Costa Rica. A beautiful country with very friendly residents, beautiful nature and white beaches. Beautiful places to visit during a tour.
To travel
Costa Rica is the safest country in Central America. With its friendly people and diversity of natural beauty, this country is definitely recommended to visit. Many organized tours are offered, but renting a car on your own initiative and visiting the most beautiful places is certainly also an option.
Tourism
Costa Rica’s largest source of income is tourism. This quickly becomes clear, because almost the entire country is active in this sector. In Costa Rica it is normal to give your guide, suitcase carrier or driver a dollar after a service rendered. Although the Colon is the currency of Costa Rica, its residents are fond of American dollars. Due to the many visiting tourists, the Costa Ricans have drawn up certain rules to deal with the country and its nature as ‘green’ as possible. Ecotourism is therefore in large letters on the agenda. As a tourist you are expected to use your towel for several days and throw your used toilet paper in a basket next to the toilet bowl (and therefore not flush it down the sewer). If you look around at all the beauty that Costa Rica has to offer and the many tourists who visit here, such measures are only logical.
Army
Costa Rica is the only Central and South American country without an army. The money generated by having no army is invested in education and health care. Education is well organized and free up to secondary school. Healthcare is also among the best in Central and South America. Costa Rica has also been stable and war-free for a long time, which of course does not apply to many neighboring or nearby countries.
To live
Life as a tourist is not exactly cheap. For example, you can easily pay 30 dollars for a simple meal in a restaurant. The tourist attractions are also quite pricey, but this is actually logical because tourism is the main source of income. The locals are some of the friendliest you will ever encounter. Pure and honest and almost always smiling. A common phrase among the population is: la pura vida, which means: pure life. In fact, locals often greet each other with this cry.
Highlights
Manuel Antonio Arenal suspension bridges through jungle
When taking a tour, organized or on your own initiative, it is certainly advisable to spend a few days at: Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio (Manuel Antonio National Park). Here you walk straight from the jungle onto the beach. Watch your belongings, because groups of wild monkeys are sometimes on the prowl to steal your cool box or food. It is also nice to visit the Arenal volcano (town La Fortuna). This volcano is still active and you can see the smoke plumes rising from the top. It’s a pity that you can’t get too close because of the toxic sulfur fumes. Furthermore, the coastal towns where surfing is popular are fun to visit. Beautiful beaches and a very relaxed atmosphere. Monteverde with its mist and rainforests, where it is possible to do a suspension bridges and cable car tour, is also very touristy but very nice.