Ceramica de Guatil is a watercolor painting by the author
Right at the outset I want to invite anyone who has any questions about visiting Costa Rica to feel free to contact me. My email address is OurCostaRicaCondo@gmail.com . I own property in Costa Rica, I have traveled there many times, and I lived and worked there for 18 months in 2007-2008. I worked in real estate there so I’m very familiar with that information too. Please don’t be shy. If you have a question or want some advice about a trip there, give me an email shout.
Costa Rica is a Central American country whose Northern/Western neighbor is Nicaragua and whose Southern/Eastern neighbor is Panama. Many mistakenly believe that Costa Rica is an island. That is incorrect. The country has both Pacific and Caribbean coasts although there is less of interest on the Caribbean coast than on the Pacific coast for visitors, with one or two exceptions. Most of the resorts and other tourist attractions are on the Pacific coast or most easily accessed from the Pacific side. The capital city of San Jose lies approximately in the center of the country at about latitude 10 degrees north and longitude 84 degrees west.
The country is a stable, middle class democracy whose recent Past President, Oscar Arias, is a Nobel Peace Prize winner. The country has become a popular tourist destination over the past few years.
Costa Rica is known for its attention to ecology and has been a sought after destination for years by backpackers and those seeking a more rugged experience close to the abundant nature the country has to offer. However in recent years resorts with a broader appeal have begun to appear, replete with golf courses, fine dining, and nightly entertainment, yet still offering day trips for those wishing to experience the beauty of Costa Rica’s abundant natural resources without getting too far away from the comforts of a fine hotel. The Pacific Coast, the primary tourist destination, is also known as one of the world’s premier locales for sport fishing and for surfing.
Two international airports serve the country, San Jose’s Juan Santamaria International (SJO) near the capital city, and Daniel Oduber International at Liberia (LIR), the capital of the northwestern province of Guanacaste. Major airlines now serve both airports with non-stop flights from major gateways across the U.S. On another page of this site you will find a table showing which cities and which airlines have non-stop flights between the U.S. (Los Estados) and Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is easy to reach, not expensive as tropical vacations go, and offers a very wide range of recreational opportunities. It can be safely said that this is an easy place to visit. There are no visa requirements or special inoculation requirements. While the native language is primarily Spanish (except on the Caribbean coast where it is English with a kind of Jamaican accent), many of the locals speak English and almost all airport, hotel, and tour guide personnel are fluent in both Spanish and English. Many are anxious to expand their knowledge of English and cheerfully exchange sentences half in English, half in Spanish with visitors who want to work on their Spanish.
The country has its own currency, the Colon, but U.S. dollars are accepted most everywhere without question.
Personal security is not an issue. Violent crime is very rare. You will be cautioned to exercise the same kind of common sense care for your belongings as you would most anywhere, e.g. don’t leave valuables visible in the car, don’t hang your purse over the back of a bar stool, etc.
If you’re lucky enough to have an upcoming trip to Costa Rica, look forward to a great trip with few hassles and little to worry about. It’s a great place with great people. About the biggest risk in planning a trip to Costa Rica is over planning. Read what’s in this little guide and just go. It’s easy.
A general note on doing online research…
As a general precaution in doing additional research for your trip, avoid printed travel books, even the well known names such as Fodor’s and Lonely Planet. Also pay very close attention to dates on internet postings. The picture in Costa Rica is changing so rapidly and varies so much from one place to another as to make these sources of little use. For example, a comment, printed or online, about the condition of the roads from Liberia to Tamarindo or in Tamarindo, will be completely inaccurate if it is one year old. The road from Liberia was in terrible unpaved condition in the first part of 2007 but has been completely replaced with a lovely smooth blacktop road. We are not accustomed in this country to rapid, major changes to infrastructure and tend to assume without thinking about it that what we see is how it always is. This is not true in Costa Rica. Great change is happening fast. A road that was in rough shape a couple of months ago may now be in fine condition. Similarly, a road that might have been just fine last season may be closed or severely damaged this season after heavy rains. The tourism picture in Costa Rica has undergone positive rapid change and any so-called knowledge passed on by someone from a visit five years ago is virtually useless today. It is still an inexpensive trip compared to most tourist destinations but five years ago is was a downright bargain. Prices have surely gone up with the amount of tourist traffic. Note that the creation/update date of this online booklet is included in the heading, This initial publication is dated March, 2011 and the most recent update is January, 2014.
Our Costa Rica Condo 