Costa Rica

Browse 5 travel guides across 4 destinations

Costa Rica

Costa Rica: The Country That Dismantled Its Army, Built a Five-Leaf Hotel Rating, and Made Ecotourism Unavoidable

A sustainable travel guide to Costa Rica: how to read the CST leaf ratings, the mandatory-guide rules for Corcovado, cloud forest reservations, turtle season in Tortuguero, and what greenwashing to skip.

Sustainable Travel

Costa Rica's Eco-Lodges, Audited: Five Stays Where Your Nightly Rate Actually Funds the Rainforest

Where to sleep in Costa Rica's rainforest without the guilt — five certified eco-lodges that actually fund conservation, employ local communities, and publish their impact.

La Fortuna

Budget Guides

La Fortuna, Costa Rica on $30 a Day: The Real Costa Rica Behind the Resort Billboards

A budget traveler guide to La Fortuna and Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica: $6 buses from San Jose, $7 hostel beds, the free Chollin hot springs, $18-20 waterfall, $17 national park, honest hot-springs pricing, and what to skip.

Monteverde, Costa Rica

Sustainable Travel

Monteverde Is Not a Rainforest: A Conservation Biologist's Guide to Costa Rica's Cloud Forest

What the quetzal tours won't tell you, which reserve to visit on which morning, and why the mist is the operating condition — not the drama — in one of the world's most studied ecosystems.

Other Guides

Culture & History

San José, Costa Rica: Gold, Jade, Coffee, and the City That Abolished Its Army

A culture and history guide to San José, Costa Rica — pre-Columbian gold and jade, the 1948 abolition of the army, the Teatro Nacional, Mercado Central food, Cartago and Irazú day trips, with specific addresses, prices, hours, and what to skip.