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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.
Make it happen
Ready to go? Our recommended tours make it easy:
- take a mountain bike trip in Costa Rica
- surf Costa Rica
- try an adventure trip in Costa Rica
- explore Costa Rica with last minute deals
- do Costa Rica on a shoestring and visit the relaxed Caribbean coast
- discover Costa Rica's volcanoes and surf
- discover Costa Rica’s natural side on an eco-adventure
Want more? We can recommend more Costa Rica trips Find more deals at Lonely Planet Travel Services
Last updated: Oct 22, 2009
Tips & articles
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Costa Rica with kids
28 August 2009
Wild animals, active volcanoes, rainforests, beaches—what kid wouldn’t love Costa Rica? Parents are guaranteed...
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Caffeine-fuelled travel: the world’s top coffee spots
19 August 2009
It inspires passion, opinion and addiction. It’s the world’s second most valuable commodity...
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Volunteering in Costa Rica
31 July 2009
One of the best ways to experience Costa Rica is to volunteer. Not only is volunteering a great way to...
Costa Rica
Our Top Picks For Costa Rica
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1 Turtle season in Tortuguero (late July through August)
Stay up all night on the beach spying on turtles hatching their eggs in Tortuguero ('turtle place') or see them roost at Playa Grande, where they've been laying eggs for thousands of years
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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 Día de la Raza (Columbus Day; Puerto Limón, October 12)
Join the locals as they celebrate with gusto the explorer’s landing at nearby Isla Uvita. The four- or five-day carnival is full of colorful street parades and dancing, music, singing and drinking.
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4 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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5 Snorkel at Playa Conchal
Get your fins in the turquoise swim at the most beautiful beach in Costa Rica
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 provided with 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
- Matando la culebra:
to be idle, literally ‘killing the snake’. Originates with peons from banana plantations. When foremen would ask what they’d been doing, the response was, ‘¡Matando la culebra!’
- Head of state:
President Oscar Arias Sanchez
- Coffeeganda:
in the 1940s children learned to read with a text that stated, ‘Coffee is good for me. I drink coffee every morning'
Related Groups
Our favourite Costa Rica Blogs (beta)
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Enchanting spots: Monteverde Cloud Forest, Costa Rica
Blog: velvet escape's blog - 15 November 2009
The Monteverde area is an ecological paradise in Costa Rica, located not too far away from the Volcan Arenal. This mountainous area encompasses a large swathe of tropical rainforest. As it is at an altitude of more than a thousand meters, the forest captures the moisture in clouds that blow in from both the Atlantic [...]
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The Ultimate Spa: Relaxing at Tabacon Hot Springs in Costa Rica
Blog: Travelogged - 6 November 2009
As the weather gets colder in New York, I try to warm myself up by thinking of the hottest places that I've been to this year.
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More Monkey Business: Howler Monkeys in Costa Rica
Blog: Travelogged - 3 November 2009
Last week when I was blogging about seeing the Mona Monkey in Grenada, I realized that while I have written and posted photos about the white-faced capuchin monkeys and the spider monkeys I saw in Costa Rica, I have left...
