Product Description

With a wealth of attractions and adventures, Costa Rica is the hottest new vacation destination in the Americas. Whether you want relaxation or excitement, you’ll find it. Stroll leisurely on the beach or zip through the trees on a canopy tour. Explore urban San Jose; or incredible national parks with untouched wilderness. Choose the Caribbean Coast or the Central Pacific Coast Relax beside an infinity pool or battle a billfish. Seek out exuberant nightlife or take in the lush tropical scenery. Go golfing, snorkeling, volcano viewing, river rafting, sea kayaking, mountain biking, or horseback riding. Stay in a luxurious resort or a rustic wooden cabin…a Mediterranean villa or an Ecolodge tent. This friendly guide clues you in, with:

• The real deal on how to get to Costa Rica and how to get around after you arrive
• Details on San José and the Central Valley; the Guanacaste area, Costa Rica’s “Gold Coast”; the Manuel Antonio area, the most popular ecotourism destination; the Monteverde area with misty cloud forests,; and the rest of the country
• Suggested itineraries to help you make the most of your time
• Fun options for rainy days—even if you’re on the sunny coast

Like every For Dummies travel guide, Costa Rica For Dummies, 2nd Edition includes:

• Down-to-earth trip-planning advice
• What you shouldn’t miss—and what you can skip
• The best hotels and restaurants for every budget
• Handy Post-it Flags to mark your favorite pages

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #854055 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 408 pages

From the Back Cover

Explore Costa Rica the fun and easy way

Whether you want relaxation or adventure, a sunny beach or a tropical rain forest, you'll find it in Costa Rica. Explore urban San Jos or incredible national parks with untouched wilderness. Go golfing, snorkeling, volcano viewing, river rafting, sea kayaking, mountain biking, or horseback riding. With this friendly guide, you're on your way!

Discover

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Down-to-earthtrip-planning advice

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What you shouldn't miss and what you can skip

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The best hotels andrestaurants for every budget

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Lots of detailed maps

About the Author
Eliot Greenspan is a poet, journalist, musician and travel writer who took his backpack, mandolin, and typewriter the length of Mesoamerica before settling in Costa Rica in 1992. Since then, he has worked steadily as a travel writer, freelance journalist, and translator, and continued his travels in the region. This is Eliot's first For Dummies title. He is also the author of Frommer's Costa Rica, Frommer's Belize, Frommer's Cuba, Frommer's Guatemala, Frommer's Ecuador and The Tico Times Restaurant Guide to Costa Rica, as well as the chapter on Venezuela in Frommer's South America.

Customer Reviews

Best First Visit to Costa Rica Book
My husband and I were going to Costa Rica for our honeymoon so, wanting to research it thoroughly, I bought 6 different C.R. travel books. I bought this one last and wish I had bought it first. It was the book I kept going back to. It also had the most useful maps of any of the C.R. books I saw. We wanted to stay at a mix of regularly priced places ($100+/night) along with the occasional splurge of $200+/night places. We also wanted to stay at enviromentally-friendly places as much as posible. This book got the job done.

CR for Dummies is the best intro/overview book. I would also recommend buying The New Key to Costa Rica because it has more detailed information about accomodations for all budget types and lots of additional info on activities and tours that you won't find in Dummies.

Does a very good job, but you need supplement
Dummies travel books are usually pretty good and this is no exception. I just can't figure out how people could travel with only one guide book. It usually takes me 3 - I find that between all of them I can fill in most of the blanks. This one and Frommers were the best combination for Costa Rica but a lot of their info was duplicated because this Dummies book has "tips and recommendations from experts at Frommers" so it is like getting a different flavor of the same book. Why can't they just cram it all into one? I also had National Geographic but that was used mostly for the beautiful photos (great natural advertisements for neat places).

I wish there were pictures in this book but it's all text. The one great advantage to this is that you can highlight items of interest and they are very easy to find since there are no other contrasting colors in the book.

The bottom line is that I like it, it's a good tool, but for me it wouldn't be enough on its own.

For Dummies It Is
Although the book supplies the necessary do's and don'ts in Costa Rica, it does not touch on the secluded villages in the country or much on Costa Rican traditions.