Costa Rica is a travel paradise, and the sections below should help plan a trip there

To tour group, or not to tour group

• advantages of group tours
• disadvantages of group tours
• advantages of independent travel
• disadvantages of independent travel

Use one of these two methods to determine how much money will you spend in Costa Rica, and tips on how to carry and spend your money. The sections linked below describe what you can expect when traveling in the indicated budget range in Costa Rica.

• super budget travel: less than US$15 per person per day
• low cost: travel US$20 to US$35 per person per day
• moderate cost: travel US$35 to US$55 per person per day
• Expensive: more than US$65 per person per day
• Tours/Luxury: generally at least US$200 per person per day plus airfare

When do you want to travel to Costa Rica?

• the high season
• the green season

Where do you want to go in Costa Rica? (or perhaps more to the point, what do you want to see and do while you travel). Our interactive map of parks and reserves is another way to start exploring what Costa Rica has to offer.

• ecotourism; the rainforests, cloudforests, dry tropical forests, coral reefs, birds, animals, insects, and plants. This section includes descriptions of several of Costa Rica's National Parks and reserves.
• beaches
• hiking and backpacking
• culture and anthropology
• Spanish language lessons
• kayaking (white water and ocean)
• rafting (white water and wildlife viewing float trips)
• fishing
• mountain biking
• volunteer
• study ecology

Where to stay while traveling in Costa Rica
This section describes some of your alternatives for lodging in Costa Rica, the price ranges you can expect and some tips on how to choose accommodations. If you are traveling on a budget, your schedule will probably be flexible, and most of your decisions about where to stay will be made on the spot. Therefore, we have not included a list of hotels. Your guidebook will be your best resource for deciding where to stay on any given night.

• hotels
• resorts
• cabinas and cabinitas
• camping
• bed and breakfast
• family stays
• lodges and ecocamps

Where to eat while traveling in Costa Rica

• homes
• grocery stores/ markets
• sodas or soditas
• fast food
• bars and bocas
• imported/ethnic
• Tipico
• resorts/hotels
  

How do you plan to get around Costa Rica? The following travel options are listed in order of most expensive transportation to least expensive transportation.

• rental cars
• domestic air travel
• taxis
• buses and minibuses
• bicycle
• hitchhiking
• walking

How much time do you have to travel in Costa Rica, and how much do you want to try to see? Planning an itinerary. Unless you plan to live there you will have to make some decisions about what you want to do the most because you can't do it all. We have spent a total of about nine months traveling in Costa Rica and there are still many places we are looking forward to visiting. We have traveled mostly in loops out from the central valley, and you can probably link two or more of our bicycle tour routes together to make a trip of any length. There are maps and descriptions of each loop at the links below. Check them out and pick a path.

• to the north central region
• another north central route
• to the north west and the Nicoya beaches
• to the east and the southern Caribbean coast
• to the south west
• west central coast and the southern highlands

How will you get to Costa Rica?

Some of the Airlines serving Costa Rica and their contact information are listed below.

• American Airlines [http://AA.com/], phone (800) 433-7300
• Aviateca Guatemala, phone (800) 327-9832
• Continental [http://www.continental.com/ ], phone (800) 231-0856
• Lacsa Costa Rica, phone (800) 225-2272
• LTU, phone (800) 888-0200
• Mexicana [http://www.mexicana.com.mx/ ], phone (800) 531-7921
• TACA El Salvador, phone (800) 535-8780
• United, phone (800) 827-7777
• USAirways [http://www.usairways.com/ ], phone (800) 428-4322
• British Airways, phone 0 (345) 222-111
• Iberia, phone 0 (171) 830-0011
• Virgin Atlantic, phone 0 1293 747-747

Once you get to the airport there are several options for ground transportation.

• Going into San Jose
• Other options for bases of operation (San Jose can be a good place to avoid)

What to take A suggested packing list

Please note that all of the photos, graphics and text are original, our property and copyright protected. Feel free to use them for noncommercial applications within reason.