Beautiful country in Central America. (Costa Rica)

Member Name: Holidaying

Product:	Costa Rica
Date:	11/09/08 (38 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of National Parks and plenty to do.

Disadvantages: Some danger in the capital, and the roads are not very good.

Wow, Costa Rica, what can I say!

This was a must see destination on my list for several years before I eventually visited it last year! I am so glad I finally did!

Costa Rica is in Central America, with Nicaragua to the North and Panama to the South. It is a small country that speaks Spanish.

Costa Rica has two coastlines- one on the Atlantic side and one on the Pacific side. The Atlantic coast is technically called the Carribean coast, due to the location of Costa Rica just a few degrees of latitude above the equator.

I was quite worried before I went to Costa Rica, because I had heard bad things about safety. I was concerned that I would be mugged or that I would be in a bus crash. Regarding the former, being informed about your destination is the way I would suggest giving yourself the best chance of avoiding being mugged. IF you know that somewhere is not very safe, then stay away from that area, or go with someone else, and leave valuables in the hotel safe, etc.

Regarding the latter, there is not, unfortunatley, much that you can do, save flying everywhere, and with a country so keen to preserve their environment (or so says the government), I personally decided against this.

I went to several places during my visit, including San Jose, Monteverde and Manuel Antonio National Part.

San Jose is renouned as being unsafe and boring, but some parts of it are ok. I recommend Paseo Colon, which has some shops and some hotels, and some decent restaurants. I felt safe here and the area had everything I needed for the two nights I spent there. There werent any museums around there that I can remember so I didnt go to any in that area.

I took the bus to Monteverde, which took about five hours. It is not far but the roads, like they are in most of Costa Rica, are very bad, and the buses cant go very fast over them.

Monteverde is set in cloud forest and it was a lovely place. The town is called Santa Elena. This is a small town but there are places to stay and places to eat.

There is a lot to do in Monteverde, especially adventure sports, like canopy zip lining and you can also do horse riding.

You can go for walks in the forest of the National Parks and see things like spiders and sloths.

Manuel Antonio is a National Park that is reached from the town of Quepos, just a few kilometres away.

This is a very beautiful place, with forest, beaches and sea, and where you can take a walk through the forest and see monkeys, racoons, and other animals.

There is a lot to see and do in this beautiful country. I enjoyed my visit and I hope that one day I will go back.

Summary: Costa Rica is a country that I would like to go back to!