Trip Coach: September 16, 2008

SWIM BY CORAL REEFS AND WILDLIFE On the Pacific side of Costa Rica, lush rain forest enfolds Playa Manuel Antonio, a crescent-shaped stretch of white sand just outside the sportfishing town of Quepos. This popular beach and national park hits all the right notes for a tropical beach fantasy, from the capuchin monkeys that try to filch your possessions to the casado (a traditional mix of rice and beans) with mahimahi for $12 at oceanfront Marlin's Restaurant (506/2777-1134). The best snorkeling opportunities are in the waters above Costa Rica's most extensive coral reef, which lies off the southeastern coast near the Panamanian border. One fishing community here, palm-fringed Playa Manzanillo, offers a particularly irresistible laid-back vibe, with fishing boats drawn up on the sand and reggae music drifting from funky beachside bars. Activities in the area stretch beyond snorkeling to include boogie boarding and mountain biking. The Nicoya Peninsula in northwestern Costa Rica is the ultimate diving destination. Pinch your nose and plunge into a huge concentration of eagle rays, giant mantas, marine turtles, and whale sharks. Among the many fine dive sites here, the standout is Playa Ocotal, a silvery beach surrounded by craggy headlands (Ocotal Beach Resort diving safaris, ocotaldiving.com). GO DEEP INTO THE FOREST Wildlife abounds along the trails that lace many of the national parks and reserves in Costa Rica. For a misty and mystical jungle trek through a cloud forest, unsung Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve (reservasantaelena.org), outside Santa Elena, fulfills everything an ecotourism enthusiast could desire. It crawls with quetzals, kinkajous, and howler monkeys. Unlike neighboring Monteverde Cloud Forest—more famous because it came first and helped put Costa Rica on the ecotourism map—Santa Elena has a handy observation tower. Keep an eye out for endangered spider monkeys, named for their unusually long gangly limbs and prehensile tails. Tucked away in Costa Rica's far southwest, near the surfing community of Pavones, the mountainside fruit farm Tiskita Jungle Lodge (tiskita-lodge.co.cr) serves as a fantastic base for ecotourism (rates from $250, closed September and October). It stands in a rainforest reserve teeming with creatures like scarlet macaws, toucans, and agoutis, huge rodents the size of housecats. Tiskita's resident guide Luis Vargas enthralls visitors with explanations of the area's ecosystems on his day and night walks to local deep-forest waterfalls. If you opt instead for budget digs—like nearby Rancho Burica's thatched cabanas (ranchoburica.com, from $8)—you can still take advantage of Vargas's services by contacting the lodge. For a true challenge, attack the Sendero El Termometro trail in south central Costa Rica. The ascent takes two days. Depart from the nearby town of San Gerardo de Rivas, rise through cloud forest and alpine savannas, and reach the summit of the country's highest peak, the 12,530-foot Cerro Chirripó. Before your trek, contact the Parque Nacional Chirripó ranger station in San Gerardo de Rivas and reserve beds at the cozy mountain lodge Centro Ambientalista El Páramo, the sole lodging, a short distance below the summit; no camping is permitted (506/2742-5083). Guides can be arranged at the ranger station. GET YOUR ADRENALINE PUMPING Monkeys howl and toucans screech as you career down the Reventazón River, experiencing white-water rafting at its rollicking best. The rapids are roughest in the fall, when the water level is highest. The top outfitter is Ríos Tropicales (riostropicales.com) in San José, which has more offerings than its competitors and a great reputation for trips down the Reventazón and Pacuare rivers; it even has its own isolated lodge on the Pacuare as a base for multiday trips. Get your heart pounding by taking a zip-line ride through the forest canopy. Among the dozens of options, the best is Sky Trek (skytrek.com) at Arenal, where you'll whizz along 1.7 miles of cables slung between towering trees. To get to the zip-line, you'll ride the Sky Tram (included in the Sky Trek experience), which offers views of Arenal volcano, a dramatic sight when it's venting. Children as young as 8 can enjoy the experience. Hop on an ATV for a four-wheel joyride. Paraíso Adventure (paraisocostarica.com), at the Pacific beach resort of Jacó, about two hours southwest of San José, gets high marks for its Jungle & Safari Tour (from $85 per person for a half day). The company makes it easy for you to add to the thrill of an ATV excursion by showing you where you can splash through mud, roar up mountain slopes, and stop to swim under a chilly waterfall. 