Weather

Costa Rica experiences a temperate climate in the high lying areas and a tropical climate on the coastlines. It is warm all year round with two basic seasons - wet and dry. From December to April/May the weather is dry with plenty of sunshine and is warm. During January and February the coastal winds may cool the weather down slightly. April/May to November are typically warm and sunny in the mornings with afternoon showers. Los Torrenciates (torrential showers) occur in September and October.

What to Wear

Cool summer clothing throughout the year. Pack a sweater or lightweight jacket for cooler evenings. Beachwear and casual wear is a must in this tropical region. Raincoats and umbrellas are needed for the wet season. Costa Ricans are generally informal so casual wear is appropriate and acceptable.

Visa, Immigration, Customs

Passport valid for at least 6 months beyond your scheduled length of stay.

Visa/Permit/Tourist Card:No visa is required for stays of up to 90 days (30 days for citizens of Australia).

Single parents or other adults vacationing alone with children should be aware that some countries require documentary evidence of parental responsibility before allowing lone parents to enter the country or, in some cases, before permitting the children to leave the country.

Transportation

Taca International Airlines is a regional airline servicing Central America. Delta, American Airlines and Continental fly to Juan Santomaria, the international airport which is almost 20km's outside San Jose. Internal flights are serviced by SANSA and Nature Air which are regular and relatively inexpensive.

Airports in Costa Rica:There are 149 airports in Costa Rica.

Travel by Water:Numerous cruise packages are available along the coastal regions.

Travel by Road:If you wish to travel by bus, pre-book your tickets. The bus services are busy and often overcrowded. There are many tour companies offering a variety of tour packages. There are many taxis in San Jose which are inexpensive.


What Side of the Road?:Driving is on the right side of the road.

Speed Limits:Urban areas - 40/60 kph; highways - 75/100 kph

Culture & Food

Languages Spoken:Spanish (official), English.

Religions:Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%.

People and Culture:Costa Ricans, or Ticos, are a mixture of races, mainly Spanish speaking - although a few speak English. Most Costa Ricans are Catholic and during the week before Easter is vacation time. Many businesses close and towns celebrate with festejos (festivals). When speaking Spanish it is polite to use Don before Christian names for men and Doa for women. Restaurants add a 10% service charge. Hotel staff, ports and waiters should be tipped.

A resident or national of Costa Rica is called "Costa Rican". The Term used to describe things from here is "Costa Rican". For example, "Costa Rican food".

Tipping and Bargaining: Tipping is not practiced in restaurants. They will add a 10% service charge. Most prices for merchandise are non-negotiable.

Restaurants:	None
*Porters:	200 - 300 Colón per bag
Taxi:	10%

* Try to use local currency. Foreign coins cannot be exchanged and will be useless to the person receiving them. Foreign paper money requires a trip to the bank for exchange. However paper US dollars are accepted almost universally.

Food: A typical Costa Rican meal consists of beans and rice. Gallo Pinto (fried rice and beans) is the national dish and may be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Enchilados and tortillas are popular. Corn, fish, meat and chicken form part of many of the dishes. For something different pescado ahumado (smoked Marlin) washed down with guaro (a local alcoholic beverage distilled from sugar cane). Local and imported beers, spirits and soft drinks and coffee are available.

Money Conversion

Costa Rica's currency is called the Costa Rican Colon (CRC).

Currency Converter :use the following currency converter tool to help you with your vacation. Currency Convertor Tool

Currency Cheat Sheet: use the following currency cheat sheet as a quick conversion reference on your vacation.Currency Cheat Sheet

Attractions

Destination Cities: San Jose, the capital is situated on La Meseta Central. It has numerous museums, Art Museum, National Gallery, National Museum as well as a Jade Museum, Gold Museum, Entolological Museum and Natural Science Museum (one of the most comprehensive in the world). You can join in on a Coffee Tour, Volcanic and Hot Spring Tour, Canopy tours of the forest to name a few. The restaurants are great and the nightlife vibrant. There are many cities within Costa Rica worth a visit but most of the tourism revolves around the beaches and national parks (ecotourism). The city of Limon, in the province of Limon, is famous for the many national Parks and wildlife refuges, especially Totuguero National Park.

Points of Interest:The national parks are too numerous to include in a list. Most are worth a visit and some worth a mention here are: Tortuguera National Park - 84 km's outside the city of Limon. A nesting haven for many breeds of turtles - including the largest in the world - the Leatherback Turtle. Included in the park are beautiful beaches. You could rent a boat and spot crocodiles, shark, gar and many other interesting species of aquatic life. Monteverde Biological Reserve is famous for its Cloud Forest and offers many hikes and canopy tours. Many of the reserves canopy tours by cable or aerial tram. Arenal Volcano is an active volcano producing small eruptions every few minutes. It is quite out of the way and takes five hour drive by car. Guayabo National Monument (about 2 hours from San Jose by car) is one of the country’s top archaeological sites. It dates back more than 3000 years yielding interest and mystique of an ancient civilization. Costa Rica is fast becoming one of the scuba diving destinations of the world. The oceans offer a vast variety of marine life and coral reefs. Island hopping and dolphin watching are other activities which may be of interest.