Why Costa Rica
The country occupies a minuscule fraction of the world's land and shelters a considerable share of known species: sloths, howler monkeys, quetzals, sea turtles, and a cloud forest crossed on suspended walkways.
It is also the country that abolished its army in 1949 to fund education and health, and that reforested half its territory after decades of deforestation. Conservation here is not a commercial argument, it is a long-standing public policy.
Getting around
The distances are short but the journey times long: mountain roads, unpaved tracks to some beaches, and rain that slows everything. A high-clearance vehicle is useful in the green season.
Shared shuttles between tourist destinations are the usual compromise: more expensive than the local bus, but door to door. Domestic flights in small aircraft save a whole day of driving to the Osa peninsula.
Money
Prices are often displayed in dollars in tourism and in colones elsewhere. Paying in colones with a card is generally better value than paying in dollars in cash with change given at the trader's rate.
The country is more expensive than its Central American neighbours, and park entries add up fast. A ten per cent service charge is already included on restaurant bills: an additional tip is optional.
Before you go
The busiest national parks — Manuel Antonio, Corcovado, Poás volcano — require online booking with daily quotas, and Corcovado requires a licensed guide. Turning up without a ticket means being refused entry.
Rip currents are the leading cause of accidents on the Pacific beaches, often unpatrolled: ask locally before swimming.
Leave nothing in a parked car, even out of sight and even for a few minutes: break-ins in beach and trailhead car parks are the country's most common nuisance.