Head-bopping iguanas and neon frogs: A tour through Costa Rica’s wildlife wonders

“A two-toed sloth!” Our guide Hector pointed excitedly. I peered up the trunk and there, sure enough, was a large furry backside, its owner deep in a daytime snooze. Our location? A carpark. Such is Costa Rica: so full of incredible creatures that you can spot them in the most unexpected places.

I was on a Highlights of Costa Rica tour with Explore, a longstanding small-group adventure company with over 350 tours in around 100 countries. While our eight-day trip had other memorable experiences too - from hot springs to handicrafts and active volcanoes - it was, unsurprisingly, wildlife that stole the show. After all, Costa Rica is among the most biodiverse nations on the planet and home to about half a million species. 

Beyond its famous sloths, though, can you name many Costa Rican species? I couldn’t before I planned my visit with Explore. And while I did some pre-tour reading, I was still stunned by the amount we encountered: a tiny fraction of the country’s residents but so varied nonetheless. Here’s a taster…  

Peñas Blancas River, American crocodile and mantled howler

Neotropical river otters, proboscis bats, boat-billed herons, turkey vultures, Jesus Christ lizards… our raft safari on Peñas Blancas River was packed with surprises, not least a sunbathing croc. Meanwhile a gaggle of mantled howler monkeys lived up to their name, leaping through the branches above in a cacophony of roars. This baby looked timidly across at its mother in another tree, wondering whether to risk the jump.

We capped off this experience with tortillas, soft salty cheese, fried plantain and a cup of ridiculously sweet sugarcane tea. A well-spent morning indeed.

Monteverde Cloud Forest, white-nosed coati

Another carpark encounter, this coati was engrossed in its snack, oblivious to our chatter and cameras. Coatis are related to raccoons (and just as cheeky) yet forage during the day, making them easier to spot than their nocturnal cousins.

A personal tip? If you’re on the Highlights of Costa Rica trip, ask to go to Bat Jungle: a rescue centre for bats that also runs engaging tours. I enjoyed this more than the Selvatura attraction we visited in Monteverde - pleasant but insanely overpriced.  

Manuel Antonio National Park, three-toed sloth and black iguana

Manuel Antonio really is something else; how many places in the world do you find a rainforest teeming with wildlife next to tropical beaches and coral reefs? As we began our trek through the rainforest, a nine-banded armadillo snuffled through the undergrowth and Central American agoutis, like giant guinea pigs, gnawed happily on fallen leaves. All of us, though, were holding out for a sloth and it took a few mediocre sightings (when asleep and so high, sloths resemble little more than hairy balls) before we glimpsed a mother and baby, awake and moving languorously in search of tasty foliage. It was charming to watch this morning snack-time, broken only by the odd yawn and scratch. 

Afterwards we visited the beach, which also bristled with life. Hermit crabs hurried by in a procession of shells, brown pelicans bobbed out at sea and a gang of white-faced capuchins scampered and groomed around us as we followed a coastal trail. The most humorous character, however, was this black iguana, head-bopping wildly as if at a heavy metal concert. The object of these impressive moves, a female on a branch overhead, stared down disinterestedly… it would clearly take some more wooing before he won her heart.  

Carara National Park, Green & black poison dart frog

It’s not all about the birds and mammals; over 190 amphibian species are recorded in Costa Rica, and the country is famed for technicolour frogs like this Day-Glo beauty. Beware the good looks, though, its poison could stop a human heart. 

Also clocked on our Carara stroll: a gigantic python millipede, leafcutter ants, strange poppy-like mushrooms, buttress roots the height of a child and termite nests welded to branches like some abstract pottery installation. The national park is renowned for its scarlet macaws, too, but these flashy parrots were clearly out when we stopped by.

Scarlet macaws and keel-billed toucan

We might have missed them at Carara but no matter. The “carpark sighting” phenomena struck again when, driving to Manuel Antonio, our guide noticed a bunch of scarlet macaws on a roadside verge. We pulled in and got out the van, gazing up as these kaleidoscopic birds flew noisily between the treetops - preening one minute, chattering the next.

Macaws weren’t the only avian appearance on our drives; we also glimpsed turkey vultures, blue-crowned motmots (a relative of the kingfisher) and a Mexican eagle, its shaded orange face and baby-blue beak evoking the colours of a tropical cocktail. Yet what caused the most excitement was this keel-billed toucan, which obligingly stayed put as we snapped away through the van window. Now that’s what you call a beak.

And that’s what you call a wildlife holiday. Our tour may have been short but the memories and photos will last a lifetime.

Read more: Holiday Inspiration: Travels abroad