The Iconic Animal Tons Of Tourists Complain About Not Getting To See On A Costa Rica Vacation

What's there not to do in Costa Rica? You can take a horseback riding trek through the rainforest and out to the sea, dive into that sea and swim with hammerhead sharks, head inland for a ziplining adventure and canopy tour, and hit the streets of the country's capital, San José, for a night out. What's there to complain about? Well, some travelers have just got to gaze up into a tree and see a shaggy, immobile mammal with long, curved claws hanging there, doing practically nothing but being cute. Enter the sloth, and all the disappointed tourists in Costa Rica who never see them.

But are there really so many people who have "see a sloth" built into their Costa Rican trip itinerary? It seems so, judging by all the online articles advising people how to do so. There's breakdowns of sloth types (Hoffmann's two-toed sloth and the brown-throated sloth), descriptions of sloth behaviors, and likely locations to spot them (Tortuguero National Park, Corcovado National Park, Cahuita National Park, Manuel Antonio National Park, and La Fortuna). There's also articles exhorting people to not try to hold sloths, other articles bemoaning the obsession that some tourists have about taking selfies with wildlife, travelers' confessionals about the desperate need to see Costa Rican sloths, and of course, paid sloth-sighting tours. Who knew?

Bottom line, if you've just got to see a sloth in Costa Rica, there are responsible best practices to follow, like not making noise and keeping your distance. But if you don't care about seeing sloths, there's still plenty of once-in-a-lifetime adventures to enjoy in Costa Rica.

There's good reason why lots of visitors to Costa Rica miss out on their dream of seeing a sloth: They don't like people so they stay away from us. As much as humans think sloth faces are cute, sloths aren't too keen on loud, lumbering, hairless apes bothering them while they're hanging around. Breaking any common sense sloth-viewing rule causes sloths incredible stress, and can even make these timid-seeming creatures borderline aggressive. 

So, if you're out and about sloth-seeking in Costa Rica (something you can only do in a jungle), follow these rules: Keep quiet, no flashes on cameras (it hurts their eyes), take a picture from far away, don't smoke near them, and be careful what scents and bug spray you wear. Also, be very careful about what businesses and tours you support. There are some despicable operations out there that actually capture sloths just so people can pet them. If a potential tour doesn't abide by the rules we laid out, or otherwise seems sketchy and can somehow 100% guarantee that you'll see a sloth, or even touch one? Stay far, far away. This might seem especially sad for kids, but there's no lack of family-friendly activities in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica also has plenty of other animal-related activities (besides horseback riding, as mentioned) to choose from. Kids Saving the Rainforest Wildlife Rescue is an excellent option, as it's a non-profit tour past monkeys, kinkajous (tree racoons with long tongues, basically), and yes: sloths. You might also spot howler monkeys, egrets, herons, and more, in Tortugero National Park along Costa Rica's Caribbean coast, and sea turtles on Playa Minas (peaking in July to August). With so many options, you're bound to leave Costa Rica happy and satisfied, even without a sloth selfie.