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Costa Rica Visitors Guide
By Roger Dalton, Thu Dec 8th
is a wonderful place to visit with your family oreven alone. Many couples honeymoon in combiningromance, adventure and mystical visits to volcanoes,rainforest's, waterfalls, and secluded beaches. Our goal here isto provide a condensed guide that you can print and take withyou to use for reference. For more detailed information aboutCosta Rica our website isthe best information source on the web. Country Information is in Central America north ofPanama and south of Nicaragua. The Pacific ocean borders thecountry to the west and the Caribbean to the east. The citizens of are affectionately called Tico's andTica's. In all of Latin America, the Tico's are most like NorthAmerican's in their thought process. There are many culturaldifferences but tourism and tourists in general are welcomedwarmly in this country. (Article continued below)
Costa Rica has the highest literacy rate in Latin America. Everyfour years elections are held with 95% of the populationparticipating in the voting process. has had nomilitary forces since 1946. 27% of the country's budget is spenton health care. Although there are demonstrations occasionallycivil unrest is not present. is considered to be the"Latin American success story". The country has 110 volcanic craters, six activevolcanoes,mountain ranges throughout the central portion of thecountry and secluded beaches with rain forest filled withwildlife butting right up to the shoreline. Temperature varies with elevation. Humidity is present andnoticeable, especially at sea level. Mosquitoes are obviouslypart of any rain forest but are not as noticeable as most partsof Florida, for instance due to the natural predatorsmaintaining an ecological balance not found in places likeFlorida. (Bring repellent with Deet however!) Costa Rica has a wet and dry season. The wet or "green" seasonis from May until November each year. During this time rainfallis more prevalent in most regions (Guanacaste province is thedriest area in the country) with sunshine typical in the morninghours with showers in the afternoon and at night. Green seasonis when hotels offer discounts and crowds are minimized. Asmentioned earlier, the northwestern portion of is thebest "green" season destination due to rainfall considerations. General Information Entry requirements for visitors differdepending on your country of origin. US citizens, Canadians, andUnited Kingdom tourists need a valid passport but do not requirea visa. The maximum stay under these conditions is 90 days butcan be extended an additional 90 days through a travel agent orwithin the country through immigration. Vaccinations are not required for malaria and other diseases tovisit Costa Rica. The water in most areas is safe to drink. Some coastal areas areexceptions however. Bottled water is recommended simply due totaste considerations. If you are at the Multiplaza mall inEscazu for instance the water is perfectly fine to drink.Smaller communities on the coast can be problematic however. Costa Rica has the best fruit in the world in my opinion. Eatanything and everything in sight! Driving in is an adventure! A stop sign in Costa Ricais treated like a yield sign in North America. Potholes incertain areas are HUGE. If renting a car consider the following: Do not leave valuables in the car. Rental agencieslook for any trace of dents and dings Roads are narrowand guard rails are usually not present Did I mentionPOTHOLESElectricity is standard 110v like in the USA but generally notgrounded. This means that any device requiring a three prongplug will not work without an adapter to two prongs. So, bringan adapter for anything requiring three prongs. English is widely spoken in tourist areas and major metropolitanareas. Driving a rental car all over the country with noknowledge of Spanish might be problematic. It is generally easyto find someone to help you in English in tourist areas and bigcities however. Medical facilities are available throughout the country. Remoteareas, however, only have clinics for minor issues and oftenhave few English speaking staff members. San Jose has excellentmedical facilities and English speaking doctors are quitecommon. Ask the proprietor of the hotel you chose about medicalfacilities in the area if you have health concerns. Emergency service in is available by dialing 911. Holidays are taken seriously in this country. Visit aroundEaster or Christmas and it will seem that the entire country isshut down. The Easter and Christmas holiday's are celebrated formore than a week! Traveler Safety Violent crime exists in every society. CostaRica is a safe place to bring your family or to travel alone.Most crime is property theft and