Costa Rica Travel Guide by Recommend

Having won the Best Destination in Latin America and the Best Adventure/Eco Destination in our Readers’ Choice Awards, Costa Rica has proven once again that good things definitely come in small packages.

True client love of Costa Rica originated from its appeal as a vacation choice for adventurers who wished to experience the awesome wonders of a truly unique tropical eco-system: cloud forests, volcanoes and protected wildlife sanctuaries, plus Pacific and Caribbean beaches of every hue. Against this background, Costa Rica indeed became a vacation magnet for nature lovers who come to explore the mind-boggling wealth of flora and fauna sheltered in national parks and reserves on the mainland and offshore. The great outdoors also contributes to the destination’s attraction for hikers and bikers, golfers and anglers, as well as families, honeymooners and those who just want to kick back amidst beautiful surroundings.

All these attractions, marketed under the "No Artificial Ingredients" slogan, have combined to send inbound tourist figures to lofty heights—some 1.6 million visitors forecasted for 2005. The nuts and bolts of the country’s success story, however, include greater accessibility with expanded air service from the U.S. to the country’s two international airports, San Jose and Liberia, as well as a greatly expanded and upgraded hotel infrastructure.

All-Inclusive Getaways

"The rather recent arrival of the all-inclusive resort has brought Costa Rica into the mainstream of tourism," says Dan Conaway, president of Elegant Adventures. "These are clustered in Guanacaste along the Pacific coast, close to the new international airport at Liberia, and when you factor in the star-power of the province’s Four Seasons resort on the Papagayo Peninsula (not all-inclusive), you have opened up a substantially broader base for selling Costa Rica."

Guanacaste’s first all-inclusive resort, the Paradisus Playa Conchal is high on Conaway’s "recommend" list. "It is the all-inclusive of all-inclusives," he says, "with everything from pools and pizza ovens to beautifully furnished deluxe suites, a championship Robert Trent Jones golf course, and a casino." A second favorite is the Occidental Grand Papagayo resort, a secluded retreat that was totally renovated in 2004. Facilities include 169 spacious rooms and suites staged on a hillside fronting the bay, three restaurants, two pools and one beautiful beach. "This is just a delightful place to be, particularly appealing for couples and honeymooners," says Conaway.

Other members of the Guanacaste club of all-inclusive resorts include a second Occidental property, the 300-room Allegro Papagayo, sitting directly on Manzanillo Beach and offering such facilities as two restaurants, nightly entertainment, a separate private beach club offshore and a kids’ club with daily supervised activities. Also family-friendly is the 132-room, all-inclusive Barcelo Playa Langosta on Tamarindo Beach, whose range of activities suitable for different ages and interests includes horseback riding, scuba diving, sportfishing and children’s games.

Eco-Luxury

Costa Rica’s lovely, low-key resorts and lodges, by the sea, in the mountains, or in the rainforests, continue to offer visitors the essence of the country’s close-to-nature experience. Nowadays, however, they come with a decidedly more luxurious orientation. "To meet the changing market of the upscale traveler we have revamped all of our three lodges," says Michael Kaye, president of Costa Rica Expeditions. "Further, all of us in the hospitality business have to keep inventing new things; ours is a new whale watching program based at the Hotel Cristal Ballena, south of Dominical on the southern Pacific coast.

Kaye, a pioneer in lodgings offering community involvement and energy-conscious facilities, is a classic example of adapting to a changing market. Costa Rica Expeditions opened Tortuga Lodge 20 years ago, the first comfortable albeit simple lodging in Tortuguero. Nowadays, however, nothing is the least bit rustic, with additions such as the airy riverside bar-restaurant, meals that are simply delicious, and a pool set in landscaped gardens with the rainforest as backdrop.

New deluxe inns continue to pop up everywhere in Costa Rica. On the Pacific, for example, the 10-villa Florablanca, which opened in 2003 and is located at the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, is already a favorite with the upscale set, while the Arenal Kioro Hotel & Mirador, a deluxe inn facing the volcano, will test its wings after its debut this month. On the Golfito Dulce, the 5-cabin/4-room Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge adds new class to this southern-tropics-by-the-sea region, putting the accent on Costa Rica’s nature and sporting adventure, while the deluxe Peace Lodge overlooking the La Paz Waterfall Gardens is expanding its 17-room property, already distinguished for accommodations featuring fireplaces, four-poster beds and grotto-like bathrooms.

And as Laura Kuest, product development manager of Solar Tours, says, "With increasing demand from both first-time and repeat travelers, we are always on the road looking for new hotel and attraction options." One of her finds is the Hotel Casa Conde, built in the typical Costa Rica architectural style and offering charming and comfortable accommodations right in San Jose, the capital. But right now, she adds, "everyone wants to stay in and around Lake Arenal, popular because there is so much to do: horseback riding, hiking, canopy tours and lake surfing. And, equally important, many of the little hotels in the area now have spas." Kuest puts the Montaña del Fuego Lodge at the top of her list at Arenal.

Tour Ops Opting In

Another measure of the viability of Costa Rica’s tourism product is the continuing entry of established tour operators in the marketplace. For instance, two years ago, Austin-Lehman, a luxury adventure travel company, launched its first escorted program, a 6-night Volcanoes & Jungles Multisport. "Costa Rica seems irresistible for vacationing families," says President Dan Austin, "so next year we are offering seven escorted departures on a new 7-night program." Activities will include such family-friendly features as hiking and horseback riding, touring La Paz Waterfall Gardens and its butterfly laboratory, and attending class at a local school.

Client demand and market positioning are the two reasons that Doug Wren, v.p. of Pan American Travel Services gives for adding Costa Rica this year to the company’s traditional product of customized soft adventure and cultural vacations in South America. Wren cites another reason: he loves the country, where he vacations often with his family. "We feel that Costa Rica provides an excellent introduction to Latin America, and with satisfied agents and their clients, we have natural candidates for future tours to say the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon or Patagonia." The company’s core program is a 7-night Magical Costa Rica package featuring Arenal and Manuel Antonio, and including a full menu of active adventure options such as whitewater rafting, spelunking and canopy zip-line touring.

With the country’s current popularity, it seems hard to believe that in 1986 Costa Rica received 81,722 visitors from the U.S. The destination buzz began to build when President Oscar Arias won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987, and investors, travel planners and tourists alike began to take a closer look at this conservation-conscious and peaceful destination whose high literacy rate and no standing army added up to more teachers than police officers. Dr. Arias is running for re-election in 2006, vying to lead a country where in just 20 years tourism is now the leading foreign currency earner.