Daily boat tours allow visitors to get up close to the birds in their natural environment.

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Watercraft are available for rent, and boat tours of the bay and wetlands are a great way to get to know the area.

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But if you simply cannot be pried from the ivory sands of Muri Beach, the hotel offers scuba diving, windsurfing, glass-bottom boat tours and guided walks through the green jungles on the island.

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Heading south, forego the tourist boat-tours to Liberty Island and instead climb aboard the Staten Island Ferry, alongside the commuters, for a terrific view - free of charge - of Ellis Island, Lower Manhattan and Lady Liberty herself.

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More unusual guided outings include boat trips, cycling tours, stargazing and snorkelling.

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The marina makes the roster of sights visited by one local tour operator, Speedboat Tours, whose boat also zips past Hibiscus Island and a mansion whose exterior and waterfront deck stood in for a drug dealer's house.

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In Costa Rica we did some zip lining, boat riding and snorkeling, a few nature tours, a bit of sitting on the beach and a whole lot of restful, sometimes jolting, and always thoroughly stimulating gazing across Costa Rica's undulating landscapes from the windows of tourist transport vans.

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