🇨🇷 Central America
The land of Pura Vida: steaming volcanoes, beaches on two oceans, jungles full of monkeys and sloths, and the best tropical nature in Central America. Welcome to a paradise of biodiversity. 🌋🐒🏖️🌿
Costa Rica is the country of 'Pura Vida': steaming volcanoes, beaches on two oceans, jungles full of monkeys, sloths and toucans, and the best tropical nature in Central America, all packed into a small country that is easy to get around. It is the world capital of ecotourism: more than a quarter of the country is protected, it abolished its army in 1948, and its people cultivate the relaxed, easy-going attitude to life that gives the national motto its name. An ideal destination for anyone who loves nature, adventure and switching off.
It breaks down into clearly distinct zones: the Central Valley with San José and volcanoes such as Poás; the northern belt of volcanoes and cloud forests (La Fortuna with Arenal, Monteverde, Río Celeste); the Guanacaste Pacific with the beaches of Tamarindo, Santa Teresa and Nosara; the central and southern Pacific with Manuel Antonio and the wild Osa Peninsula; and the Afro-Costa Rican Caribbean of Puerto Viejo, Cahuita and Tortuguero. You get around by rental car (ideally a 4x4), by bus or on short domestic flights.
The best part is the incredible concentration of wildlife and landscapes in such a small space, and how safe and well organised it all is; the surprise is that, for Central America, it is quite expensive — the priciest destination in the region — so go with your budget clear.
Traveller tip: although dollars are accepted almost everywhere (hotels, tours and tourist restaurants), your change usually comes back in colones and at a poor exchange rate. Pay in colones for everyday things (sodas, buses, markets) and save the dollars for big tours. Tell your bank you are travelling and use ATMs belonging to well-known banks to avoid high fees.
Full converter for CRC →Airports. The main international hub is Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO), in Alajuela, about 20 km from San José. In the northwest, Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR) in Liberia is the better way in if your plan is Guanacaste and its beaches, since it saves the long transfer from the capital. Airlines. International carriers such as Avianca, Copa Airlines, American, United, Delta and Iberia fly in, among others, with connections from all over the Americas and Europe. It is worth comparing whether it works out cheaper to fly via Panama, Bogotá or a US hub. Domestic flights. For long distances there are domestic flights with local airlines (such as Sansa) connecting San José with destinations like Quepos, Tamarindo, Drake, Tortuguero and Puerto Jiménez. They are short and save many hours on the road.
The best time to visit Costa Rica is the dry season, December to April, known locally as 'verano' (summer), with sunny days that are ideal for the Pacific beaches and the national parks. It is high season, with more people and higher prices, above all over the end-of-year holidays, Easter week and July, so book well ahead.
The rainy or 'green' season runs from May to November, with rain that tends to concentrate in the afternoon and clear mornings; September and October are the wettest months on the Pacific side (though, oddly enough, the driest on the southern Caribbean). In exchange there are fewer tourists, lower prices and nature at its most lush. Worth keeping in mind: turtle nesting in Tortuguero runs from July to October, and whale watching in Uvita peaks between July-October and December-March.
Tico cooking is simple, fresh and tasty. The staple dish is the 'casado': rice, beans, salad, ripe plantain and a protein (chicken, beef or fish), eaten at midday in the 'sodas' (local diners) at a very good price. Breakfast belongs to 'gallo pinto' (rice sautéed with beans). Add patacones, ceviche, empanadas and, on the Caribbean coast, 'rice and beans' cooked in coconut milk. For dessert, plenty of very fresh tropical fruit.
To drink, Costa Rican coffee is world famous, and there are good craft beers plus guaro (the national cane spirit) for a 'guaro sour'. Eating in a soda costs around 5 to 9 USD for a casado; in a tourist restaurant, 15 to 30 USD per person (verified July 2026). A key tip for your wallet: eat in the local sodas rather than the tourist restaurants, where prices double. The 10% tip (service charge) is usually already included in the bill.
