About Costa Rica

In recent years Costa Rica has also become the prime eco-tourism destination in Central

America, if not in all the Americas, due in no small part to an efficient promotion machine

that trumpets the country's complex system of national parks and wildlife refuges.

Every year hundreds of thousands of visitors - mainly from the United States and Canada

- come to walk trails through million-year-old rainforests, raft foaming whitewater

rapids, surf on the Pacific beaches and climb the volcanoes that punctuate the country's

mountainous spine. More than anything it is the enduring natural beauty that impresses.

Milk-thick twilight and dawn mists gather in the clefts and ridges divided by high mountain

passes; on the Pacific coast, carmine and mauve sunsets splash down into the sea

like meteors; vaulting canopy trees and thick deciduous understoreys carpet large areas

of undisturbed rainforest, and vestiges of high-altitude cloudforest offer glimpses into a

misty, primeval universe, home to the jaguar, the lumbering Jurassic tapir and the truly

resplendent quetzal.

Costa Rica has not officially designated a national motto. However, if Costa Rica were

to designate a national motto, our research team believes that the choice would be the

expression "Pura Vida." Costa Ricans started using the expression "Pura Vida" after

watching the premier of a Mexican movie called "Pura Vida!" in 1956. During that time

only a small portion of the population used it. By 1970 everyone used the expression on

a daily basis because the words conveyed the state of happiness, peace, and tranquility

that the political stability and freedom bring to Costa Ricans. Nowadays, the expression

"Pura Vida" has become so popular that has been added to Costa Rican Spanish dictionaries

as an idiom to greet, or to show appreciation.

 

Geography

Rugged highlands are found throughout most of the country, they range from approximately

1,000 to 2,000 meters (3,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level). The Cordillera de

Guanacaste, Cordillera Central, and Cordillera de Talamanca are the principal mountain

ranges extending the length of the country. There are several active volcanoes (Volcán

Arenal, Volcán Irazú, Volcán Rincón de la Vieja and Volcán Turrialba) and the country's

highest mountain (Cerro Chirripó) which reaches a height of 3,819 m/12,530 ft. The

country has a relatively long coastline in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as

a number of rivers and streams that attract expert kayakers and rafters.

Costa Rica's enlightened approach to conservation has ensured that lush jungles are

home to playful monkeys, languid sloths, crocodiles, countless lizards, poison-dart frogs

and a mind-boggling assortment of exotic birds, insects and butterflies. Meanwhile, endangered

sea turtles nest on both coasts and cloud forests protect elusive birds and

jungle cats.

Costa Rica is mostly coastline, which means great surfing, beaches galore and a climate

built for laziness.

Therre is a wide range of activities waiting for the traveller. You can do canopy tours on

zip lines, peer into boiling volcanoes, surf oversized waves and dive with dolphins and

whales - all in the course of a normal day. Then again, if you have some serious chilling

to do, you can always lounge in a hammock and enjoy the pure life, or pura vida - the

national expression that sums up the desire to live the best, most hassle-free existence.

 

 

Cl imate

Costa Rica's year round climate is pleasant with naturally occurring breezes cooling

down most of the coastal areas. Temperatures in the highlands and the mountains are

warm by day and brisk at night giving an 'eternal spring' feeling. The average annual

temperatures range from 31.7ºC (89ºF) on the coast to 16.7ºC (62ºF) inland. The rainy,

or green, season lasts from May to December with noticeably drier days during the rest

of the year.

As far as climate goes, the late-December to mid-April dry season is the most pleasant.

Although some roads are impassable in the wet season, it's still worthwhile to visit at

time, and things are much quieter. April, May and mid-October to mid-December should

give you the best of both worlds.

 

Travel requi rements

General Entry Requirements:

Adults and children (from 0 - 16 years old)(*) require the following documents below to

enter Costa Rica:

• A passport valid for at least 6 months(**)

• A pre-paid airline ticket to exit Costa Rica or proof of financial resources to pay for the

market value of a one-way airline ticket (either to return to your home country or to go to

another country)

• A visa (if required. Check with your Embassy)

Required entry documents vary for citizens of Canada and the United States of America

(*) If a minor (child under the age of 18) does not have his/her own passport, he or she

must have a joint passport with one of his/her parents, legal guardian or the person

traveling with him/her.

(**) Your passport can not expire no earlier than six months from the date that you arrive

in Costa Rica. For example, if you are going to fly to Costa Rica on January 1st, your

passport can not expire before July 1st of the same year.

