Costa Rica

San José, the bustling capital, is smack in the center of Costa Rica, within the Cordillera Central, a mountain range dotted with volcanoes. To the northwest of San José are Lake Arenal and the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. South of San José is the Pacific coast, where you'll find Manuel Antonio National Park and other unspoiled stretches of rain forest. Two peninsulas jut into the Pacific: The larger is Nicoya Peninsula, one of the country's most popular destinations. The smaller Osa Peninsula is more difficult to reach and has a much wilder feel. The Caribbean coast is hotter, rainier, and much less traveled.

WHEN TO GO

Between Christmas and Easter, which roughly coincides with the country's dry season (December through April). But if you visit one month before or after, the weather is often just as good, and rooms cost 10 to 25 percent less. The downside is that many restaurants and bars will be closed. The May–November rainy season—called the "green season" by tour operators—is not a terrible time to visit, but be prepared for daily deluges and a much smaller range of places to eat and sleep. There is also a relatively dry period called veranillo, which sometimes occurs in July and August, or August and September, particularly on the Pacific coastline. If your heart is set on seeing turtles, remember to visit June to October.

HOW TO GET THERE

San José International Airport (also known as Juan Santamaría) is the main gateway airport (506-2437-2400; www.alterra.co.cr; in Spanish only), serviced daily by American, Continental, Delta, United, and US Airways, as well as TACA and Copa airlines. If you plan to stay on the Nicoya Peninsula, where you'll find Playa Tamarindo and other popular resort towns, fly directly to Liberia International Airport (also known as Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport) (506-2668-1010; www.dgac.go.cr/aeropuertos/internacionales/index.html; in Spanish only) on Delta, American, or Continental.

GETTING AROUND

Renting a car is often the only way to get around Costa Rica. Opt for four-wheel-drive vehicles, which are great for negotiating rough roads. The good news is that the highways are looking better than they have in years. The route circling Lake Arenal, once an obstacle course of potholes, is now among the best in the country. But there are still plenty of places where the pavement crumbles away. Both routes to Tamarindo are rough gravel trails. The highway to Manuel Antonio crosses several rickety bridges. And reaching Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve requires negotiating roads that are mostly rocks and gravel. Because of the driving conditions, domestic flights can cut down travel time considerably, and the country is well connected by 19 small airports.

TOURIST INFO

The Costa Rican Tourist Board (866-267-8742; www.visitcostarica.com) isn't as helpful as it should be, providing only the most general information. But its links page helps you connect to websites run by local organizations, as well as to specialist tour operators and travel agents, such as Costa Rica Expeditions (Calle Central and Avenida 3; 506-2257-0766; www.costaricaexpeditions.com).

NEED TO KNOW

Language: Spanish
Capital City: San José
Population: 4.3 million
Area: 19,725 square miles
Telephone Calling Code(s): 506
Electricity: 120V, 60 Hz
Currency: As of Nov 7, 2009:
1 Costa Rica Colones = $0.00 US Calculate Other Amounts
Entry Requirements:

Costa Rica does not require visas for citizens of the United States. A valid passport is sufficient for a three-month stay.

GOOD TO KNOW

Cuisine
Costa Rica isn't an especially luxe destination, catering more to ecotourists than jet-setters. As a result, the cuisine is less haute than humble, local, honest, and cheap. Specialties of Costa Rica's many sodas (small restaurants) are casado (rice, beans, stewed beef, fried plantain, salad, and cabbage), olla de carne (soup of beef, plantain, corn, yucca, nampi, and chayote), and sopa negra (black beans with a poached egg). You'll be satiated, but not indulged.

Good Buys
Costa Rica produces many crafts that are worth taking home, from beautiful leatherwork to ceramics. Costa Rica also produces some of the world's finest coffee, much of which is grown on small farms. If you can tear yourself away from the verdant jungles and fantastic surf, look around for local artists who create exacting neo-Amerindian jewelry from gold, silver, and precious stones. In the past few years, dozens of shops have popped up, offering what is billed as artesanía indígena. It is indigenous art, but not always from Costa Rica—you're as likely to find weavings from Guatemala, Panamanian embroidery, and stone carvings all the way from Mexico. However, the elaborately carved exotic woods, made into everything from bracelets to bowls, are usually the real deal. The best native crafts are found in SarchÍ, a mountain village nearly a two-hour drive northwest of San José. Look for comfortable wood-and-leather chairs, most of them easily foldable for your flight home. The town is known throughout the country for its colorful ox carts, often seen in local parades; it's possible to buy miniature versions that are just as elaborately painted.

Money
All hotels add 10 percent service tax plus 3 percent tourist tax to the bill by law, while most restaurants add a 10 percent service charge. It is not necessary to tip taxi drivers.

NATIONAL HOLIDAYS

January: 1, New Year's Day
March: 19, St. Joseph's Day
April: 11, National Heroes Day
May: 1, Labor Day
June: 29, St. Peter and St. Paul Day
July: 25, Annexation of Guanacaste
August: 2, Our Lady of the Angels; 15, Mother's Day
September: 15, Independence Day
November: 2, All Souls' Day
December: 1, Abolition of the Armed Forces Day; 8, Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary; 25, Christmas Day
Spring: Thursday before Easter, Maundy Thursday; Friday before Easter, Good Friday; Saturday before Easter, Holy Saturday; Easter
Summer: Ninth Thursday after Easter, Corpus Christi