Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
San Carlos, Islas Solentiname & the Río San Juan
Why Go?
You could roam the globe for decades and it would be tough to top what you are about to
experience here. This is a place where an enlightened priest once mingled with transcend-
ent artists on forgotten island utopias. Where the beautiful teenage daughter of a Spanish
conquistador stared down an on-rushing armada of British pirates. It's a haven for migrat-
ory birds, ranchers and fishermen where the monkeys howl, alligators cruise the black wa-
ter, and enormous 500-year-old trees bangled in delicate orchids shelter fluorescent
fingernail-sized tree frogs and carnivorous jaguars under one canopy.
It's also a place thousands of travelers simply pass through on their way to Costa Rica,
ignoring the sweet Archipiélago de Solentiname, mythic Río San Juan and spectacular
Reserva Biológica Indio-Maíz. Huge mistake. Spend some time and money. Explore. Take
it all in. These are the places you imagined when you booked your ticket. This is why you
travel.
When to Go
Dry season in the Rio San Juan runs from February to April with more sunshine and
shrinking pools of water concentrating migratory waterfowl in Los Guatuzos. From mid-
September to October it's possible to hook huge tarpon in the Caribbean Sea at the mouth
of the Río Indio and there is the best bird-watching around San Miguelito. And in Novem-
ber, dancers and artists from all over the country descend on San Carlos for the Río San
Juan's biggest party - the Carnival Acuático.
Best Wildlife- Spotting
»
Río Papaturro (
Click here
)
»
Aguas Frescas (
Click here
)
»
Islas Solentiname (
Click here
)
»
Río Indio (
Click here
)
»
San Miguelito (
Click here
)
