Best Outdoor Adventures

Canoeing

Coquí ★, a rural farming and fishing village founded by escaped slaves about 20-minutes south of Nuquí by boat, is home to some of the best-preserved mangrove forests on the Pacific. Ask at the office of the community-based Jóvenes Ecoguiás de Coquí about 1- to 3-hour tours of the mangroves in chingos, hand-carved dugout canoes. Prices range from COP$40,000 to COP$100,000. You’ll see it just off the beach once you arrive in Coqui.

Whale-Watching ★★

The whale migration season runs from late July to October, and during that period, they come close enough to shore that you can see them from your eco-lodge. Day trips can be organized to Parque Nacional Utría, where humpback whales breed and nurse their young in sheltered lagoons. Every hotel can set up a whale-watching excursion, and most offer packages. Prices average around COP$100,000 per person, depending on the number of people in the boat.