Latour Travel Guide to COSTA RICA

Travel Highlights

• San José - National Theater, Gold Museum, deluxe hotels and casino action
  
• Monteverde - Spectacular cloud forest sky walks and incredible flora and fauna
  
• Guanacaste - Dazzling new mega-resorts, sunshine, and endless beaches
  
• White Water - Five rivers to choose from so there's always plenty of action
  
• Volcanoes - Poás, Irazú and Arenal, each spectacular in its own way
  
• Tortuguero - Where thousands of green sea turtles come ashore at night

Overview
Costa Rica is just what its Spanish-language name describes - the "rich" coast. More precisely this very appealing Central American country offers two rich coasts. Within the country's Pacific and Caribbean coasts visitors will discover a mainland with pristine cloud forests, tropical mangroves, active volcanoes, whitewater rafting, wildlife, nightlife, and most importantly nearly three million friendly people. Capital city San José has excellent hotels, restaurants and complete travel services. Twenty-seven percent of Costa Rica is protected by a growing network of national parks, reserves and refuges. The term eco-tourism was invented here.

Country Facts
Size: Costa Rica, the size of the state of West Virginia, lies ten degrees north of the equator. At its narrowest point from east to west, only 75 miles of land separates the Caribbean from the Pacific. At its widest span the country is 180 miles across. Costa Rica measures 275 miles north to south. Total land mass is nearly 20,000 square mi.

Population: 2.7 million.

Capital: San José (pop. 350,000 population, alt. 3,838 ft.)

Language: Spanish. English is widely understood.

Electricity: 110 volts, 60 cycles. Outlets here take standard U.S. plugs. No voltage converter needed for U.S. appliances.

Religion: Predominantly Roman Catholic.

Time: Noon in San Jose is 1:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Standard Time.

Public Holidays:
January 1: New Year's Day
March 19: St. Joseph's Day
Holy Week: Holy Thursday and Good Friday
April 11: Juan Santamaria's Day
May 1: Labor Day
June 29: St. Peter and St.Paul
July 25: Guanacaste Annexation
August 2: Virgin of Los Angeles Day
August 15: Mother's Day
September 15: Independence Day
October 12: Discovery of America
December 8: Immaculate Conception
December 24 & 25: Christmas

How to get there
American Airlines has daily non-stop flights from Dallas-Ft. Worth and Miami to San José. Tica Bus Line links Costa Rica with neighboring Central American countries with daily scheduled, low cost motorcoach service. A 25 pound per person luggage allowance on all domestic flights within Costa Rica.

City Codes
SJO: San José
LIO: Limón
TNO: Tamarindo
XQP: Quepos
LIR: Liberia

Entry Requirements

Valid U.S. passport. No visa required for American Citizens.

Currency

Costa Rican colón (pronounced "co-loan"). Major credit cards widely accepted. ATMs convenient in larger cities and towns. Banking hours: 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Monday - Friday and 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.

TAXES & TIPPING

Taxes/Surcharges: International departure tax: $17.

Hotel taxes and service charges: 13% hotel taxes, 10% service charge.

Tipping: Restaurants include 10% in bill. Taxi drivers don't expect a tip.

Shopping

Costa Rica is known for coffee, ceramics, wood carvings and reproductions of pre-Columbian gold jewelry. Most popular souvenirs are hand-painted miniature ox carts, symbol of the country's rich folklore.

Food and Drink
Costa Rica boasts a wide variety of international restaurants including American, Italian, French, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, German, Argentine, Korean and Lebanese. Many small hotels, mountain retreats and roadside cafes offer opportunities to sample the local specialties which are usually seafood or poultry served with gallo pinto (beans and rice). Fresh tropical fruits abound.

Telephone

Country code: (506). No city codes.

Weather
Costa Rica has a spring-like climate all year with average temperatures in the 70s in San José and the Central Valley. Temperatures range in the high 70s to 90s in the lowlands
and on the coastal beaches. Costa Rica has a rainy season, euphemistically called "The Green Season," which lasts from May through October. The country, however, is very pleasant to visit year-round.

Getting Around
Travel within Costa Rica is easy. San José is only three hours away from either coast. Rental cars, buses and taxis are readily available and inexpensive. Travelers can also fly SANSA, the domestic airline, to several points. Charter plane rental services are also available. Taxis are red except those serving the airport which are orange. It's best to negotiate fare with driver beforehand. Bus service in San José and to all major parts of the country is efficient and inexpensive. Most international car rental companies operate in Costa Rica, and foreign driver's licenses are valid for up to 90 days. Distances are measured in kilometers with a speed limit of 80 km. per hour (48 mph) on most highways.

MAJOR DESTINATIONS

San José (SJO)

Most of the capital city's major sites and attractions are located within walking distance of the downtown Plaza de Cultura and the adjoining National Theater (one of Costa Rica's most beautiful buildings opened in 1897 and decorated in Rococo style). Several resort-like hotels are located between the city and international airport (taxis are available for the 5-10 minute transfers). City tours of San José are usually conducted on foot and include the National Museum (impressive archaeology collection), Museum of Costa Rican Art, Jade Museum (pre-Columbian jade), Museum of Natural Science, and the Gold Museum (magnificent collection of indigenous gold artifacts).

