The Rough Guide to Costa Rica (Travel Guide eBook)

Stephen Keeling and Shafik Meghji

Description

Discover one of Latin America's most diverse and compelling countries with the definitive travel guide to Costa Rica, researched by Rough Guides' expert authors.

In-depth coverage of Costa Rica's awe-inspiring scenery guides you to the most rewarding destinations - both big-hitters and low-key, tourist-free spots - and the best ways to experience them. Whether you want to soak in a hot spring or go white water rafting, walk through the canopy of a cloud forest or just sit back and enjoy some of the finest coffee on earth, we've got you covered.

The Rough Guide to Costa Rica brings to life Costa Rica's incomparable wildlife with stunning colour photography and, as over a quarter of the country is protected land, you'll have plenty of chances to see it. With turtle-nesting beaches, jewel-like butterflies and frogs, and more bird species than the US and Canada combined, the "Rich Coast" more than lives up to its name.

The Rough Guide to Costa Rica also includes easy-to-use maps, reliable advice on how to get around, and up-to-date reviews of the best hotels, hostels, eco lodges, restaurants, bars, clubs and shops - for all budgets - to ensure that you don't miss a thing.

Sujets

• Travel
• Central America
• Costa Rica

Informations

• Publié par: Apa Publications
• Date de parution: 05 octobre 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 4
• EAN13: 9780241329603
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 57 Mo

