Introducing Costa Rica
Mention Costa Rica and people think paradise. The country’s Disneylike cast of creatures – ranging from howler monkeys to toucans – are populous and relatively easy to spot. The waves are prime, the beauty is staggering and the sluggish pace seductive. A peaceful oasis in a tumultuous region, this tiny nation draws 1.5 million visitors every year.
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What’s on tap? The question is what isn’t? Active travelers can surf, hike, snorkel and spot wildlife for starters. The incredibly varied topography means you can cruise the cloud forest one day, visit an active volcano the next, and finish relaxing on a hot sandy beach. Adrenaline junkies have a myriad ways to make mothers worry – among them zipping through canopy lines hundreds of meters long and riding the rough surf of the Pacific. Choice and variety name the game.
Of course, the frenzy to snatch up a piece of Shangri-la has its consequences. Since the boom, tourism is more chic and less cheap. Classic destinations are now crowded destinations and local culture is often lost or cast aside. Lucky for Costa Rica that its do-gooder fans, ranging from ecologists to proud Ticos (Costa Ricans), are vocal and vigilant. Nature here suffers its blows, like everywhere, but at least it is taken seriously.
Ready to go? Our recommended tours make it easy:
- Cycle Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama
- Whitewater Raft on the Corobici River
- Go on a daytrip to the Palo Verde National Park
Want more? Browse all our recommended Costa Rica tours
Last updated: Jan 18, 2012
Tips & articles
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10 things to know before you volunteer overseas
19 April 2012
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Calling the caf-fiends: great coffee spots
19 January 2012
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Get your kicks in Costa Rica
14 January 2012
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Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
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RE: United Airlines Flight Quality
by SoloHobo 16 May 2012
I have flown then exclusively in the past 2 years, 3 trips to China, 15 trips to NYC, 10 trips to Denver and Las Vegas. and a few to Hondura…
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RE: Costa Rica - Panama - Columbia - Ecuador
by SoloHobo 16 May 2012
October is peak rainy season in CR, so be prepared, its a mess. The main park to see and hike on way to Panama is Corocvado, but its closed…
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RE: Central America- rainy season and currency
by SoloHobo 16 May 2012
5 weeks for 4 countries? Sounds like you will hardly have time for much in one country to me, why not Costa Rica, to Nicaragua to Guatemala.…
Hotels & Hostels
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Costa Rica
Things to do
- All things to do (1,216)
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- Entertainment (143)
- Restaurants (372)
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- Sights (193)
- Tours (16)
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Our Top Picks For Costa Rica
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1 Las Fiestas de Zapote (December 25 to Januray 1)
Join tens of thousands of Ticos for a weeklong celebration of all things Costa Rican (namely rodeos, cowboys, carnival rides, fried food and a whole lot of drinking) in the suburb of Zapote, southeast of San José
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2 Earn bragging rights at Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
Test your surfing mettle at Salsa Brava, a fierce reef break that cuts close to shore in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca - it’s one of six top ways to get your adrenaline pumping
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3 Watch wildlife at Parque Nacional Corcovado
See the lumbering Baird’s tapir, the giant anteater and the rare harpy eagle at this national park, famously labeled by National Geographic as ‘the most biologically intense place on earth’
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4 Snorkel at Playa Conchal
Get your fins in the turquoise swim at the most beautiful beach in Costa Rica
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5 Rush in for churros in San José
Get your sugar rush from the deliciously sweet and crispy doughnuts at Churrería Manolo's, San José’s perennial favourite
Fast Facts about Costa Rica
- Happy Planet Index rating:
76.1 (which makes Costa Rica the happiest place on the planet)
- Currency:
what's the Costa Rican colón worth today?
- Annual coffee consumption per person:
3.9kg (USA: 4.2kg)
- Full of beans:
coffee was thought to energize workers, so in 1840 the government decreed that all labourers building roads should be given one cup of coffee every day
- Tico/a:
male/female Costa Rican (also a Costarricense)
- Slow movers:
two-toed sloths descend from the trees once every two weeks to defecate
- Population:
four million
- Head of state:
President Laura Chinchilla
- Coffeeganda:
in the 1940s children learned to read with a text that stated, ‘Coffee is good for me. I drink coffee every morning'
Our favourite Costa Rica Blogs (beta)
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A Nine Day Tour of the Top Tourist Sights in Costa Rica
Blog: Hole In The Donut - 21 April 2012
Following a disappointing week at the beaches of the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, I hopped on a bus back to San Jose, where I met up with a group of people for a nine-day tour. As an independent traveler who wanders with no set schedule, I have never been on an organized tour, however [...]
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Costa Rican Rodeo – A Drunken Brawl Where People Are the Targets
Blog: Hole In The Donut - 16 April 2012
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Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula – More Than A Little Disappointing
Blog: Hole In The Donut - 11 April 2012
The old saying, “Expectations are resentments waiting to happen,” is perhaps the best way to describe my recent trip to the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. For years I’d heard tales of the beautiful beaches around Montezuma and Mal Pais, so when I won a nine-day tour of Costa Rica, I decided to go a [...]
