Costa Rica with its fifty three thousand square kilometres, is approximately the same size as West Virginia or only the third part of Florida in the United State . Nicaragua on the north, Panama in the south and our coast are bathed by tropical waters; on the east the Caribbean Sea and on the best the Pacific Ocean . Costa Rica is located 10 degrees south of the equator line, for what it has a great biological and cultural influence from the southern continent. This is a tropical Land, but also offers a great amount of microclimates that can change from 0degrees in the mountains to 35 degrees in the lowest areas and in the Beaches.
- Climate
January, February, March and April are the best months to visit the Pacific Beaches. During this period the Caribbean Beaches have the most rain. Its always raining somewhere in Costa Rica , and there is always a sunny place in our country, the weather is constantly changing. The climate should not be a problem to plan a journey trough Costa Rica the temperatures are stable during the year with few variations. We offer a year round vacation destination.
- Mountains and Volcanoes.
Three mountain ranges form the mountain structure of our Costa Rica . The Tilarán, the Central and the Talamanca Mountain Range. These three mountain formations are of volcanic origin and
numerous craters, active and inactive can be found along these
formations. The Mountain Ranges play a very important roll in the climatic patterns of the Country; they cool the humid pressures of the Caribbean , from luscious tropical forests and keep one of
the last high barren plains of the region. In the Tilarán or Guanacaste Mountain Range we can find the: Orosí, Miravalles, Rincón de la Vieja and Arenal Volcanoes. In the Central Mountain Range
are located the Poás, Barva, Irazu and Turrialba Volcanoes. The Chirripó Mount is the highest point in Costa Rica and is located in the Talamanca Mountain Range.
- Coasts
Both coasts in Costa Rica have exceptional and attractive beaches but there are different like the sun and the moon. In the Pacific the sand is darker and the tides are six times higher than the ones in the Caribbean or the Atlantic Coasts . In the Caribbean Coast the sands vary from mid grey to brilliant white, this because of the higher amount of coral banks producing clear waters; contrary of the volcanic origin of the sand in the Pacific Coast . The vegetation on the Caribbean is much more exotic. The Pacific and Atlantic Oceans offer a great number of water sports being sport fishing one of the most important. Surfing is another of the most popular aquatic sports in the national and international level.
- Costa Rica and their people
One of the most important reasons to visit Costa Rica is its people. Costa Rica has developed as a community originated in agriculture and keeps a steady course towards education and political stability. This has been key to the development of tourism and to the search of destinations that combine nature and adventure but adding cultural activities. It is possible that culture is what makes Costa Rica a unique destination in the Central American Region. The education and illiteracy level is 97% in Costa Rica . And it is even a higher reason to be pride is that Costa Rica has maintained peace for over tour centuries. The Army forces were abolished in 1949, and the general Headquarter, the Bellavista castle, was converted into the Museo Nacional of Costa Rica . Trough the agriculture the Costa Ricans have manager to take the country to a successful degree of exportations and diversification to different areas in commerce. The foreign investment has been supported and Costa Rican entrepreneurs have developed a diversified hotel structure, keeping the environmental stability. The attitude of the Costa Rican towards the visitor is an overall welcoming feeling, many Costa Ricans speak more than one language this surprises the tourist and contribute to an even larger cultural exchange.
- National Parks
The best places to experience the whole tropical variety that Costa Rica Offers are its National Parks, Wildlife Reserves and Protected Areas. Keeping their eyes on the future, the Costa Rican Governments have declared over a 20% of the country a Protected Area. All of these areas where created with the porpoise to preserve the countries diversity, almost all the different ecosystems can be found within the limits of these areas. The protected areas are found in all the regions of the country; all though the main interest of your trip to Costa Rica is not nature, the visit to some of these areas can be included. Within these areas a great variety of attractions can be found: beautiful rain forest, unexplored beaches, mangrove, active volcanoes, coral banks, cloud forest, and crystalline rivers and there are still traces of a small pre-columbine indigenous city. Some of these areas are of easy access, with clearly marked trails and facilities for the visitor.
1- Santa Rosa National Park . 2- Rincón de la Vieja National Park. 3- Ostional wildlife reserves 4- Las Baulas National Park. 5- Absolute Reserve Cabo Blanco 6- Barra Honda National Park. 7- Palo Verde National Park.8- Biological Reserve Negritos, Guayabo, Pájaros 9- Peñas Blancas wildlife reserve 10- Carara National Park.11- Manuel Antonio National Park.12- Biological Reserve Isla del Caño 13- Corcovado National Park.14- Biological Reserve Golfito 15- International Park La Amistad 16- Chirripó National Park.17- Biological Reserve Hitoy-Cerere 18- Gandoca-Manzanillo wildlife reserve 19- Cahuita National Park. 20- Tortuguero National Park . 21- Barra del Colorado wildlife reserve 22- Braulio Carrillo National Park . 23- Poás Volcano National Park . 24- Irazú Volcano National Park . 25- National Monument Guayabo 26- Tapantí wildlife reserve 27- Isla del Coco Nacional Park 28- Monteverde wildlife reserve 29- Arenal Volcáno National Park.
