Costa Rica Travel Guide by Modern Bride

Can you see yourself being strapped into a harness and sent careening (and screaming) across a treetop canopy of undulating green? If not, think again.

Even as your guide latches you to the thick wire cable you still might not be quite sure that you’ll actually go for it. But please do. (I did—oh boy–yippee-wickedly awesome–did I ever. Eleven times!) A treetop-canopy tour is just one of nature’s thrill rides on tap in Costa Rica, Central America’s most popular spot for ecoadventure. This huge swathe of rainforest has 25 national parks, four active volcanoes and is bounded by both the Atlantic and the Pacific, so there are lots of beaches, too.

What doesn't Costa Rica have? For one, an army. (I told you it was peaceful.) And attitude. Its people, who call themselves Ticos, are some of the warmest, most genuine you'll meet anywhere. From heaping helpings of gallo pinto (spicy rice and beans, the national side dish eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner) to fresh-from-the-tree mangoes and straight-from-the-tap Imperial beer, the local cuisine is as all-natural as the landscape.And what a landscape it is: If you had enough time you could spot almost 1,500 species—from monkeys (there are four kinds) to manatees, sea turtles to sloths, and 10 percent of the world's butterfly species (including the splendid Blue Morpho with its six-inch wingspan).

After a hike or a river kayak, you can slip into the soothing mineral waters at Tabacon Hot Springs and watch the glowing lava flow from Arenal volcano. Just the two of you, the night and the entire Milky Way.