Costa Rica Vacation Travel Guide
Visitors to Costa Rica often wish they could live here, not just visit as a tourist. The good news is that you can live in Costa Rica. It's a great place to call home, with good weather, modern communications systems, friendly productive citizens, and it has survived nearly unscathed the world economic crisis. Now is a great time to buy land or homes in Costa Rica because prices have fallen to all time lows. We can recommend excellent real estate agents to show you your dream home in Costa Rica. I live in the mountains but most expats live either in the central valley San Jose area or the hot sunny beaches.
Costa Rica is changing. New immigration laws and new traffic laws make it a  safer yet more expensive country to live and play in. The new traffic laws which criminalize drunk driving and street racing while increasing traffic fines significantly has already been credited with greatly reducing traffic accidents in Costa Rica. The new immigration law is not so bad and in many ways is pretty lax. Costa Rica is such a beautiful country and pleasant place to live that these minor changes will hardly be noticed by the large expat community that lives here. I for one have given up all forms of alcohol as it no longer pleases me so Costa Rican drunk driving enforcement does not bother me in the least. Now lets hope that start widening the roads and putting down smoother asphalt!
Fantastic - Costa Rica is happiest of all the countries of the world. Of course this is based upon citizens of this fine country answering a very few questions honestly. Costa Rica offers travelers relaxation, excitement, peace, natural beauty and adventure. The Costa Rica women are beautiful.
Traveling to Costa Rica from the United States and Canada is easy and inexpensive. Many airlines offer daily non-stop flights to each of the two international airports in Costa Rica, Juan Santa Maria and Liberia International airports. Call your travel agent and book ahead for best deals. Often airlines will offer a very special price of around $300 round trip from anywhere in the USA to Costa Rica - but these deals go fast so keep in touch with your travel agents and airline booking sources. Airlines that fly inside Costa Rica and other destinations in Central America can be found here.
Costa Rica hotels come in all sizes and tastes, from the basic $5 shared shower economy rooms to the world's most expensive hotel, the Four Seasons Costa Rica Papagayo. Travelers find many options while driving the country, it is not necessary to book your room in advance unless traveling during peak times. In many ways Costa Rica is over built with hotel rooms, except in certain markets like Tamarindo beach and old town San Jose in the central valley where quality inexpensive hotel rooms are getting harder to find.
Adventure travel tours in Costa Rica are available from Tree Houses Hotel, offering jungle hikes, volcano climbs, white water rafting, Canyoning, Waterfall Rappel and more near Arenal Volcano. Tree Houses Hotel also offers many single day and multi day adventure tours all over costa rica including Manuel Antonio, Guanacaste, Tortuguero and San Jose. You can go on an ATV Tour, horseback ride, white water rafting adventure, scuba dive in the pacific ocean, climb the ancient cloud forests of Monteverde and much more.
 Traveling by car in Costa Rica is a dangerous enterprise, and best left to the professionals. Better to take buses and taxis then rent a car. Unless you absolutely feel you need to have your own car, you will find local buses fast cheap and frequent. Taxis are everywhere and for about $100 will take you just about anywhere! Why rent a car and risk getting in an accident because you don't know the roads or understand the minds of Tico drivers? And besides, once you get where you are going you will want to stay awhile and the car will just sit in the parkig lot running up rental fees and collecting dust.
The weather in Costa Rica is mild to hot and during the rainy season wet. Anytime of year is a good time to vacation in Costa Rica because during the rainy season, generally called the green season by tour operators, there are less tourists, the air is cleaner and everything is green! The dry season is hotter and dustier and has generally more tourists and higher prices. Current weather conditions in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is an animal lovers paradise with over 200 species of mammals, thousands of birds, reptiles and millions of insects. People travel to Costa Rica for vacations from all over the world, to enjoy the pristine beaches and walk thru ancient primeval rain forests and even to ride the zip line canopy tours thru the tops of the forest trees.
Do you love golf? Now there are many golf vacation options to choose from. See our Costa Rica Golf course listings.
It's amazing how many people think Costa Rica is spelled Costa Rico! Like Puerto Rico. And some even spell the country like Costo Rico. Many ask me where is the island of Costarica and i have to tell them that Costa Rica is on the Isthmus touching Panama to the south and Nicaragua to the north. The country is about 300 miles wide from the pacific to atlantic coasts.
Mel Gibson bought land in Costa Rica in the Nicoya Peninsula, but he was only the latest in a long string of Hollywood Icons to invest in Costa Rica real estate. Other notables include: The Olsen sisters, Leonardo di Caprio, Sylvester Stallone, Andre Agassi, Steve Case, Paris Hilton and Michael Owen. Just recently Will Smith was spotted near Volcano Arenal apparently scouting for a movie production.
In 2008, Mel Gibson, the famous hollywood actor, arrived in Costa Rica with his wife and good friend, Britney Spears. Rumor has it that the Movie Star Mel Gibson has brought Britney along to give her a new perspective on life. Good for you Mel! I remember the first time i watched Road Warrior, the fantastic futuristic apocolyptical film staring Mel Gibson, I knew that he would become the world class star that he is today. Did you see his film Apocalypto? One of the best films of the past ten years. Regardless of whatever the tabloids say we will always love Mel Gibson.
I have lived in Costa Rica since 1991 and still find it fun and exciting. Sure i stay home and write blogs and web sites to put food in my kids mouths but when i do get a chance to travel around Costa Rica I am awed at the changes that have taken place in the last few years. Certainly Guanacaste has been targeted as a playground for the rich and famous with awesome homes and hotels everywhere on pristin beaches and desolute mountain tops. Come on down and enjoy a great vacation or invest in real estate in Costa Rica!
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