The Top 10 Reasons to Visit Costa Rica by Expedition Ship

Costa Rica demonstrates that expedition travel is not defined by ice or remoteness alone. The same expedition principles used in Antarctica or the Arctic, small ships, Zodiac access, flexible itineraries and expert-led exploration, become something entirely different in the tropics.

Instead of navigating pack ice, ships move through warm Pacific waters lined with rainforest. Instead of glaciers, the focus shifts to mangroves, coral reefs, and dense jungle ecosystems. Kayaks replace snowshoes, and Zodiac cruises drift through estuaries alive with birds and reptiles rather than icebergs.
Yet the expedition mindset remains identical. Conditions shape the day, wildlife dictates movement, and the environment remains central to every decision.

That contrast is what makes Costa Rica such an unexpectedly strong destination for expeditions. It proves that expedition travel is focused on access and immersion and stretches far beyond the polar regions. 

We have spoken with experts and compiled the top reasons Costa Rica is so special as an expedition cruise destination. This guide also features photography from expedition ship photographer and travel writer Jamie Lafferty, who took these photos whilst visiting on an expedition. 

Costa Rica challenges assumptions about expedition cruising itself. The sector is often associated with polar regions, ice and extremes. Costa Rica proves expedition travel can be equally compelling in the tropics.

The same principles apply: small ships, flexible itineraries, expert guides and deep environmental immersion. But instead of glaciers and sea ice, the experience is defined by rainforest, biodiversity and tropical marine ecosystems.

As leading travel writer Teresa Machan explains in her Costa Rica guide, this is not just a warm-weather cruise; it is expedition travel in one of the most biologically alive places on Earth.

In Costa Rica, the jungle does not sit inland from the coast. It collides directly with it. Expedition ships move past dense rainforest where trees spill almost to the shoreline, and waterfalls descend from the canopy into the sea.

Places like the Osa Peninsula and Golfo Dulce feel particularly dramatic, with expedition vessels navigating fjord-like tropical waterways surrounded by primary rainforest. The transition between marine and terrestrial environments is immediate, creating a sense that the land and ocean function as one continuous ecosystem.

One of the most compelling aspects of expedition cruising in Costa Rica is that some itineraries extend beyond the rainforest coastline to include one of the world’s great engineering marvels: the Panama Canal.

Operators such as Lindblad Expeditions and AE Expeditions increasingly offer voyages that link Costa Rica’s extraordinary biodiversity with a full-day canal transit, creating a journey that moves between two entirely different forms of immersion.

On a small expedition ship, this combination feels very different from a traditional cruise. On larger vessels, a Panama Canal passage can become largely passive, a slow procession viewed from high decks among thousands of other passengers. Expedition ships experience it on a more intimate scale. Smaller vessels move closer to locks and waterways, often allowing guests to observe the engineering process up close while expedition teams interpret the history and mechanics of the crossing in real time.

The contrast between these two worlds becomes part of the story. One day, you are kayaking through Costa Rican mangroves beneath scarlet macaws and monkeys; the next, you are crossing from the Pacific to the Caribbean through one of humanity’s most ambitious engineering achievements, travelling along a route that fundamentally reshaped global trade and geography.

Costa Rica is one of the most rewarding places on earth to kayak or stand-up paddleboard (SUP), and expedition ships are built to put you at the heart of it. Kayaking isn’t a token extra: many vessels run full programmes, with small groups led by expert guides, like Dan Stavert, who wrote our definitive guide to kayaking, and who specialise in paddling quietly through wildlife-rich waters.

Once you’re in the kayak, the country feels different. You slip into mangrove tunnels where roots arch overhead, and the jungle closes in. Wildlife is at eye level: herons lifting off ahead of your bow, monkeys in the canopy above, fish breaking the surface beside your paddle. In sheltered bays and along rainforest-lined coast, the silence is so complete you can hear water drip from your blade.

In a single voyage, you might thread mangroves, skim open Pacific coastline, and glide across calm, fjord-like gulfs. Few destinations offer such a range so compactly, or let you enter it so quietly.

Costa Rica contains around five per cent of the world’s biodiversity, despite occupying only a tiny fraction of the planet’s landmass. That concentration becomes especially vivid on an expedition cruise, where rainforest, mangroves and marine ecosystems overlap within the same day.

