This small port city along Costa Rica’s west coast is a gateway to verdant mountains and abundant wildlife. Cruise the Tárcoles River, home to countless birds and a huge colony of crocodiles. Catch the rare opportunity to watch purebred Andalusian horses perform at a Costa Rican hacienda in the highlands of Puntarenas. Travel down the Pacific coast to observe Costa Rica’s famed scarlet macaws among the rainforests and mangroves of Carara National Park. While strolling the open-air cafes and boutiques of Paseo de los Turistas beside Puntarenas Beach, be sure to sample a ‘Churchill’, the Puntarenas version of a snow cone.