Extrait

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COSTA RICA

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THE ROUGH GUIDE TOSTEAMY CLOUDFORESTS, WHITESAND BEACHES and rumbling
volcanoes: Costa Rica packs in a dizzying variety of landscapes. A
peaceful and accessible slice of Central America, this is one of the
world’s great ecotourism destinations, where you can see turtles
hatching at night, hike unexplored wildernesses and surf off the COSTA RICA
Pacifi c and Atlantic coasts. Whether you want to spot cuddly sloths
or taste some of the world’s best coffee, this Rough Guide will help
you make the most of your time in this fascinating country.
FULLY
UPDATED
8th EDITION
USA $24.99
Can $31.99
UK £16.99
Costa_Rica_B8_298040_cover.indd All Pages 01/06/2017 14:37
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OINSIDE THIS BOOK START YOUR JOURNEY WITH ROUGH GUIDES
INTRODUCTION What to see, what not to miss, itineraries and more
WILDLIFE GUIDE Easily identify mammals, birds and reptiles with our illustrated
wildlife section
BASICS Pre-departure tips and practical information
THE GUIDE Comprehensive, in-depth guide to Costa Rica, with area highlights and
full-colour maps throughout
CONTEXTS History, landscape, conservation and tourism, plus recommended
TRUSTED TRAVEL GUIDES Since 1982, our books have helped over 35 million books covering Costa Rica and a useful language section
travellers explore the world with accurate, honest and informed travel writing.
We’ve fl agged up our favourite places – a perfectly sited hotel, an atmospheric café, a
special restaurant – throughout the Guide with the symbol
Costa Rica chapters
Lago de Nicaragua
0 100NICARAGUA
kilometresLa Cruz
Golfo de 4Papagayo CARIBBEAN SEALiberia
POCKET ROUGH GUIDES “Best of” section, essential itineraries and a unique LaPlayas del Coco
Fortuna TortugueroSan Carlos5 pull-out map featuring every sight and listing in the guide. Hip, handy and (Ciudad
Quesada) perfect for short trips and weekend breaks.
Guápiles
Santa Cruz
6 3
Heredia Puerto Limón
Carmona SAN JOSÉ
Nosara 1
Paquera
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Mal País Montezuma
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Palmar
Bahía dePACIFIC OCEAN Coronado
Isla del Coco DIGITAL Choose from our
easy6 Golfo
Dulce to-use ebooks and great-value
Paso Canoas Snapshots to read on your tablet,
phone or e-reader.
0 3
kilometres
Isla del Coco is 535 kilometres southwest of Costa Rica
ROUGHGUIDESROUGHGUIDES..CCOMOM Buy all our 1 5 San José Guanacaste
2 6 latlatesest ebooks and get inspirt ebooks and get inspireded The Valle Central and the highlands The Central Pacifi c and southern Nicoya
3 7 Limón Province and the Caribbean coast The Zona Sur with trwith travavel fel featureatures, quizzeses, quizzes
4 The Zona Norte and morand more.e.
Make the Most of Your Time on Earth at roughguides.com
This eighth edition published October 2017
CostaRica_B8_InsideCover.indd 457 14/06/17 9:18 amINSIDE THIS BOOK START YOUR JOURNEY WITH ROUGH GUIDES
INTRODUCTION What to see, what not to miss, itineraries and more
WILDLIFE GUIDE Easily identify mammals, birds and reptiles with our illustrated
wildlife section
BASICS Pre-departure tips and practical information
THE GUIDE Comprehensive, in-depth guide to Costa Rica, with area highlights and
full-colour maps throughout
CONTEXTS History, landscape, conservation and tourism, plus recommended
TRUSTED TRAVEL GUIDES Since 1982, our books have helped over 35 million books covering Costa Rica and a useful language section
travellers explore the world with accurate, honest and informed travel writing.
We’ve fl agged up our favourite places – a perfectly sited hotel, an atmospheric café, a
special restaurant – throughout the Guide with the symbol
Costa Rica chapters
Lago de Nicaragua
0 100NICARAGUA
kilometresLa Cruz
Golfo de 4Papagayo CARIBBEAN SEALiberia
POCKET ROUGH GUIDES “Best of” section, essential itineraries and a unique LaPlayas del Coco
Fortuna TortugueroSan Carlos5 pull-out map featuring every sight and listing in the guide. Hip, handy and (Ciudad
Quesada) perfect for short trips and weekend breaks.
Guápiles
Santa Cruz
6 3
Heredia Puerto Limón
Carmona SAN JOSÉ
Nosara 1
Paquera
Cartago
CahuitaGolfo deN 26 Nicoya
Jacó
Mal País Montezuma
San Gerardo Sixaola
de Rivas
Quepos
San Isidro de
El General
Domincial PANAMA THE ROUGH GUIDE TO7
Palmar
Bahía dePACIFIC OCEAN Coronado
Isla del Coco DIGITAL Choose from our
easy6 Golfo
Dulce to-use ebooks and great-value COSTA RICA
Paso Canoas Snapshots to read on your tablet,
phone or e-reader.
0 3
kilometres
Isla del Coco is 535 kilometres southwest of Costa Rica
ROUGHGUIDES.COM Buy all our 1 5 San José Guanacaste
2 6 latest ebooks and get inspireded The Valle Central and the highlands The Central Pacifi c and southern Nicoya
3 7 Limón Province and the Caribbean coast The Zona Sur with travel features, quizzes
4 The Zona Norte and more.