Costa Rica is one of the safest and most stable countries in Central America and is thoroughly used to tourism. The main risk is petty theft and break-ins to cars: never leave anything in sight in a parked vehicle, especially at beaches and park trailheads, where smash-and-grab thieves are common. In San José, take the usual urban care at night. Out in nature, follow the signs: some beaches have strong rip currents, and there is wildlife best left alone. With common sense, it is a very easy-going destination.
There are no compulsory vaccinations except yellow fever if you are arriving from a country where the disease is endemic (several in South America and Africa): check your own case, because some Latin American travellers are asked for it. Use repellent because of dengue, and a strong sunscreen. Tap water is drinkable almost everywhere in the country, a big advantage. The health system is among the best in the region. Take out travel insurance, above all because of the adventure activities. The single emergency number is 911 (verified July 2026).
Costa Rica is the most expensive destination in Central America, closer in prices to a developed country than to its neighbours. A backpacker gets by on about 50 to 75 USD a day, a mid-range budget runs 90 to 150 USD, and luxury eco-lodges go far higher (verified July 2026). Tours and national park entrance fees (15 to 20 USD each for foreigners) are a significant cost worth budgeting for.
For reference (July 2026): a bed in a hostel dorm costs between 15 and 30 USD; a casado in a soda, 5 to 9 USD; renting a 4x4 (highly recommended for getting around), 40 to 80 USD a day plus the compulsory insurance; and activities such as the Monteverde canopy tour, 50 to 70 USD. You save by travelling in the green season, eating in sodas, using the public buses (dirt cheap) and buying fruit and water in supermarkets.
The language is Spanish, with a soft accent and plenty of slang of its own: Costa Ricans are called 'ticos', 'mae' works like 'mate' or 'dude', and 'pura vida' serves to greet, to thank, to say goodbye and to say that all is well. In tourist areas a fair amount of English is spoken. Ticos are friendly, easy-going and conflict-averse; punctuality is flexible ('la hora tica'). It is a peaceful society, proud of its nature and its democracy.
The plug is 120 V and 60 Hz, with type A and B sockets (the same as the United States), different from the Southern Cone, so bring an adapter if you are coming from South America. Connectivity is good: buy a prepaid SIM from Kölbi, Claro or Movistar by showing your passport, or use an eSIM. A tip from someone who has been there: distances on the map are deceptive, because mountain roads are slow and sometimes unpaved; allow extra time and do not try to see the whole country in one go — pick two or three areas.
The history of Costa Rica is that of a mountainous, tropical corner of Central America which, being remote, poor and thinly populated, was left on the margins of the great colonial empires and ended up forging a singular identity: that of a country without an army, with a deep democratic tradition and today a world reference in nature conservation. Inhabited for millennia by peoples of Chibcha and Chorotega stock, sitting exactly on the seam where the Mesoamerican world meets the South American Intermediate Area, it was christened 'costa rica' by the Spanish for a gold they barely found, and lived three centuries of peasant austerity on the fringes of the Captaincy General of Guatemala.
Out of that forgotten colony there emerged, after independence in 1821, a republic of small coffee growers that built its prosperity on the 'golden bean' of the Central Valley and on Caribbean bananas. In 1856 it defended its sovereignty against the filibuster William Walker and found its founding hero in the drummer boy Juan Santamaría; in 1948, after a brief but bloody civil war, José Figueres Ferrer abolished the army and consolidated a civilian, welfare-minded model that made the country famous as the 'Switzerland of Central America'.
Read the full history of Costa Rica →Pick a region and open each destination to see what to do, prices and how to get there.
These are the sources we cite most across this country's guides, with how many times each appears. Hard data —tickets, opening hours, requirements, transport— comes from the official source and carries the date we checked it. Restaurant and hotel picks come from guides and reviews, and we say so on each page.
