Puerto Quepos, Costa Rica

Arriving in QUEPOS from San José, Puntarenas or Jacó, it's immediately apparent that you've crossed into the lush, wetter southern Pacific region. The vegetation grows thicker and greener than further north, and more often than not it has just started or finished raining. Backed up against a thick hill, with a muddy – and polluted – beach in front (obscured by the seaside road out to the old dock), Quepos can look pretty ramshackle. Quepos does, though, have plenty of hotels, bars and restaurants and it's a good place to meet fellow travellers. Most come for its proximity to the Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio and its beaches, 7km south; accommodation are more affordable in town and frequent buses to the park make it the most useful base in the area.