Updated 2016
Costa Rica isn’t afraid to take her own path. While other countries in Central America were busy fighting, Costa Rica remained without a military. While other countries around the world destroyed their natural habitat, Costa Rica set aside more than 25% of its land for protection. Costa Rica’s unique choices are your gain. The country is a delight to visit.
Politically stable, easy to get around, and geographically beautiful, Costa Rica is a popular vacation spot these days. The main attraction is its geography. From lush rainforests to beautiful beaches to pretty mountains to raging rivers, Costa Rica is a veritable playground for those who enjoy the outdoors. In fact, while they country has only .1% of the world’s landmass, it also has 5% of the world’s biodiversity. If you visit you are bound to see animals that you have never seen before.
What to do
The popularity of Costa Rica’s Eco Tourism as well as the number of expats who have bought property there has made it more expensive to travel to than it once was. Still, you can visit the country and travel relatively cheaply if you do a bit of research ahead of time.
The capital of San Jose is a nice enough city, but not nice enough to want to stay there more than a day or so. Most people either head straight to one of Costa Rica’s fine beach areas, or to the jungles. There are good beaches on both coasts and good surfing on the Pacific. Jaco Beach is a popular destination for surf bums, and the areas in the northwest of the country are great for package vacations at holiday resorts.
Even near the beach areas you can see wildlife and do jungle activities. Zip-lining is huge in Costa Rica, and other forms of canopy tours are available in places as well. The many national parks make the country extremely popular among nature lovers.
Read: 7 Wet & Wild Ways to Experience Costa Rica.
Getting there
Flying to Costa Rica usually means flying to the capital San Jose. You can also sometimes catch a deal on flights to Liberia. To search for the best deal on flights to either city, check out the Costa Rica Airfare finder.
Read: Surfing Costa Rica’s Southern Nicoya Peninsula.
Where to stay
Where does one stay in Costa Rica? There are plenty of choices. There’s everything from simple hostels to hotels that will blow you away. You can search for both hostels and hotels to get a better idea of what things are like.
You might also consider checking out our friends at Costa Rica Travel & Vacations for more information about traveling to Costa Rica.
Read: Cruise Review: Star Clippers Costa Rica & Nicaragua Cruise.