7 INSIDER TIPS 1. Costa Rican hotels are notorious for not honoring reservations. If you book by phone or fax, be sure to get a written confirmation. Prior to arrival, reconfirm. 2. Staying at a mid-priced hotel? Bring your own shampoo, washcloth, and even sink plug. Quite a few hotels lack these. 3. Planning to view birds or other wildlife? Pack khaki clothing, so you can blend in with the rain forest. And once you're on the trail, be patient. If a troop of monkeys passes overhead, wait quietly for a few minutes. Ground-dwelling animals may emerge afterward to feed on fruits dropped by the monkeys. 4. Even drivers of official taxicabs—red with a yellow sign with the plate number on each front door—can be reluctant to use the meter (la maria). Insist that yours does so, or expect to pay more than the meter rate. Alternately, check with your hotel concierge for the appropriate fare to your destination, and settle on a rate with the driver before you set off. 5. Parking a rental car at a surfers' beach? Don't leave anything in your vehicle. Break-ins have reached epidemic proportions, especially along the Nicoya Peninsula. 6. Riptides—narrow, fast-moving ocean currents that flow away from shore—claim many swimmers' lives each year. Ask locals about sea conditions before you dive in. Most riptides (also known as rip currents) are not identifiable to everyday beachgoers. If you get caught in one, swim parallel to shore to escape. 7. Rainforest Publications' waterproof, pocket-size, foldout field guides are handy for identifying wildlife species. They're widely available in gift shops in Costa Rica and from the company directly (rainforestpublications.com). TIMING Costa Rica's dry season (November through April) has the best weather, but it is also the high season, when rates increase. The May through October wet season is cheaper and less crowded. PRICE INDEX • Pint of locally brewed Imperial beer: $2 (1,115 colones) • Plate of gallo pinto, rice and beans with traditional salsa lizano: $3.25 (1,800 colones) • Hand-painted ox cart souvenir: $7 (3,899 colones) • Taxi ride (taxiaeropuerto.com/) from the airport to downtown San José: $16-$20 (8,912-11,142 colones) • Average rate for a two-star hotel in San José: $50-$60 (27,855-33,426 colones)

25 Reasons We Love New Orleans You thought a hurricane or two could keep this city down? You thought a hurricane or two could keep this city down? • Google map: New Orleans Biking from Salzburg to Prague Come hills or high water, Lisa Schwarzbaum and an old college buddy were determined to bike from Salzburg to Prague—with nothing but a GPS device to guide them. • See the slide show • Global GPS Guide The Secrets to Happy House-Swapping What would possess Joanna Goddard to open her home to people she doesn't even know? The opportunity to stay in theirs! Welcome to the wild world of house swapping. • Where to Shop for a Swap • Tips From Savvy Swappers Call in Sick: Bend, Oregon Oregon isn't all remote mountains and rustic cabins. In Bend, Portland's quirky-chic cousin, you can live the high life and get back to nature. Extra Mile Awards 2008 Our annual look at companies going out of their way to make travel easier and more affordable during an especially trying time for trip-goers. Road Trip: New Hampshire Years ago, a father and son spent two summers by the lake in New Hampshire. Now they're back for the fall foliage and a near-vertical train ride that turns their views of the state on end. • See the slide show 40 Best From our October issue: Deals for Orlando, Tuscany, Costa Rica, and 37 other fascinating destinations worldwide.

