A quality Costa Rica travel guide will make a trip to Costa Rica smoother and more interesting. An online Costa Rica travel guide can help with pre-trip planning. A paperback travel guide will ensure that you have resource while you are in Costa Rica.

The following links are part of an online Costa Rica guide & travel information and will help make trip planning easier.

• Why travel to Costa Rica?
• Places in Costa Rica
• Getting to Costa Rica
• Getting around Costa Rica
• History of Costa Rica
• Rainforest animals of Costa Rica
• Maps of Costa Rica
• Learn Spanish in Costa Rica
• Volunteer in Costa Rica
• Weather in Costa Rica
• Practical travel info for Costa Rica
• Tourism tips & ideas for Costa Rica
• Costa Rica's culture & people

Review some practical stuff about mother nature in Costa Rica so that you have an idea about what you're getting into.

• Costa Rican riptides can be life threatening and you should have an idea of what to do if you are caught in one.
• Costa Rica's volcano natural history is a bit scientific but interesting to understand.
• Costa Rica's environment is very rich and there are some educational opportunities while you are visiting Costa Rica.
• Costa Rica's golden toad is extinct. Find out why?
• Costa Rica's rainforest & marine animals are numerous. Get an idea of what's unique and a must-see while visiting Costa Rica.

Costa Rica ecotourism & adventure travel ideas

Ecotourism & adventure travel ideas are nearly limitless as Costa Rica offers an astounding number of things to do. Potential ecotourism & adventure travel ideas include:

• Bird watching in Costa Rica is hot in Costa Rica as there are more than 850 species.
• Hiking in Costa Rica can be done at a number of national parks.
• White water rafting in Costa Rica is great during the rainy season but be aware that at the end of winter, there is little water on the rivers of Costa Rica.
• Diving in Costa Rica is about big marine life such as dolphins, turtles, manatees and whales. There aren't so many great coral reefs like in Belize.
• Surfing in Costa Rica is at its finest and there are numerous surf locations.
• Scenic drives or boat rides in Costa Rica are limited as there aren't roads like in western countries but there are some scenic drives and also some lovely boat rides.
• Visiting Costa Rica's national parks is a must if you go to Costa Rica.
• Heading to Costa Rica's beaches makes most traveler's list of things to do because it means sun and relaxation.
• Including Costa Rica's volcanoes is also another must-do activity if you are going to Costa Rica.
• Ensuring that you see the fascinating Moteverde Cloud Forest might be the highlight of your travels to Costa Rica.
• Volunteering in a beach area and help out Montezuma proyecto could add depth and interest to your trip to Costa Rica. You'll certainly add some value to the locals if you choose to volunteer your time.
• Supporting wildcat conservation in Costa Rica is a consideration for travelers to Costa Rica as the wildlife is slowly disappearing.

Costa Rica's history & culture

Enjoy what Costa Rica has to offer by developing an understanding of its culture, history and the unique things that have influenced Costa Rica. Some of the interesting cultural and historical elements in Costa Rica include:

• Costa Rica's culture & people are unique and come from many parts of the world.
• Coffee in Costa Rica has had an impact on the economic development from early days of Costa Rica.
• Guanacaste in northern Costa Rica has festivals that happen throughout the year and offers a unique blend of Spanish and cowboy culture.
• Chorotega history is the pre-Columbian history of the Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula and should make travel through this area more interesting if you know what the past was like.
• Garabito history is about an indigenous hero who fought fiercely to keep the Spaniards from occupying Costa Rica's central valley and Nicoya Peninsula.
• Get a handle on Costa Rica's indigenous art so that you can bring home some meaningful souvenirs of your travels in Costa Rica.
• Understanding what's unique to Costa Rica will help you plan your trip to include these things and to be aware of how you might behave — e.g. the "when in Rome" concept.

Costa Rica travel guide in paperback

There are a number of quality Costa Rica travel guides in paperback books for visitors to take with them when heading to Costa Rica. Several travel guides that I believe to be invaluable include:

• Lonely Planet's Costa Rica travel guide is a country guide written by Matt Firestone and company. This travel guide book gets mixed reviews from users because of some user's interpretation of "tone of writing". I think it's one of the the best travel guide books on the market and a must-take. This book addresses practical things about traveling like no other guide book in the industry.
• Lonely Planet's Costa Rica travel guide Spanish phrasebook companion might be a necessity, if you don't speak Spanish and are traveling independently.
• Moon Guide's Costa Rica travel guide By Christopher Baker is also an excellent Costa Rica travel guide. Organized a little differently than the Lonely Planet travel guide, it has similar practical information but has laid out the book to include easy-to-follow travel highlights. It also offers a different selection of accommodations which might be useful if you head to Costa Rica during high season and it's busy.
• Insight travel guide for Costa Rica is a travel guide with nice photos and quality paper. If you want to carry more material, it makes a nice companion for one of the above travel guides.
• Exploring Costa Rica travel guide by the writers of the local Tico Times might be an interesting companion guide, however, I've never had a look at it.

Wildlife and natural history travel guides

Independent travelers might consider purchasing a travel guide for the local wildlife and natural history.

• The Wildlife of Costa Rica: A Field Guide by Fiona Reid and company has a good selection of common and interesting animal species. This is a general guide to this subject and is in full color. There are 600 detailed illustrations with information such as the range, habitat, size and behavior of the animal.
• Traveler's Wildlife Guides Costa Rica is written by Les Beletsky and has information on amphibians, birds, mammals, reptiles and Costa Rican geography, conservation and ecology. This travel guide's plates and data are separated and makes for difficult cross referencing.
• The Mammals of Costa Rica: A Natural History and Field Travel Guide is written by Mark Wainwright and is great for those who want to identify an animal in the wild. It has a wide variety of natural history subjects.
• The Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Travel Guide is written by Richard Garriques and is a pocket-sized guide book with 820 bird species illustrated by Robert Dean. The layout is different than large format travel guide book. The illustrations are on the right-hand side of the description.