1. A very compact, pleasant tourist destination by Latin American standards
2. The sight of thunderclouds rising over the rainforests; walking in the rainforest, and knowing you don’t have to worry about dangerous wild animals; a lot of lush, green landscapes; and my favorite: The rainforest park of Monteverde, in the mountains just to the north of San José (note: it’s worth bringing binoculars from home!)
3. The Caribbean coast north from Limón; the village of Tortuguero and the water roads through the jungle
4. The wide range of affordable accommodation on offer
5. Already a lot of tourists – perhaps too many (including us!)
6. I like the fact that Costa Rica has no army (it would be dishonorable for a neighbor to attack this defenseless country…) and the tourists who come here tend to be interesting, pleasant people – not the brainless crowds who flock to Cancun
7. Fresh, healthy fruit from the mountains
8. With a hire car it’s easy to find gorgeous, deserted beaches in the midst of spectacular landscapes (for example at the Santa Rosa National Park, at the north-east edge of the country)
9. It’s easier to converse with the locals in English than in Panama
10. It’s easy to reach the smoking volcano of Poas from the capital – there’s a paved road all the way
11. The natural wonders of Monteverde
12. Playa Manuel Antonio (Manuel Antonio Beach)
13. Walking along the almost deserted beaches of Matapalo (part of Puntarenas)
14. The tap water tastes good and safe to drink!
1. Not exotic enough – Panama or Guatemala is much more exciting destinations
2. The bugs – especially the aggressive mosquitos
3. A lot of bad, unpaved roads (less of a problem in an off-road vehicle) which make it hard to get from one mountain to the next, and wastes the precious time of sightseeing tourists. There are some interesting places in the mountains which are very difficult to reach
4. The trite and often incorrect use of the term ‘ecotourism’
5. Costa Rica is not particularly rich in cultural, historical or architectural sights – at least in comparison to Mexico or Guatemala. There are s no interesting remains from Native American civilizations, for example
6. The relaxed pace of life here has its charms, but it can begin to irritate tourists on a tight schedule
7. The locals throw away a lot of litter and don’t always keep shared spaces tidy
8. Pickpockets target distracted tourists. Some streets in San José are risky from a public safety perspective, and tourists are conned whenever possible
9. You have to get used to the fact that there are no house numbers, but rather orientation landmarks (at the corner of this and that street, etc.)
10. Costa Rica is more expensive than the other Central American countries, at least for tourists (package holidaymakers from the USA have pushed up prices)
11. San José is quite boring compared to other Latin American capitals. It competes with Uruguay’s Montevideo for the title of dullest capital on the continent
12. Venado Caves: I didn’t get to these but if you like bats and bat poo it’s apparently the place for you. When someone mentioned poo-proof boots were a good idea and the vampire bats I went off the desire to visit (Alan, 2021).
