2 Best Sights in Tortuguero and the Caribbean Coast, Costa Rica

At the Finca la Isla Botanical Garden, you can explore a working tropical-fruit, spice, and ornamental-plant farm. Sloths abound, and you might see a few poison dart frogs. A guided tour (three-person minimum, must be reserved in advance) lasts two hours and includes admission and a glass of the farm's homemade fruit juice. Tours can be arranged in advance on days outside the Friday-through-Monday opening hours. You get the fruit juice if you wander around on your own, too (a $1 tour book is available in English, Spanish, French, Dutch, and German). Watch the demonstration showing how cacao beans are turned into chocolate, and sample some of the product at the end of the tour.

Started as a family project to create a hospitable ecosystem for native wildlife, the florae in this extensive garden attract not only amphibians but also professional photographers and birders keen to lay their eyes on these elusive creatures. Take a biologist-guided tour through the forest to see sloths, iguanas, porcupines, owls, and of course, the frogs; it's possible to find 25 different frog species depending on the season and time of day. Experienced, passionate guides know exactly where to locate the scribbly eyes of the ghost glass frog, white tent-making bats huddling together under broad banana leaves, or brightly feathered tropical birds emoting from the treetops. One-and-a half hour daytime and night walks are available.