pick-pocket oriented theft.Make sure that you leave your Rolex at home. Do not keep your wallet in your back pocket. Keep it in yourfront pocket. Do not place valuables in backpacks slungover your shoulder. Many places are perfectly safe towalk at night. Others are not. Ask a local.Beaches have rip tides. A riptide is narrow. If caught in ariptide swim parallel to the shore for a short distance untilyou no longer feel it pulling you away from shore. Salt water iseasy to float in. Don't freak out! Sharks are prevalent in certain areas of both the Pacific andCaribbean. Sharks are of concern for fishermen and surfersprimarily. If you are not a pro ask about the area you plan tovisit. Some of the island's around have hugepopulations of sharks. Costa Rica is just north of the Equator. Use sunscreen liberallyand drink plenty of non-alcoholic fluids while in the elements.I know, now I sound like your mother! Taxi's have meters. Many unofficial taxi's ply their services inthe country. Prior to any trip anywhere, agree on the pricebefore you get in the taxi unless they are using the meter. Manytaxi's do not use their meters. Most hotels, resorts, and bed and breakfast's providetransportation from the airport and are valuable resources toidentify the fair cost from one place to another when using taxiservices. Beaches Beaches in are not all the same. Some beachesare great for surfing and poor choices for children. Manybeaches include amenities close by and plenty of tanned bodiesto admire. Others offer secluded splendor and less amenities.Careful planning is necessary to find the right area for asuccessful vacation here. The beach options are too numerous to even mention here. Pleaseconsider looking at our beaches page for information about some of the bestbeaches. For surfing we have a surfing page highlightingthe best spots to catch a wave. Volcanoes Some parts of look more likethe moon than Central America! Arenal is an active volcano that offers excellent potential forall the elements of an active volcano. The Tabacon hot springsis a beautiful area offering relaxation, romance, and wonderfulatmosphere. Poas volcano is close to San Jose in the CentralValley and provides eerie views of one of the world's largestvolcanic lakes in its crater. Poas is easy to hike compared toother places and has no facility for food and drinks in the parkarea. Rincon de la Vieja is in northwestern (Guanacasteprovince) and is actually a compound volcano meaning that thereare more than one composite volcanoes aligned on a ridge. Rinconhas 9 eruptive craters, includes bubbling mud pits, and volcanicgeysers. Hikes to the summit are controlled by park rangers tokeep people from getting lost. Obviously this is morechallenging hiking compared to Poas! Rain Forests Rain forests and animals of the rain forest are oneof the big attractions of Costa Rica. Birdwatching, flora andfauna, monkey's, sloths, and many other creatures abound in therain forests of Costa Rica. Each region has slightly differentplant life and animals populating the forests. The lodge andhotel accommodations range from primitive to exotic. Take yourtime and choose an area that combines activities that you andyour family have interests in. Manuel Antonio is one of the most popular parks in Costa Rica.The park is located in the Central Pacific area and providesgreat accommodations, rain forest, waterfalls, and beachvacations. Monteverde Cloud Forest is a wonderland of nature. Located nearthe Arenal volcano about 3 1/2 hours from San Jose this mistyforest is a great place to see birds, monkey's and otherwildlife in a well tended easily hiked park. Corcovado National Park is lowland rain forest and is home to alarge population of scarlet macaws. The park features welldesigned trails, camping, and plenty of ranger stations. Thehiking is strenuous, pack your own food and get back to naturein the southern Pacific portion of Costa Rica. Cahuita National Park provides flat easily hiked trails, andplenty of wildlife in thick lowland forest. White face andhowler monkey's are your companions here. Generally rusticaccommodations and less amenities are characteristic on theCaribbean coastal areas. Final Thoughts Fun Vacations hopes this visitorsguide has been helpful to you. Our goal is to provide usefulinformation to travelers and specifically first time visitors toCosta Rica. For this reason, if you did not find the answer to a pressingquestion you have about please contact us at our website about it. We want to provide themost accurate up to date information available to visitors toensure a fun vacation for all! Copyright @ 2005 fun-costa-rica-vacations.com
About the author:Roger is publisher of fun-costa-rica-vacations.com a destination guide for providing ideasfor fun vacations. | 