More than one million tourists visit Costa Rica every year. What draws a lot of people to the lightly advertised destination? Natural beauty and diversity are the answers. Costa Rica covers only 0.03% of the top of planet nonetheless it has about 6% of the world's biodiversity.
Visitors encounter seas, beaches, rivers, waterfalls, mountains, and an abundance of nature. Twelve major life zones provide habitat for over 10,000 kinds of flowering plants, 850 bird species, 3,000 butterfly species, and 209 species of mammals. Volcanoes, rainforests, cloud forests, lowland jungles, the Pacific coastline, and tranquil Caribbean beaches stretch across seven provinces. 30 % of the land is protected by national and private reserves, which harbor a lot more than five percent of the world's plant and animal species.
Costa Rica is Central America's jewel. It's an oasis of calm among its turbulent neighbors and an ecotourism heaven, making it one of the better places to see the tropics with reduced impact.
Costa Rica boasts 20 national parks, 8 biological reserves, and an abundance of other protected areas to enchant those who marvel at the wonders of nature. It draws ecotourists from around the globe. Activities include horse-back riding, hiking mountainous paths in the cloud forests, guided bird-watching tours, volcanoes, scuba diving, snorkeling, sailing, canopy tours, golf and much more.
Ticos, as the people of Costa Rica are known, are famous for being hospitable, and so are quite happy to surpass their reputation. They seem to be well aware that their country is really a special place, and they walk out their way to accommodate their visitors, explaining items that might seem foreign to a foreigner, and helping make their stay as enjoyable as possible.
Northwest Costa Rica, the Guanacaste province is for the active soul, drawing visitors with its beaches, rivers, waterfalls and natural attractions. Forming the eastern border is a band of volcanoes that form the Cordillera de Guanacaste and Cordillera de Tilar�n.
From the mountains flow various rivers that roll down and form an alluvial plain drained by the Rio Tempisque, which empties in to the Gulf de Nicoya. The name Guanacaste comes from quahnacaztlan, a native word for the guanacaste tree, that is Costa Rica's national tree.
With a new airport at Liberia, tourism to Guanacaste has boomed.
Costa Rica is a tropical country with two seasons - dry and wet. The Guanacaste Province may be the driest region of the united states with less than 55 inches of rain in the coastal areas.
Costa Rica occupies a territory of around 20,000 square miles in the southern part of Central America, and includes several small islands mostly on the Pacific side. It really is much like the state of Florida with two long coastlines. The country is only about 200 miles long and 70 miles wide at the narrowest part.
Costa Rica is frequently in comparison to Switzerland and Hawaii due to the mountains and forests. Unlike many areas of Mexico, Central and South America, Costa Rica remains beautiful year-round. That is partly because it borders the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and contains a string of towering volcanoes on the Central Plateau. Combine all this and you have a unique tropical paradise with 11 climatic zones.
Activities in Playa Dominical in Costa Rica, December through April, is the dry season. The green season, which lasts from May to November, usually sees sunny mornings, with rain showers in late afternoon and evening. Overall, the climate is tropical, having an conditions of 72�F (22�C). It could be much hotter along the coastal areas of the united states, and much cooler in the mountains.
Previously, agricultural exports, like bananas and coffee, have already been the staple of the Costa Rican economy. However, tourism has always played an ever-increasing role, and now it is just about the dominant economic force. Ecotourism travel may be the most preferred for expansion since it provides a sustainable resource for tourism for generations of Costa Ricans ahead. Costa Ricans want to showcase their country, and sincerely welcome all travelers and vacationers.
San Jose, population over one million, is the capital and cultural heart of Costa Rica. Other major cities (by population) are: Alajuela, Cartago, Heredia, Liberia, Lim�n and Puntarenas.
To enter the country you now will need to have a valid passport. Some countries now require your passport to be valid for at the very least 6 more months to be able to leave your country to come here. Check with you embassy or airline. Costa Rica is on Central Standard Time, six hours behind Greenwich Mean Time and one hour behind EST in the us. It does not currently use daylight saving time.
No shots are required. The water in the major cities of Costa Rica is safe & most hotels and restaurants offer purified plain tap water. You might would rather drink bottled water or seltzer to be sure. Costa Rica has excellent, low-cost health care and well-qualified practitioners. Many AMERICANS come to Costa Rica for plastic surgery or dental work.
Costa Rica is really a safe destination for 99% of its tourists, but it certainly is a good idea to exercise caution whenever one travels. In general, the country has a low crime rate. Typically, crimes are simple thievery - non-violent crimes of opportunity, so just exercise caution, as anywhere in the world.
Costa Rica includes a reputation among the most stable and prosperous Latin American countries.
Costa Rica has something for everybody! Whatever your interests; eco-tourism trips bird watching, adventure tours, fishing, diving, rafting, canopy tours, golf, all inclusive hotels, vacation homes or just relaxing on an unspoiled tropical beach, you will discover all of that and much more in this tropical and secure paradise.