Make the Most of Your Time on Earth at roughguides.com
This eighth edition updated by
This eighth edition published October 2017 Stephen Keeling and Shafk Meghji
001-025_CostaRica_B8_Intro.indd 1 02/06/17 1:49 pm
CostaRica_B8_InsideCover.indd 457 14/06/17 9:18 am001-025_CostaRica_B8_Intro.indd 2 02/06/17 1:49 pmINTRODUCTION 3
Contents
INTRODUCTION 4
Where to go 8 Things not to miss 12
Author picks 9 Itineraries 24
When to go 11 Wildlife 26
BASICS 44
Getting there 45 Holidays and festivals 63
Getting around 47 National parks and reserves 64
Accommodation 54 Outdoor activities 66
Food and drink 57 Travelling with children 72
Health 59 Studying and volunteering 73
The media 62 Travel essentials 75
THE GUIDE 82
1 San José 82 5 Guanacaste 238
2 The Valle Central and the highlands 116 6 The Central Pacifc and
southern Nicoya 296
3 Limón Province and
the Caribbean coast 156 7 The Zona Sur 356
4 The Zona Norte 200
CONTEXTS 406
History 407 Books 431
Landscape and habitat 421 Spanish 435
Conservation and tourism 424 Glossary 442
SMALL PRINT & INDEX 444
OPPOSITE GREEN VIOLET-EAR HUMMINGBIRD PREVIOUS PAGE SABANERO LIBERIA, GUANACASTE
001-025_CostaRica_B8_Intro.indd 3 02/06/17 1:49 pm4 INTRODUCTION
Introduction to
Costa Rica
Democratic and prosperous, Costa Rica is Central America’s biggest tourist
destination. The draw is not ancient Mesoamerican ruins or Spanish colonial
history, but nature; the country is one of the most biodiverse areas on the
planet, an ecological treasure-trove whose wide range of habitats – lush
rainforests and untouched beaches, steaming volcanoes and dense
mangrove swamps – supports an incredible variety of wildlife, from those
loveable sloths and tiny, fuorescent green frogs to brightly plumed macaws
and toucans. And it’s also peaceful; with its long democratic tradition Costa
Rica is an oasis of political stability.
Tough this idyllic image might not do justice to the full complexities of contemporary
Costa Rican society, it’s true that the country’s complete absence of military forces (the
army was abolished in 1948) stands in sharp contrast to the brutal internal conficts that
have ravaged its neighbours. Tis reputation for peacefulness has been an important
factor in the spectacular growth of Costa Rica’s tourist industry – almost three million
people visit the country annually, mainly from North America. Most of all, though, it is
Costa Rica’s outstanding natural beauty, and the wildlife that accompanies it, that has
made it one of the world’s prime ecotourism destinations, with visitors focking here to
hike trails through ancient rainforest, peer into active volcanoes or explore the Americas’
last vestiges of high-altitude cloudforest, home to jaguars, spider monkeys and
resplendent quetzals.
Admittedly, tourism has made Costa Rica less of an “authentic” experience than many
travellers would like: some towns seemingly exist purely to provide visitors with a place to
sleep and a tour to take, while previously remote spots are being bought up by foreign
entrepreneurs. And as more hotels open, malls go up and potholed tracks get tarmacked
over, there’s no doubt that Costa Rica is experiencing a signifcant social change, with the
darker side of outside involvement in the country – sex tourism, conficts between foreign
property-owners and poorer locals and, in particular, drug trafcking – all on the increase.
ABOVE PLAYA CARRILLO OPPOSITE VOLCÁN IRAZÚ
001-025_CostaRica_B8_Intro.indd 4 02/06/17 1:49 pmINTRODUCTION 5
Costa Rica’s economy is the most
BIODIVERSITY UNDER diversifed in Central America, and has
PROTECTION
become even more so since the country
Despite its small size, Costa Rica
fnally entered into the then-controversial possesses over fve percent of the world’s
total biodiversity, around 165 times the Central American Free Trade Agreement
amount of life forms it might otherwise
(CAFTA) in 2009, enhancing its economic be expected to support. This is in part
due to its position as a transition zone ties with the US in the process. Computer
between temperate North and tropical
processors and medical supplies now sit
South America, and also thanks to its
alongside cofee and bananas as key exports, complex system of interlocking
microclimates, created by diferences in although the country’s revenue from
topography and altitude. This biological
tourism still outstrips everything else. It is abundance is now safeguarded by one of
thanks to this money, in particular, that the world’s most enlightened and
dedicated conservation programmes Costa Ricans – or Ticos, as they are
– about 25 percent of Costa Rica’s land is
generally known – now enjoy the highest protected, most of it through the
country’s extensive network of national rates of literacy, health care, education and
parks and wildlife refuges.
life expectancy on the isthmus. Tat said,
Costa Rica’s national parks range from
Costa Rica is certainly not the wealthy, the tropical jungle lowlands of Corcovado
on the Osa Peninsula to the gr