Costa Rica is one of the fastest growing vacation destinations in the world, with a 40% increase in tourism from 2002 to 2003.
This is because nowhere else in the world will you find so much in such a small place.

 

The country is divided by a backbone of volcanoes and mountains, an extension of the Andes-Sierra Madre chain which runs along the western side of the Americas. Costa Rica has four distinct cordilleras or mountain ranges -- Guanacaste and Tilaran in the north, Central and Talamanca in the south. Costa Rica is part of the Pacific "Rim of Fire" and has seven of the isthmus's 42 active volcanoes plus dozens of dormant or extinct cones. Earth tremors and small quakes shake the country from time to time.

Costa Rica is a tropical country which contains several distinct climatic zones. There is no winter or summer as such and most regions have a rainy season from May to November and a dry season from December to April. Annual rainfall averages 100 inches nationwide with some mountainous regions getting as much as 25 feet on exposed eastern slopes. Temperature is more a matter of elevation than location with a mean of around 72 degrees in the Central Valley, 82 degrees on the Atlantic coast and 89 degrees on the Pacific coast.

Citizens of the U.S., Canada and Panama may enter Costa Rica with a tourist card and one other piece of identification e.g. passport, driver's license or birth certificate. Tourist cards can be obtained in advance from any Costa Rican embassy or consulate and are valid for 30 days. No passport or visa is needed. If you want to stay longer, a valid passport allows Canadians and Americans to stay for up to 90 days. Citizens of all other countries require a valid passport to enter Costa Rica. You are required to carry your passport or tourist card with you at all times. If you are stopped by officials, a photocopy with your photo, passport number and entry stamp will usually suffice.

Travelers arriving in Costa Rica can bring in 500 cigarettes or 500 grams of tobacco and three liters of wine or spirits.

You are unlikely to encounter any serious diseases in Costa Rica. Sanitary standards are high and the health system is excellent. During the past two wet seasons there have been several outbreaks of the mosquito-borne disease dengue but so far there have been no reported cases of the more serious hemorrhaging dengue. No vaccinations are required to enter Costa Rica as epidemic diseases have been all but eradicated throughout the country. Infectious hepatitis, a serious problem throughout Central America, is reported only rarely in Costa Rica.

Several private hospitals in San Jose offer emergency medical services to foreigners are reasonable prices: Clinica Biblica (avenida 14, calles central & 1, tel. 223-6422) also has a 24-hour pharmacy. Costa Rica's Social Security system (the Caja) offers a medical insurance assistance program for foreigners needing emergency medical assistance. The coverage can be bought at travel agencies, language schools or through tour companies.