Fodor's Costa Rica 2001 : Completely Updated Every Year, Color Photos and Pull-Out Map, Smart Travel Tipsfrom A to Z (Fodor's Costa Rica)

Book Description
Fodor's Costa Rica 2001"Fodor's guides cover culture authoritatively and rarely miss a sight or museum." - National Geographic Traveler"The king of guidebooks." - NewsweekNo matter what your budget or whether it's your first trip or fifteenth, Fodor's Gold Guides get you where you want to go.Color planning sections help you decide where to go with region-by-region virtual tours and cross-referencing to the main text.Full-size, foldout map keeps you on course.Insider info that's totally up to date. Every year our local experts give you the inside track, showing you all the things to see and do -- from must-see sights to off-the-beaten-path adventures, from shopping to outdoor fun.Hundreds of hotel and restaurant choices in all price ranges -- from budget-friendly B&Bs to luxury hotels, from casual eateries to the hottest new restaurants, complete with thorough reviews showing what makes each place special.Smart Travel Tips A to Z section helps you take care of the nitty gritty with essential local contacts and great advice -- from how to take your mountain bike with you to what to do in an emergency.Here's a helpful complement to Fodor's Costa Rica 2001. To learn more about it, just enter the title in the keyword search box.Fodor's Exploring Costa Rica: An information-rich cultural guide in full color.

From the Inside Flap
Fodor's Costa Rica 2001"Fodor's guides cover culture authoritatively and rarely miss a sight or museum." - National Geographic Traveler

"The king of guidebooks." - Newsweek

No matter what your budget or whether it's your first trip or fifteenth, Fodor's Gold Guides get you where you want to go.

Color planning sections help you decide where to go with region-by-region virtual tours and cross-referencing to the main text.

Full-size, foldout map keeps you on course.

Insider info that's totally up to date. Every year our local experts give you the inside track, showing you all the things to see and do -- from must-see sights to off-the-beaten-path adventures, from shopping to outdoor fun.

Hundreds of hotel and restaurant choices in all price ranges -- from budget-friendly B&Bs to luxury hotels, from casual eateries to the hottest new restaurants, complete with thorough reviews showing what makes each place special.

Smart Travel Tips A to Z section helps you take care of the nitty gritty with essential local contacts and great advice -- from how to take your mountain bike with you to what to do in an emergency.

Here's a helpful complement to Fodor's Costa Rica 2001. To learn more about it, just enter the title in the keyword search box.Fodor's Exploring Costa Rica: An information-rich cultural guide in full color.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
DESTINATION COSTA RICA

Costa Rica's beauty would flatter a land ten times as large. The sheer plenty of flora and fauna packed into this tiny nation, combined with a wild variety of climates and landscapes, can make the senses reel. Riding horseback toward simmering volcanoes or tramping through coffee plantations, you can daydream about the next day's rain-forest trek or scuba jaunt off the coast -- Pacific or Caribbean. And for all the enchanting ecozones, beach resorts and surf sites dot both shores, mixing revelry and  relaxation; and dining and nightlife abound in the fiesty capital, San José. Add white-water rafting, world-class  birding, and antiquities and you can see why Costa Rica has become one of the hottest destinations in the Western Hemisphere.

Archaeological Treasures

Though Costa Rica was never part of the Maya empire and has nothing to compare with the ruins of Guatemala and Mexico, it was home to some sophisticated cultures prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Those people may never have erected temples to rival those of Tikal and Palenque, but they left behind a treasure trove of gold, jade, ceramics, and stonework, which can be admired at several San Jose museums.

Dining

Costa Rica and Panama are veritable gardens of fresh vegetables and fruit, which means that most cooking is tasty regardless of the recipe. Just don't expect anything spicy, since the local fare tends to be mild. Typical Costa Rican food is available from the ubiquitous and inexpensive sodas (small cafes). The typical Costa Rican main course is called a casado, which consists of rice, black beans, a shredded raw cabbage and tomato salad, meat or fish, and sometimes fresh cheese, a fried egg, and platanos (fried plantains); this is standard fare at most sodas and small restaurants. The national breakfast dish is gallo pinto (fried rice and beans), usually served with a fried or scrambled egg, sour cream, and tortillas.

Horseback Riding

Because horses remain one of the most common forms of transportation in Costa Rica, you can ride just about everywhere in that country. Experienced equestrians should be pleased with the spirit of the horses in Costa Rica, but even if you can't remember when you were last in the saddle, exploring a bit of the countryside on horseback is recommended.

Flora and Fauna

Costa Rica and Panama possess an almost unfathomable wealth of natural treasures, with more species of plants and animals than scientists have been able to count, and a variety of scenery that ranges from barren mountain peaks to luxuriant lowland forests. Because Costa Rica is such a small country, it is easy to visit many different ecosystems, and see some of the plants and animals that are contained in them, in a short period of time.

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving

The options for observing the marine life off the coasts of Costa Rica and Panama range from simple snorkeling sessions off the beach near your hotel to a full-fledged scuba-diving safari. Coastal reefs submerged off Costa Rica's southern Caribbean coast are home to colorful coral gardens and hundreds of species of fish and invertebrates. The country's most extensive reef is protected within Parque Nacional Cahuita, but there are several other good diving spots spread between Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo. The Pacific coast has less coral diversity, but more big animals, such as manta rays, sea turtles, and even whale sharks.

Sportfishing

Anglers have long flocked to Costa Rica, drawn by phenomenal offshore fishing all along its Pacific coast and the abundance of snook and tarpon in the rivers and coastal canals of the northern Caribbean. The Pacific charter fleet is scattered along the ports and beach towns from Playa del Coco, in the northwest, to Zancudo, deep within the Golfo Dulce, making sportfishing possible from almost every resort on the west coast. Those fully equipped boats usually head a few miles out to troll for marlin and sailfish, but they also catch plenty of tuna, dolphin, wahoo, and roosterfish.


Buy from Amazon     Compare Prices

Here's a helpful complement to Fodor's Costa Rica 2001. To learn more about it, just enter the title in the keyword search box.Fodor's Exploring Costa Rica: An information-rich cultural guide in full color.


Buy from Barnes & Noble     Compare Prices