ride through the rainforests and cool off by swimming underneath a beautiful waterfall.

Manuel Antonio three-toed sloth

1. Day trip to Manuel Antonio

The town of Manuel Antonio is only an hour and a half bus trip from Jaco, so it is an easy day trip. The main attraction here is the beach and Manuel Antonio National Park. This national park is one of the best places to see outstanding wildlife that this Central American country is know for. You are almost guaranteed to see sloths, several kinds of monkeys, interesting birds, perhaps a tarantula, lizards, bats, and all sorts of interesting animals. You then end up at a beautiful pristine white sandy beach to relax and swim in after hiking through the jungles.

Adventure on!

The goal of Traveling Ted is to inspire people to outdoor adventure travel and then provide tips on where and how to go. If you liked this post then enter your email in the box to get email notifications for each new entry. Daily travel photos are excluded from your email in order to not flood you with posts. There is no spam and email information will not be shared. Other e-follow options include Facebook (click on the like box to the right) or twitter (click on the pretty bird on the rainbow above).

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