One Zodiac excursion might reveal scarlet macaws crossing above the canopy, while the next brings encounters with dolphins, sea turtles or humpback whales offshore. Primates move through shoreline forests, sloths hang motionless in trees above the beaches, and crocodiles patrol the estuarine waterways.

What expedition cruising does particularly well is connect these ecosystems rather than isolate them. You begin to understand Costa Rica not as a series of separate habitats, but as one intensely interconnected living system.

Costa Rica is one of the world’s most rewarding destinations for wildlife photography, offering the chance to capture extraordinary biodiversity both on land and at sea. Travelling by expedition cruise provides access to remote mangroves, rainforest coastlines, and secluded islands where scarlet macaws, toucans, monkeys, and marine life thrive far from the crowds.

With dedicated photography guides on board, such as Jamie, guests can refine their skills in the field, while expert-led lectures and workshops offer insights into wildlife behaviour, lighting, and visual storytelling. Combined with small-ship exploration and constantly changing scenery, Costa Rica is an exceptional destination for photographers and wildlife lovers alike.

This is one of the best and most compact wildlife photography destinations globally, and you can read more about this in our guide to expedition cruise photography. 

Birding is nearly always a feature of the expedition cruise experience, and Costa Rica’s birdlife is not just diverse; it is layered across habitats that are often difficult to connect on land. With more than 900 species recorded, the real advantage of an expedition cruise is how easily you can move between them, encountering entirely different bird communities within hours.

Along the Pacific coastline, rocky outcrops and offshore islets host seabirds such as brown boobies, blue-footed boobies and magnificent frigatebirds, often seen soaring above the ship or nesting on exposed cliffs. Pelicans skim low across the water, while tropicbirds occasionally appear offshore, their long tail streamers catching the light. Often inaccessible by road, these areas can be approached closely by expedition ships, which deploy Zodiacs for water-level viewing.

Move into the mangrove systems, among the most biologically rich yet hardest-to-access habitats, and the birdlife shifts dramatically. Here you encounter boat-billed herons, roseate spoonbills, toucans, green kingfishers and the endemic mangrove hummingbird, a species found only along this narrow stretch of Pacific coastline. These shallow, tangled waterways are largely unreachable without small boats, making expedition access a major advantage.

At the rainforest edge, where jungle meets the sea, species such as scarlet macaws, white-throated magpie-jays and collared aracaris are commonly seen moving through the canopy. Expedition ships can anchor directly offshore, allowing early-morning landings timed to peak bird activity, without the need for long transfers from inland lodges.

Farther offshore, particularly around islands and marine reserves, birdlife becomes pelagic. Shearwaters, storm petrels and noddies follow nutrient-rich currents, often visible from the ship itself. These are species rarely encountered on land-based itineraries, simply because they spend most of their lives at sea.

You can read more about this in our guide to expedition cruise birding by leading author and photographer Mike Unwin. 

Exploring Costa Rica by expedition ship offers unparalleled access to some of the country’s most remote and biodiverse regions. Small expedition vessels can slip into secluded coastlines, protected national parks, hidden mangrove systems and isolated islands that are inaccessible or difficult to experience on traditional land-based itineraries. Guests can explore untouched rainforest and wildlife-rich marine environments far from the crowds.

On the remote Osa Peninsula, travel writer Teresa Machan highlights the extraordinary biodiversity of Corcovado National Park, home to around 6,000 insect species, 500 tree species, 367 bird species, 140 mammal species, 117 amphibian and reptile species, and 40 freshwater fish species. Nearby, Rio Claro is one of the last refuges for elusive wildlife, including tapirs, ocelots and pumas. Travelling by expedition ship unlocks rare access to these pristine ecosystems, offering immersive wildlife encounters in places few travellers ever reach.

A voyage along this wild coastline reveals a constantly shifting panorama of dense jungle, volcanic headlands and pristine beaches. Guided Zodiac excursions, sea kayaking and expertly led shore landings create a deeply engaging, hands-on experience, while onboard naturalists and expedition leaders offer expert insight into the region’s ecology, conservation and wildlife.

For high-end adventure travellers, the result is a journey that feels both exclusive and elemental, forging a rare connection with an extraordinary wilderness.