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No country in the world better embodies the adage “good things come in small packages” like Costa Rica does. Though the entire country could be placed squarely inside the US state of Maine, Costa Rica is internationally renowned for its natural wonders and unparalleled biodiversity. Images of its tropical beauty fill the fronts of postcards and the imaginations of travelers throughout the world. In the lush cloud forests and jungle lowlands of this “rich coast,” the air is laced with trailing vines, and quiet evenings are punctuated by the piercing calls of howler monkeys. Its vast beaches—many of them still unspoiled—are graced by the muted hues of Caribbean sunrises, the bolder shades of Pacific sunsets, and the perfect waves that have earned this tiny nation its status as a promised land for surfers worldwide. Its beauty seems to render words inadequate.
The people and researchers of Costa Rica are as remarkable as their stunning, natural backdrops—from Quaker expats making cheese in the jungle to entomologists harvesting caterpillars from the forest ground cover. Costa Rica’s ecosystems are full of as much intellectual vitality as they are with biological exuberance; there are three major Organization of Tropical Studies research stations located within the country’s borders.
Some of Costa Rica’s greatest wonders are fairly quiet ones. Bereft of famous ruins or relics, without any legendary poets or colonial freedom fighters to call its own, Costa Rica is often derided as a country without an interesting past or a cultural core. Anyone who spends much time here will quickly realize how inaccurate and ungenerous these claims truly are. In small towns from one ocean to another, communities thrive with a warm-hearted manera de ser (way of being) that speaks to an enduring cultural inheritance as striking as any of Central America’s better-known historical legacies.
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Today, Costa Rica is one of the most prosperous countries in Latin America. Its well-educated population maintains a strong democratic spirit and displays an admirable level of collective sensitivity ...more
Costa Rica has a strong agricultural history, and its economy has traditionally been based on the exportation of bananas and coffee. Today, though agriculture continues to be important to the economy ...more
The official slogan of Costa Rica’s tourist industry—“Costa Rica: No Artificial Ingredients”—reveals just how intentional the country has been about continuing its reputation ...more
While Costa Rica has managed to avoid nearly all large-scale regional conflicts, it continues to experience some problems, including border conflicts with Nicaragua and Panama, illegal immigration, ...more
Two issues continue to strain Costa Rican-Nicaraguan relations: conflicts over use of the San Juan River and illegal immigration from Nicaragua. Dating back to 1858, the Cañas-Juarez Treaty holds ...more
Costa Rica has free, compulsory education through the ninth grade. In the first six grades, there is a 99% attendance rate, which drops to 71% in the last three grades. Over the past decade, the government ...more
Out of nearly 4.3 million inhabitants, indigenous people comprise less than 1% of the population, while individuals of African descent make up only 3% and are concentrated on the Caribbean coast. A ...more
Spanish is the official language, though Costa Ricans speak with a characteristic tico twist in accent and usage. Rare in other regions of the country, English is common along the Caribbean coast, where ...more
Costa Rica is a politically secular country with weak links between church and state. Though the constitution provides for religious freedom, Roman Catholicism is the official religion, practiced by ...more
If it doesn’t have rice and beans, it isn’t tico! Rice and black beans infiltrate almost every meal. In one day, it’s possible to have them for breakfast as gallo pinto, (literally, “spotted rooster” ...more
Costa Rica: Quest for Democracy, by John A. Booth. The Costa Rica Reader: History, Culture, Politics, edited by Steven Palmer and Ivan Molina. A rich collection of essays on everything from the coffee ...more
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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