Information about Costa Rica

Sea turtles are one of the last surviving animal species from prehistoric times. It's impressive when one species, the Warana sea turtle, comes to the beach in large numbers to lay eggs on some beaches in Guanacaste (Pacific Coast).

You can visit Costa Rica all year round. The best travel time depends on your personal preferences. From November to April is the high season, also the dry period. In the rainy season there are occasional showers. So it does not rain continuously. A big advantage of this period is that many plants are in bloom and many young animals can be seen.

The animal world of Costa Rica is very rich and contains North American, South American and typically Central American components.

Until the late 1980s, agriculture was the main economic sector in Costa Rica.

In general, one can say that Costa Rica has a subtropical to tropical climate with a dry season from December to April and a wet season from May to November. Due to its location near the equator, there are hardly any temperature differences at sea level. Costa Rica can therefore be visited all year round.

The plant world of Costa Rica is very extensive and varied. There are more than 12,000 different plant species and probably many unknown species grow in remote areas. It is remarkable that no less than 1200 species of orchids grow here. Climate, soil conditions and altitude are responsible for the great diversity. The national flower of Costa Rica is an orchid: the deep pink Guaria Morada.

Divided over the three mountain ranges (Guanacaste, Tileran and Central) are the 16 volcanoes of Costa Rica. Of these, 5 are active (Arenal, Irazu, Poas, Rincon de la Vieja and the Turrialba) and 2 are dormant (Barva and Orosi).

At the beginning of the 16th century, several Indian peoples lived in what is now Costa Rica. On his fourth voyage to the “New World”, Columbus set foot on September 18, 1502 near present-day Puerto Limon. The Native Americans treated him with respect, and during his 17-day stay, Columbus noticed that some of the Native Americans were carrying gold objects. The Spaniards therefore thought that there would be a lot of gold in the interior and therefore called the country Costa Rica, which means "rich coast".

Costa Rica is located in Central America and is sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east and between Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. Costa Rica is 1.4 times the size of the Netherlands.