Costa Rica holidays

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• Overview
• Country info
• Holiday ideas

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Destinations » Latin America and Antarctica holidays » Costa Rica holidays

Costa Rica has a literacy rate of 90 per cent, the best in South America, thanks to its free and compulsory education system

Taken from The Traveller's Handbook.

Costa Rica holiday experts at WEXAS will tailor-make all aspects of your itinerary to create a Costa Rica holiday, personal to you.

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Costa Rica tailor-made holiday highlights

San José
Founded in 1737, this capital is now a great mix of traditional and modern Spanish architecture. A number of parks and museums keep the visitor intrigued. Not far from the city is the crater of Irazú. Not only can you see from here to the Caribbean on a clear day, but the scenery surrounding the crater is akin to a lunar landscape, and is thought of as one of Costa Rica's most stirring sights.

San Lucas Island & Isla del Coco
Two islands off the Pacific coast. San Lucas is close to the port of Puntarenas, and home to some fine beaches. The Isla del Coco is also worth exploring: keep in mind its stories of hidden treasure buried by pirates.

Poás Volcano
Located within a national park is this smouldering active, volcano, with the only dwarf cloudforest in Costa Rica. A boiling sulphurous lake in the crater of the volcano changes colour, from turquoise to green to grey.

Santa Rosa National Park
This park contains at least ten different habitats, including savannah, deciduous and non-deciduous forests. It also has the last major tropical dry forest in Central America.

Arenal
One of eight active volcanoes, this one in the Sierra Volcánica Guanacaste provides one of Costa Rica's most magical sights when red hot lava runs down its slopes. Night-time eruptions are the most spectacular.

Tortuguero National Park
Lush rainforests, long beaches, swamps and lagoons - all of which are teeming with wildlife. Leatherback, green and hawksbill turtles come here to lay their eggs under the light of a waning moon. Further inland, jaguars and cougars stalk among the forest, while toucans and hawks can be spotted in the sky.

People & place

Costa Rica facts

Capital: San Josi©
Language: Spanish.
People: Mestizo, African descent.
Religion: Mainly Roman Catholic.
Size (sq km): 51,100.
Population: 4,133,884.
Population density/sq km: 80.8.

Etiquette

When addressing people first names are preceded by Don for men, and Doña for women. Beachwear should not be worn away from the beach.

Shopping

Wood and leather rocking chairs, local crafts.

Food & drink

Common local dishes include casado (rice, beans, beef, plantain, salad and cabbage), sopa negra (black beans with a poached egg) and picadillo (vegetable and meat stew). Snacks, often sold at street stalls, are very popular, especially gallos (filled tortillas). Restaurants serve anything from French to Chinese cuisine.

International Airports

Juan Santamaria (SJO) 17 km from the city.

Internal travel

Some internal flights - reservations cannot be made outside Costa Rica. Standard of roads generally good. Buses are main transport and are frequent and cheap. Car and motorcycle hire available in San José.

Red tape

Visas

(UK/US) None.

Vaccinations

Hep. A, Hep. B, Malaria, Rabies, Typhoid, Y.Fever2.

Driving requirements

International Driving Permit or national driving licence.

Reps in UK/US

UK: Flat 1, 14 Lancaster Gate, London W2 3LH, tel (020) 7706 8844, fax (020) 7706 8655. US: 2114 S Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008, tel (202) 234 2945, fax (202) 265 4795, email consulate@costarica-embassy.org.

UK/US reps in Costa Rica

UK: Apartado 815-1007, 11th Floor, Edificio Centro Colón, San José, tel 2258 2025, fax 2233 9938, email britemb@racsa.co.cr. US: Calle 120 Avenida 0, Pavas, San José, tel 2519 2000, fax 2519 2305.

Currency

Costa Rican colón (CRC) = 100 centimes.

Finance

Major credit cards and traveller's cheques accepted.

Business hours

0800-1200, 1400-1600, Monday-Friday.

Safety & life expectancy

Safety information

Safe (apart from strong tides when swimming).

Life expectancy

Life expectancy: M 74.61, F 79.94.

Useful websites for travel

www.visitcostarica.com, www.costarica-embassy.org, www.usembassy.or.cr, www.infocostarica.com.

Local media

The Tico Times is the weekly English-language newspaper.

Tourist boards

n/a.

Below is a selection of some ideas for holidays to Costa Rica. This is simply a taste of what we can offer. If you're interested in a specific Costa Rica itinerary then please call one of our consultants on 0845 643 6548.

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