Excursions from San José:

Orosi Church & Museum A small colonial church built by Franciscan missionaries in the 17th century is both beautiful and simple. There is also a small museum with colonial religious objects and valuable paintings.

Ruins of Ujarrás A popular excursion visits mysterious Spanish Colonial 17th-century ruins in the mountains.

Lankester Gardens One of the world's outstanding orchid collections. Lankester Gardens is a botanist's dream come true, and is open daily to the public.

Sarchi Small town is known for its multi-colored ox cart wooden crafts. The tradition began in the early 1900s when a peasant decided to paint his ox cart with vivid colors arranged in geometric patterns. As a result, ox cart painting soon became a tradition in Sarchi as well as in other parts of Costa Rica

Monteverde Started by the Quakers, this private biological reserve protects the quetzal bird and other endangered species whose natural habitat is the tropical cloud forest. Located in the Sierra de Tilaran highlands, Monteverde is also the home of the famous Quaker cheese factory. Several new "sky walks" give the visitor a good look at the forest from all angles and elevations.

The Pacific Coast:

Guanacastse Province & Osa PeninsulaCosta Rica's Pacific side has two remarkable and distinctly different peninsulas jutting into the sea. In the North, the Nicoya Peninsula coupled with adjoining Guanacaste Province is almost desert-like in many places and is where many great new, modern, mega-resorts are being built. The Osa Peninsula in southern Costa Rica is intensely tropical, where small jungle lodges and inns are the accommodations. Both peninsulas and the Guanacaste have excellent beaches. Osa also has offshore Isla Cano, where some of Costa Rica's mystery spheres still lie half-buried in the jungle.

Quepos Popular small resort town with several excellent hotels. Nearby cloud forest tours to Manuel Antonio National Park.

National Parks:

Costa Rica has an exceptional national park system reflecting the country's strong commitment to the environment. There are 29 designated areas totaling 12% of the national territory. This provides shelter for nearly 12,000 varieties of plants, 237 species of mammals, 848 species of birds, and 361 different amphibians and reptiles native to the country. Costa Rican regulations require that naturally existing habitats be maintained. The different Costa Rican environments protected under these rules include: deciduous forests, mangrove swamps, rain forests, marshes, cloud forests, swamps, coral reefs, riparian and swamp forests.

Braulio Carrillo National Park Twenty highway minutes from San Jose on the road to Guapiles, Braulio Carrillo is one of the most accessible national parks, and is especially attractive for bird-watchers. Over 500 species of birds, equal to the total number of bird species within continental Europe, thrive in the park.

Irazú Volcano National Park The devastating effects of a series of eruptions occurring from 1963 to 1965 are evident here, producing an eerie, barren landscape. At 11,259 ft., the volcano is the highest peak in the Central Cordillera. Visitors who go to the park in the early mornings may be able to see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans from the same vantage point.

Poás Volcano National Park At Poás Volcano, one of the most active of the country's 69 volcanic structures, visitors can stand at the lip of the crater and look down into the steaming cauldron. Geysers of gas, vapor and ash almost constantly rise from the crater. Well-maintained trails within the park permit visitors to enter the cloud forest, and hike to an emerald green crater lake.

Rincón de la Vieja National Park Visitors to Rincón de la Vieja, a dormant volcano, will delight with noisy geysers, steaming geothermal pools and the bubbling mudpots called "Las Pailas.".

Santa Rosa National Park Santa Rosa offers both historical and biological value. On March 20, 1856, peasants defeated the army of pro-slavery North American adventurer William Walker and prevented him from taking possession of Hacienda Santa Rosa. The park's biological significance stems from the variety of the flora and fauna. Dry forests, mangroves and wooded savannas are some of the different habitats, which are home to animals including monkeys, anteaters, coatimundis, peccaries and deer. One of nature's most spectacular events, the arribada or movement of thousands of Pacific Ridley sea turtles, occurs annually within the park on Nancite Beach.

Tortuguero National Park Tortuguero is the most important nesting beach for the green sea turtle in the Western Caribbean. Here visitors may see the turtles leaving the sea at night and coming ashore on the beach to lay their eggs. Season is between June and November. At Tortuguero, visitors may experience a coastal rain forest with spider and howler monkeys, sloths and toucans.

Manuel Antonio National Park One of the country's most famous and most photographed parks. The splendid white sand beaches, calm and transparent sea, rocky promontories, and lush forest are simply spectacular. Easily observed populations of monkeys are also a major attraction.

Cahuita National Park This park is known for its coral reef, brilliantly colored fish, sponges, sea anemones, lobster, sea fans and crabs.

Cano Negro National Wildlife Refuge Popular destination for two day/one night tours from San José to see wildlife and for night viewing of spectacular Arenal Volcano's flowing lava.

Special Interest Travel
Fishing Costa Rica is known for both deep sea and fresh- water fishing on its Caribbean and Pacific shores and rivers. Some of the best spots include: Barra del Colorado, Parismina and Tortuguero on the Caribbean side; Bahia Pez Vela, Cabo Blanco, Quepos, Isla de Cano, Golfito, Tamarindo and Playas del Coco on the Pacific side. Most popular catches: marlin, sailfish, wahoo, snook, and tarpon.

White Water Rafting Several Costa Rican rivers offer white water experiences under the guidance of organized tour companies. Rivers range from Grades I-V. Best known rivers include the Pacuaré, Reventazón and El General.