About Costa Rica

* There are two seasons in Costa Rica: dry and wet. The wet season is between May to November, producing spring conditions. The dry season is December to April.

* Most of the beach resorts are located on the Pacific side where it remains hottest.

* Temperatures remain at an even degree constant with variety of altitudes.

* Costal waters are continually a warm 74 degrees.

* There are 31 museums located throughout Costa Rica and 3 symphonies.

* Export and tourism are the number one economy.

* Bananas and coffee are responsible for over 50 percent of exports, behind that ornamental and cut flowers.

* Tourism over the past year brought almost 300 million dollars in for the Costa Rican economy.

* The official currency is called the colon.

* The official language is Spanish, second is English.

* Costa Rica has at least 93% population who can read and write.

* Ticos is what the Costa Rican people are called. There are over 3 million Ticos residing in Costa Rica, most living around San Jose in the central valley.

* 90 percent of Costa Rican’s are roman catholic.

* Costa Rica has over 600 natural sites to visit.

* Tourism is so big, that more than 124,000 Costa Rica families are involved in tourism.

* Scores of activities exist for tourists; such as snorkeling, deep sea fishing, kayaking, white water rafting, zip line, horseback riding, golfing, bird watching, butterfly nature excursions.

* There are hundreds of tour agencies dedicated to travel packages of Costa Rica as a vacation destination.

* Connecting North and South America is a bio-geological land bridge.

* There are over 400 species of mammals in Costa Rica, many on the endangered species list. There are six species of cats, jaguar included, also on the endangered species list.

* Costa Rica has more bio diversity in environment more than any other place in the world.

* There are 12 different variety of zones in Costa Rica for climate, environment, fauna and flora all being unique to that particular zone.

* The Costa Rican government and it’s people are dedicated to conservation and protection of their land, preserving over 3 million acres, as well as upholding the private preservation of thousands of other acres.

* There are over 850 species of different birds in Costa Rica, that is more than the whole continent of North America, making it a destination world wide for birdwatchers.

* Costa Rica’s government is democratic, and maintains a peaceful policy with other sister countries. It has been nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize.

* Christopher Columbus was the first foreigner to step foot on the tiny county.

* In 1821, Costa Rica became liberated from Spain, claiming and keeping independence.

* September 15th is a national independence holiday for Costa Rica.

* Tamales are the most popular food item in Costa Rica, coffee is the number one drink.

* North Americans can freely buy property in Costa Rica.

* Costa Rica and Belize are the number one hotspots for retirement.