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About the photographer After 13 years in San Francisco, David Fenton is finally back home in Oakland, Calif. His clients include Sunset, Rhino Records, and Adidas; find out more at davidfenton.com. _______________________ Photo captions 1 The Castro Theatre has shifted its tone over the past few years—think less provocative Fassbinder films and a lot more Little Mermaid sing-alongs—but with a marquee like that and a working Wurlitzer organ, complaining just doesn't feel right. Photo 2 I love this: multiple generations making their way up a Chinatown hill, with the old gods cheering them on from above. Photo 3 Maybe it helps to be a photographer to appreciate the web of streetcar cables in the city. Look up and there's an ever-changing grid, each little rectangle its own framed image—for as long as you're standing still. Photo 4 Yerba Buena Gardens is S.F.'s answer to NYC's Bryant Park—a well-managed little green zone in the middle of all the bustle, where people with day jobs manage to fall asleep at lunchtime. Photo 5 Not all graffiti is created equal. I can't even begin to wonder what this means; the artist asked first, anyway. Photo 6 There are a LOT of hookahs for sale on Haight Street, but no one's ever offered to sell me flavored tobacco. The hookahs do carry an element of mystique, however, that a row of bongs just can't deliver. Photo 7 I came here to shoot a sunrise that never really happened. Hours later, it looked exactly the same. But then again, maybe the S.F. waterfront looks best this way, clipped of all its colors by the fog, almost like a film noir. Photo 8 This huge old tree at the entrance to the Botanical Garden provides a dose of humility to anyone who stands under it. I guess it helps put things in perspective, which I imagine is just what the groups of people who commune under it every morning have in mind. Photo 9 St. Francis Fountain, deep in the Mission since 1918. Tofu scrambles and something called the "Nebulous Potato Thing" may be its bread and butter these days, but kids still line up for old-time candy and ice cream cones all summer. Photo 10 A holdover from the Summer of Love? This old van in the Dogpatch neighborhood has been around forever, just like the ivy-covered building behind it. Time seems to be swallowing them both up, but each one manages to wear its age well. Photo 11 The Sutro Baths were lost to a fire so long ago that most San Franciscans only associate the name with these enigmatic ruins. At the city's northwestern edge, it's an awesome place to spend a few hours pondering the crashing waves—and the site's original purpose. Photo 12 Agitprop, a Prius, and a repurposed old police station—add a couple of fair-trade lattes, and this Mission neighborhood scene would say "San Francisco" more than the Golden Gate Bridge ever could. Photo 13 Terroir, a wine shop and bar in the SoMa neighborhood, is like a library, almost. The place is dead serious when it comes to wine. Food and drink is this town's secular religion, and charlatans are not tolerated. Photo 14 This Ferry Building scene, save for the BMX dude, is like a little slice of 1950s San Francisco. The streetcar might be far from original, but if you squint a little, you can almost picture an army of gray-suited office workers spilling out and marching up Market Street. Photo 15 San Francisco is built at impossible angles (how the roof and the base manage to tilt in opposite directions is beyond me). Until the DEA stopped by last year, this Dogpatch warehouse was the distribution hub for a small chain of medical-marijuana dispensaries, with blacked out windows and surveillance cameras galore. Photo 16 The Bay Bridge never got its due. Battleship gray and built for utility, it only made the papers when a chunk of it collapsed in the 1989 earthquake. Now it's being replaced with an even less exciting span. But for anyone who grew up in the East Bay, it will always be the real gateway to the city. Photo 17 Darkness at noon: what midday looks like on a summer weekend. Photo 18 Dolled-up Victorians get too much attention. This row of town houses on Potrero Hill is how S.F. really lives. Row after row, block after block, houses like these stretch from Potrero Hill all the way to the beach. Add sunshine for color, and it makes you a little wistful. Photo 19 San Francisco's not really a big-building kind of town. The whole place seems about three stories tall, which is why going downtown by the Transamerica skyscraper feels like a field trip. Photo 20 The Twin Peaks bar at Castro and Market has a nickname: the glass coffin. At night it's a fishbowl, the inside filled with people of all ages on a long, slow drunk. Days are a little different—the street corner becomes one of the best for watching waves of people walk, run, strut, and stagger by. Photo