Hikes Luxury Ecolodges Wildlife Easy Walks Rustic Lodges Birdwatching Difficult Hikes Rafting Authentic CR Hiking, bird watching, and natural volcanic springs are only the beginning. There are almost too many reasons to include this area not the least of … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2015
The San Gerardos
Mountain Lodges Cloud Forest Birdwatching Spectacular Views Wildlife Hiking & Trekking The Talamanca mountains and Tinamaste massif are a top spot to enjoy all San Gerardo de Dota & San Gerardo de Rivas offer. San Gerardo de Dota and San … [Read more...]
Nicoya Peninsula
Santa Teresa, Mal País, & Tambor beaches are just a few of the uncrowded options Boutique Resorts Beach Communities Adventure Beach Houses Deep Sea Fishing Surfing The remote beaches and unique tropical dry forests of Nicoya make it one of the … [Read more...]
Southern Caribbean
A whole different world on the lesser known half of Costa Rica Secret Dry Season Budget Travel Wildlife Watching Beach Houses Cuisine Surfing Beach Cruisers Reefs & Snorkeling Uniqueness All of these and more are waiting for intrepid travelers … [Read more...]
Rincon de la Vieja
Moderate Hikes Easy Access Geothermal Features Easy Walks Rustic Lodges Birdwatching Difficult Hikes Adventure Tours Authentic Costa Rica Rincon is not only an amazing spot but one of the few places you can access dry, rain and cloud forests all in one spot … [Read more...]
Privacy Policy
Costa Rica Guide, Toucan Maps Inc. Privacy Policy Statement We collect the following information from our Web sites (CostaRicaGuide.com & MapCR.com): 1. Information volunteered by the visitor, such as travel requests and/or site registrations. 2. Aggregate information on what pages visitors … [Read more...]
Certifications and Memberships
We strongly encourage you to check up on any company you do business with on the internet especially if it involves a relatively large payment for something that will be delivered at a future date in a foreign country — i.e. Travel in Costa Rica. The main reason we encourage this is for your own … [Read more...]
Ratings from Travelers
...these are real reviews and comments but they are really old because we get dozens every week and just cannot keep up... we've switched over to recommending that people review on TripAdvisor so please go there for more recent comments... After traveling to Costa Rica each of our clients has the … [Read more...]
TripAdvisor Reviews
We get excellent reviews from travelers and destination experts on TripAdvisor... over 400 five star reviews in a row and counting... "I promised to report back on my experience with Toucan Maps [Costa Rica Guide] and Pacific Trade Winds after our trip and I can happily say they were great. The … [Read more...]
Travel Partners
Costa Rica Guide, Toucan Maps Inc. is a U.S. based company whose goal is to provide useful information, maps and planning assistance for travelers. We research and publish the best map in print and the most current, informative and helpful integrated map, directory and information website available … [Read more...]
About Us
The Story of Costa Rica Guide & Toucan Maps Adapted from Desafío Magazine "You do What?" is the predictable response when Sue or I tell anyone that after years training as biochemists we ended up making maps of Costa Rica. After a physical biochemistry post doc using nuclear magnetic … [Read more...]
Potential Health Problems
Your ultimate medical resource must be your physician. We have provided some general information, and daily updates by qualified medical professionals are available on the WHO and CDC web sites. Volcanic Ash Back in March of 2015 Turrialba volcano west of San José began intermittent significant … [Read more...]
Discount Travel Websites
Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, Priceline and dozens of others offer wily travelers savings of up to 60% in the U.S., but do they deliver in Costa Rica? Not so much-and here’s why 1) Limited participation – Corporate chains have entire departments who do nothing but manage discount site relations. … [Read more...]
On Your Own
How to Plan a Trip to Costa Rica On Your Own The easiest way to travel independently in Costa Rica is to pick a beach resort, go there and relax. Second easiest is to rent an SUV, grab a guidebook and wing it, finding places to stay as you go. If you're not comfortable with that much … [Read more...]
Extra Costs of Renting a Car in Costa Rica
The Internet Price May be $9.95 a Day But it Will Cost MUCH More The most common complaint on any travel forum for Costa Rica is travelers getting "ripped off" by rental car companies. Hidden charges are a major complaint everywhere in the world but in Costa Rica it has been raised to the … [Read more...]
La Amistad International Peace Park
It took twenty years of trying but I finally visited La Amistad in a big way as a 50th birthday trip in 2012. We hiked all the way across Costa Rica starting at Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean and ending at Playa Hermosa near Uvita on the Pacific. The whole story is here and it was Awesome! La … [Read more...]
A M Brenes Biological Reserve
Northwest of San Ramón in the Tiláran Mountains Alberto Manuel Brenes Biological Reserve abuts Monteverde cloud forest reserve and the children’s eternal rainforest. The biological station under the direction of the Occidente Campus of the University of Costa Rica at Alberto Brenes is very … [Read more...]
Who CAN You Trust?
Who should you take advice from when planning travel? Your mom? TripAdvisor? Costa Rica Guide? Fodor’s Guidebooks? The guy who cleans your pool? It can be confusing so we’ve provided some advice and insight that might help. Better Business Bureau Since its founding over a hundred years ago the … [Read more...]
Map of Costa Rica’s Airports
Note: Updated May 1, 2018 – Nature Air has been grounded since a fatal crash on December 31, 2017. General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) reinstated their permission to operate in February of 2018 but the airline did not resume operations. As of May 1, 2018 the DGAC has suspended Nature … [Read more...]
Ballena National Park
Marino Ballena National Park is named after the Humpback Whales that migrate here each year from December to April to mate before returning to the frigid waters to the north. Playas Uvita and Ballena are relatively unvisited stretches of white and golden sand. Green marine iguanas (iguana … [Read more...]