Costa Rica: travel planning resources

Resources for planning travel to COsta Rica

parks and reserves: Costa Rica has a larger proportion of its territory protected by national parks than any other country in the world. This section includes a map of the parks and reserves in Costa Rica, which links to their descriptions.
links: This is a set of links that don't fit easily into any of the other categories on the travel Costa Rica website.
maps: There are several online maps of Costa Rica in this section, as well as information on where to buy paper maps to help you plan your travel.
tour companies: Although we have always traveled independently in Costa Rica, we have included the recommendations of some of our friends for tour companies.
online newspapers: There are two newspapers in Costa Rica that publish web versions, one in English and one in Spanish.
books: We have read all or part of dozens of books about Costa Rica and have included an extensive bibliography, and our recommendations for paper books.
online guidebooks: One of the most important assets while traveling in Costa Rica is a good guide book. You can get a sense of what some of the guides offer in this section.
language translator: The babblefish translator at AltaVista is a valuable resource if you want to write, fax or e-mail to someone in Costa Rica who may not read English.
currency converter: This converter will tell you how much your dollars, pounds or yen are worth in Costa Rican Colones. The exchange rate is kept very current.
what to take: Some of the recommendations in this section might surprise you if you are a first time traveler to the tropics.

some suggestions for travel in Costa Rica and some essays on random stuff

Our top ten list...What do you want in a bike...The big screwdriver... Plastic bags... round rock roads... Tico rules of the road... Where to buy post cards... killer cashew... Where not to ride and how to avoid it...