Recommended travelguides for Costa Rica

The best one: "Moon Handbooks Costa Rica"

Before our four week trip to Costa Rica we have looked at a lot of different travelguides. We also did a lot of research on other travel pages to see which guide others liked most (and why). Also in Costa Rica we had a lot of possibilities to have a look at travel guides from other people. And every time we were sure: Moon Handbooks Costa Rica from Christopher P. Baker is really the best one! Order this book now from Amazon!

We only found one little disadvantage: You will only find black and white pictures in this travel guide. It wasn't a problem for us, because we bought another very small pocket guide with a lot of colored pictures.

But the advantages simply outweigh: 776 slim pages with narrow text lines and small letters. You won't find this many information in any other Costa Rica travel guide. Even though this travel guide weighs only 540 gramms (1.13 pounds)! What makes this travel guide so special:

• Costa Rica is divided by the author in nine sections. For each of these sections you will find an overview with the most interesting "Must-Sees".
• These must-sees you will find marked on a very detailed map on the following page. On this same map you will also find a lot of the accomodations that are described in the book, so you can already calculate how far away you have to go for finding a good sleeping place. You will also find gas stations on this map, which is very practical, because there aren't so many in Costa Rica.
• There are even more detailed maps and a lot of city plans of all important cities, also with the exact position of the described accomodations, Internet-Cafes, bakeries, restaurants, bus stations and important buildings. We didn't find that many details in any other Costa Rica travel guide.
• For every described region or town you will find a section "Getting There" with details about the public bus connections. The departure times were all very correct. Sometimes you will also find special hints, for example if a bus connection is so populated that you will need a ticket with seat reservation already on the day before you travel.
• The description of accomodations is divided in different price categories. The cheapest cabinas for 10 USD are described as detailed as the luxury resorts for 200 USD. If one place has for example only rooms without windows on the ground floor, but the rooms in the second floor are very nice, the author will tell you. Also special services like internet, laundry etc are often listed with prices. The room rates are very detailed (with shared bath, own bath, low season, high season). Of course a lot of accomodations have raised there prices a little bit.
• The descriptions of restaurants are a little shorter, but often with personal advice and even with prices.
• The places of interest are not only described very good, but also with lots of practical advice. If one place is usually very crowded you will find an advice for a good alternative nearby, so that you can enjoy "cloud forest" instead of "crowd forest"...
• In the back part of the book you will find 200 pages of general information and advice for Costa Rica. Here you can find also special sections, for example informations for gays, about security and health, and so on.
• In summary this is a very personally written travel guide with lots and lots of practical advice that has been coming from years of experience from the author.

Convinced? Then you can order this Costa Rica travel guide from Amazon.

The clasic one: "Lonely Planet Costa Rica"