Electricity: 120V ,60Hz

Time Zone: GMT/UTC -6 (equivalent to Central Time in North America)

Dialling Code: 506

Cur rency

Name: Costa Rican Colon (Colón)

Symbol: ¢ ; CR colones

Denominations: 1 colon 100 centimos

Get t ing around

Costa Rica has the best bus system in Central America. It is by far the cheapest and

most efficient way to travel. Climb aboard, the buses will take you anyplace you care to

go - and will not drain your wallet in the process. Long-distance bus fare from Peninsula

de Osa to San Jose is only $10. Your ticket will indicate the seat number and the date of

the trip. If you are going to a popular spot, reserve your ticket in advance -and make

sure the ticket is for the correct date. Bus tickets are not refundable.

Traveler's Tip: When you get to your destination, go into the station to buy your return

ticket. That way you will assure yourself a seat for the ride home.

There are a few drawbacks to the travel-by-bus routine:

Some of the local buses do not have bells to signal the driver to stop. No problem. Do

as the Costa Ricans do: let out a whistle or call out "Parada!" which, loosely translated,

means "I have arrived at my destination, so please stop the bus so I can get off."

Most of the buses are in good conditions, but they are not air conditioned and do not

offer a great deal of room for your luggage - or limbs. Long-legged visitors might be

wise to cast about for an alternative way to travel.

Also, buses do not have toilets; however, on long distance rides, the driver will make

stop often enough gas stations, at a soda stands and restaurants to satisfy the passengers.

There are two domestic airlines serving Costa Rica. One is Travel Air, based in the Tobias

Bolanos Airport in Pavas, 7 km. (4 mi.) west of San Jose, the other is Sansa, based

in Juan Santamaria International Airport 17 km. (11 mi.) Northwest of San Jose. Privately

owned Travel Air is the more reliable. Sensa, owned by state, is cheaper and less

reliable.

Travel by air taxi is another option, however, these are more expensive at about $250 a

trip. However, pooling the fare with a couple of friends might bring the cost down to

something more manageable.

To rent a car, Here are the rules. You must:

• Have a valid American or international driver's license

• Be twenty-five or older.

•Have a Visa or Mastercard with enough credit to cover the total cost of the rental.

Please check with your credit card company whether or not you can be insured if you

pay with your credit card in Costa Rica.

Renting a car in Costa Rica is expensive, approximately $320 a week for a compact

four wheel drive. The price includes insurance. Warning: check with your credit card

company to make sure your insurance covers you if you pay for the rental with a credit

card. Fuel is not expensive, around $10 to fill a compact car; $20 to tank up a four

wheel drive. By the way, most of the rental cars are stick-shift; so if you don't know how

to work a clutch and gearshift lever, you'd best take a few lessons before you come.

A word of caution: Costa Rica has one of the highest auto accident rates in the world.

Drivers are very aggressive so be prepared to get out their way. The speed limit runs

between 75 to 90 kph (45 to 55 mph). Speed limits are posted on signs or painted on

the pavement. A speeding ticket can be expensive, $150 US. Try to bribe the officer. Incidentally,

drivers coming from the opposite direction will often warn you by blinking their

headlights if there are police or a radar trap set up nearby.

Good Things

You sense a great deal of pride in the people of Costa Rica, for they have made a nation

unique, not only to Central America but to all the world.

They have built a history of tolerance and prosperity by taking to heart positive lessons

carried with them from the old world to the new.

Words they live by: Liberty, Fraternity, Equality.

For many of the years following WW II, Costa Rica stood almost as an island of tranquillity

in a sea of civil warfare raging around them. By 1987. Costa Rican President Oscar

Arias Sanchez had seen enough. He authored a peace plan which was accepted and

signed by the presidents of Chile, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Cuba and Guatemala.

All Costa Ricans were honored when, in 1987, President Arias Sanchez was awarded

the Nobel Prize for Peace for the high standard of ethics and understanding he symbolized

as a representative of the people of nation.

Visitors are quick to note that the people of Costa Rica work very hard to develop the

intellectual as well as the physical resources of their country. Books and newspapers

are displayed everywhere, evidence that Costa Ricans have made of themselves one of

the most highly literate nations on earth. No less than ninety-three percent of the people

can read and write - meaning nine out of ten can feel partner to events taking place in

their country and throughout the world, and can make intelligent, educated decisions

regarding responsibilities to their nation and to Mother Earth. Nowhere will you find

people more deeply committed to the preservation of God's natural wonders. Theirs is a

small country, yet they have within their boarders no less one twentieth of the world's

total biodiversity. To protect these treasures they have set aside more than one fourth of

their total land area as national trust, dedicating one acre in four to parklands and wildlife

refuges. The country's stability, prosperity and self-confidence pay unexpected dividends.

Not the least of these: in 1948 Costa Ricans proved their confidence in the stability

of their nation by abolishing their army. Instead of hiring Regiments of Infantry, they

hire Platoons of Forest Rangers. "We are a free people. We will control our destiny with

our votes," they are saying. "We will not create a government that controls us with soldiers

and guns."

 

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