What You Need To Know About Costa Rica

M ore than one million            Costa Rica is Central America's    tourists visit Costa Rica      jewel. It's an oasis of calm       each year. What draws so       among its turbulent neighbors and  many people to this lightly           an ecotourism heaven, making it    advertised destination? Natural       one of the best places to          beauty and diversity are the          experience the tropics with        answers. Costa Rica covers only       minimal impact.                    0.03% of the surface of the                                              planet but it has about 6% of the     Costa Rica boasts 20 national      world's biodiversity.                 parks, 8 biological reserves, and                                        a wealth of other protected areas  Visitors encounter seas, beaches,     to enchant those who marvel at     rivers, waterfalls, mountains,        the wonders of nature. It draws    and an abundance of flora and         ecotourists from around the        fauna. Twelve major life zones        globe. Activities include          provide habitat for over 10,000       horse-back riding, hiking          kinds of flowering plants, 850        mountainous paths in the cloud     bird species, 3,000 butterfly         forests, guided bird-watching      species, and 209 species of           tours, volcanoes, scuba diving,    mammals. Volcanoes, rainforests,      snorkeling, sailing, canopy        cloud forests, lowland jungles,       tours, golf and much more.         the Pacific coastline, and                                               tranquil Caribbean beaches            Ticos, as the people of Costa      stretch across seven provinces.       Rica are known, are famous for     Thirty percent of the land is         being hospitable, and are quite    protected by national and private     happy to live up to their          reserves, which harbor more than      reputation. They seem to be well   five percent of the world's plant     aware that their country is a      and animal species.                   special place, and they go out of                                        their way to accommodate their     visitors, explaining things that      Costa Rica is a tropical country   might seem foreign to a               with two seasons - dry and wet.    foreigner, and helping make their     The Guanacaste Province is the     stay as enjoyable as possible.        driest region of the country with                                        less than 55 inches of rain in     Northwest Costa Rica, the             the coastal areas.                 Guanacaste province is for the                                           active soul, drawing visitors         Costa Rica occupies a territory    with its beaches, rivers,             of around 20,000 square miles in   waterfalls and natural                the southern part of Central       attractions. Forming the eastern      America, and includes several      border is a group of volcanoes        small islands mostly on the        that form the Cordillera de           Pacific side. It is much like the  Guanacaste and Cordillera de          state of Florida with two long     Tilarán.                             coastlines. The country is only                                          about 200 miles long and 70 miles  From the mountains flow various       wide at the narrowest part.        rivers that roll down and form an                                        alluvial plain drained by the Rio     Costa Rica is often compared to    Tempisque, which empties into the     Switzerland and Hawaii because of  Gulf de Nicoya. The name              its mountains and forests. Unlike  Guanacaste is derived from            many areas of Mexico, Central and  quahnacaztlan, a native word for      South America, Costa Rica remains  the guanacaste tree, which is         beautiful year-round. This is      Costa Rica's national tree.           partly because it borders the                                            Pacific Ocean on the west, the     With a new airport at Liberia,        Atlantic Ocean on the east, and    tourism to Guanacaste has boomed.     has a string of towering                                                 volcanoes on the Central Plateau.                                        Combine all this and you have a    unique tropical paradise with 11      sincerely welcome all travelers    climatic zones.                       and vacationers.                                                                                            The high season in Costa Rica,        San Jose, population over one      December through April, is the        million, is the capital and        dry season. The green season,         cultural heart of Costa Rica.      which lasts from May to November,     Other major cities (by             usually sees sunny mornings, with     population) are: Alajuela,         rain showers in late afternoon        Cartago, Heredia, Liberia, Limón  and evening. Overall, the climate     and Puntarenas.                    is tropical, with an average                                             temperature of 72"°F (22"°C). It      To enter the country you now must  can be much hotter along the          have a valid passport. Some        coastal areas of the country, and     countries now require your         much cooler in the mountains.         passport to be valid for at least                                        6 more months in order to leave    In the past, agricultural             your country to come here. Check   exports, like bananas and coffee,     with you embassy or airline.       have been the staple of the Costa     Costa Rica is on Central Standard  Rican economy. However, tourism       Time, six hours behind Greenwich   has always played an                  Mean Time and one hour behind EST  ever-increasing role, and now it      in the States. It does not         has become the dominant economic      currently use daylight saving      force. Ecotourism travel is the       time.                              most preferred for expansion                                             because it will provide a             No shots are required. The water   sustainable resource for tourism      in the major cities of Costa Rica  for generations of Costa Ricans       is safe and most hotels and        to come. Costa Ricans love to         restaurants offer purified tap     show off their country, and           water. You might prefer to drink   bottled water or seltzer to be                                           sure. Costa Rica has excellent,       Costa Rica has a reputation as     low-cost medical care and             one of the most stable and         well-qualified practitioners.         prosperous Latin American          Many North Americans come to          countries.                         Costa Rica for cosmetic surgery                                          or dental work.                       Costa Rica has something for                                             everybody! Whatever your           Costa Rica is a safe destination      interests; eco-tourism trips bird  for 99% of its tourists, but it's     watching, adventure tours,         always a good idea to exercise        fishing, diving, rafting, canopy   caution whenever one travels. In      tours, golf, all inclusive         general, the country has a low        hotels, vacation homes or just     crime rate. In most cases, crimes     relaxing on an unspoiled tropical  are simple thievery - non-violent     beach, you will find all of that   crimes of opportunity, so just        and more in this tropical and      exercise caution, as anywhere in      secure paradise.                   the world.                             About the Author: We traveled to Costa Rica on vacation in 2001. Fell in love with the people and their country. Purchased property on the last day of our vacation and built a villa in 2002. Handles villa rentals for five additional villas. Two, three, four and five bedroom villa's available, all of which are surrounded by Costa Rica's biodiversity and over looking the Pacific Ocean. Find more useful information about Costa Rica by visiting our web site. http://www.costarica-vacation-getaway.com info@costarica-vacation-getaway.com Source: www.isnare.com