Costa Rica

In this travel guide you’ll find many reasons for taking an adventure trip to Costa Rica.

Costa Rica is one of the happiest and most peaceful countries in the world, as well as a paradise for wild nature and exotic animals and where you can do lots of outdoor sports.

It is a perfect destination for those who love active travel, sport and nature.

Here are the sports and adventures we recommend in this destination.

For more details about sports click here.

Costa Rica is a perfect destination for outdoor sports and experience a fantastic adventure journey.

Here are some of the sports activities in Costa Rica that you can do:

• Surf
• Trekking in the jungle
• Kayak
• Zipline
• Suspended bridges
• Boat excursions
• Rafting
• Snorkeling
• Diving
• …

Sleeping in a shelter, spending a day with the locals, discover unknown places, here are some of the special experiences that you could live in this destination.

In Costa Rica you can experience unique and exciting experiences, such as:

• Take a natural thermal bath, including muds, on the top of a volcano
• Swim with see turtles in the Natural Reserve where they lay eggs, reachable only with some boats through a network of canals.
• Take a night trek and stay overnight in the rainforest surrounded by the sounds of the jungle and admiring the stars
• Swimming with dolphins
• …

Here’s what to see during the adventure trip to Costa Rica:

• Manuel Antonio National Park: one of the largest and most renowned national natural parks where animals of all species can be seen including sloths, monkeys, snakes.
• Caribbean Coast: to enjoy the sea and visit some little town. Puerto Viejo de Talamanca is a famous coastal town with strong Jamaican influence.
• Tortughero National Park: to see sea turtles deposit their eggs.
• Montezuma: called by the inhabitants “Montefuma”, guess why …, is a quiet village in the peninsula of Nicoya with a strong Yippy characterization.
• Malpais Santa Teresa: the world favourite beach for surfing. Many surfing schools and miles of pure beaches where you can challenge some of the best waves on the Pacific coast.
• Monteverde: here you can climb the volcano and make the most famous canopy tour of Central America.

The landscape, the flora and the fauna of this country are just one of the reasons to visit it.

Nature is the main reason of interest in Costa Rica. It can be ideally divided into six regions, each with its own characteristic:

1. North Costa Rica: a mountainous region. It is most famous for the semi-active Arenal volcano, the surrounding hot springs, volcanic lakes, and Monteverde Cloud Forests.
2. Guanacaste: this is the “dry and sunny region” of Costa Rica. It has fabulous beaches and some large volcanic and dry forest parks.
3. Central Pacific: this region is home to both well-known Costa Rican beaches and national parks. It is one of the most tourist-oriented parts of Costa Rica, along with Guanacaste.
4. Central Valley: this area is mostly urban. It includes both San Jose and Heredia. Many museums, churches and also a few volcanoes are close to this region.
5. Limon (Caribbean side): this is the least travelled region of the country, largely due to its relative isolation. Herer there are opportunities for whitewater rafting and sea turtle spotting.
6. South Pacific: here, you’ll find one of the most biodiverse environments on the planet and some of the world’s most beautiful and remote tropical beaches.

What you could eat and drink in this country

The main dishes of the Costa Rican cuisine derive from the Spanish origins of the country, such as the gallo pinto (colored chicken), a dish based on colored rice and black beans, which is used to consume in the morning and casado (married), a mixture of meat or fish, vegetables, legumes, rice and fried  plàtano (cooking amylaceous banana).

You can choose between various types of “batido” of fresh fruit to drink: tamarind, papaya, guanabana, watermelon, which can be prepared either with water or with milk.

The best time to travel to Costa Rica is from December to April, even better between January and March.

The climate of Costa Rica is mainly tropical: the dry season from December to April and the wet season from May to November.

Temperatures are high throughout the year except for the mountainous areas where there are strong temperature changes between day and night.

May, June, July and August are wet months, especially in the central mountainous area and you may encounter some tropical storms, which is a natural spectacle that is worth seeing.

The region of Guanacaste is the driest in the country, while in the South Pacific it rains more, especially in the rainforest of the Osa peninsula.

The central area is the cooler one, being mountainous.

Language: Spanish

Currency: colòn of Costa Rica

Capital city: San Josè

For up-to-date and detailed information visit www.viaggiaresicuri.it

Try to get to know local people. It won’t be difficult because they are very cheerful, cordial and peaceful people.

Their philosophy of life is summed up in “pura vida“, pure life, which is a clear sign of optimism towards life.