1 comments about Costa Rica: A Kick Start Guide for Business Travelers (Kick-start Guides for Business Travellers).

1. Hi, I am working at ILISA Spanish Language Institute and I just want to let you know that this book is perfect for business man that want learn Spanish in Costa Rica and have future working plans that involves Spanish. Thanks!

4 comments about Exploring Costa Rica 2001.

1. I am so grateful to the Editor and writers of "Exploring Costa Rica 2001". My husband and I have just returned from a two week stay in this beautiful country and couldn't imagine our vacation without the knowledge of this wonderful guide. Each city is clearly articled with attractions, restraunts and safety tips. The information such as what type of food is served in the restraunts mentioned and what each hotels accomodations include is especially helpful in planning a vacation from another country. I loved the fact that at the beginning of the day we could decide where we wanted to explore then consult the guide for what to do there. A great example is the "Dreamers House" in the Orosi Valley. The pictures in the guide are beautiful and creatively choosen. The captions under the lead picture of every section were so much fun to read. For two people who speak minimal spanish (but try hard) wewould have been lost with out this exceptional bible...I mean guide to Costa Rica. It was like we had a personal tour guide right in the car with us! Thank you Tico Times for your great efforts.



2. I am so grateful to the Editor and writers of "Exploring Costa Rica 2001". My husband and I have just returned from a two week stay in this beautiful country and couldn't imagine our vacation without the knowledge of this wonderful guide. Each city is clearly articled with attractions, restraunts and safety tips. The information such as what type of food is served in the restraunts mentioned and what each hotels accomodations include is especially helpful in planning a vacation from another country. I loved the fact that at the beginning of the day we could decide where we wanted to explore then consult the guide for what to do there. A great example is the "Dreamers House" in the Orosi Valley. The pictures in the guide are beautiful and creatively choosen. The captions under the lead picture of every section were so much fun to read. For two people who speak minimal spanish (but try hard) wewould have been lost with out this exceptional bible...I mean guide to Costa Rica. It was like we had a personal tour guide right in the car with us! Thank you Tico Times for your great efforts.



3. As a former vacationer and current resident of Costa Rica, I would like to state that this guide is one of the best on the market. Firstly, it is updated every single year. That makes it always at least as accurate as any other guide, and generally more accurate than most, because it is more timely.

   Secondly, it is objective and accurate. It is written by the writers at The Tico Times, so the guide has decades of journalistic integrity behind it. This same journalistic background accounts for the accuracy of the guide.

   Finally, it is concise. They literally visit every single tourism related business in Costa Rica, and then pack all of this information into only 288 pages. That's what you call jam-packed with information! It has all the information you need and nothing extra. The first sections of General Information, Tiquicia, and Culture will orient you towards the "Tico" culture and help you make your way around, at the same time helping you to avoid treading on any toes. Then, no matter where you are, you will find the guide extremely helpful as to accomodations (quality and pricing), places to eat (type of cuisine and pricing) and also what to see.

   In conclusion, I would just like to mention that I purchase this guide every year. I've been living here for 8 years and I always find the original Exploring Costa Rica to be useful all year long. I use it for business purposes; to find places to stay in a new area; to find new places in an old area; and even to recommend places to stay to newcomers and acquaintances. There are many guide books on the market, some good and some not so good, but you won't find a better one at a better price.




4. This book is not worth the money as you are paying for ads that should be provided through local travel agencies. I found very little useful information about traveling and maps. Therefore, I returned the book.

No comments about FootPrint Handbook 2009 Costa Rica (Footprint Costa Rica).

No comments about Costa Rica in story and pictures, (Pictured geography).

No comments about Travel & Leisure Magazine - June 2004: Costa Rica, Provence, Diana Krall & More.

1 comments about Golf Resorts: Where to Play in the Us, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica & the Caribbean (Golf Resorts).

1. Northwest Airlines WorldTraveler Magazine: " Make sure you have a copy on hand. This tome is the only pre-trip guide you'll need to research not only golf courses, but nearby lodging, restaurants, and additional recreation - for after-golf or non-golfing spouses. The book covers more than 600 courses. The authors have rated the top 50, breaking those down into 38 large and 12 small resorts.&quot

5 comments about Choose Costa Rica for Retirement: Retirement Discoveries for Every Budget.

1. Mr. Howell's book is very well written like his book about living in Mexico. However we find Christopher Howard's "New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica" to be much better and paint a more relaistic picture of the country. Howard lives ther full time.



2. My wife and I find the new edition of this guidebook not as complete as the previous editions. We like the old cover and color pictures which were in previous editions.

   In general the book is very well written organized but lacks a lot of details about living in the country i.e. insider information.




3. After having read this book, the other guides about the subject of living in Costa Rica and having resided in the country, I can categorically state this book doesn't really talk about the down side of living there. Granted the country is very nice but more info. is needed. It just doesn't cover the negatives in detail.



4. Having lived in Costa Rica several times, I found this book to be very accurate and credible. I was a little bummed that there was little mentioned about Monte Verde, or the countless world class Surfing areas. I would have liked to have seen a section strictly dedicated to some of the incredible Costa Rican sights,and something about the awesome Canopy Tours and recreation opportunities available. No worries. I highly recommend this book. The info is accurate, detailed, and covers all bases. Absolutly Primo!



5. I actually wanted to give the book less than two stars but it sparked an idea. If people will by this then I might try my hand a retirement book and actually put valuable information in it. Actually the book starts out promising enough in trying to get you interested in the country. However, its weaknesses become evident very quickly. The first weakness is a lack of objectivity. A good book will give you the good and the bad. The author here seems like a salesperson for Costa Rica.

   Second weakness: the author gives far too little analysis on the issue of taxes. This subject should have a dedicated chapter. Suppose your retirement income is from mostly untaxed foreign sources and comes to $70K a year. Now if additional taxes in the country come to 30% you will pay $21,000 before you buy one single thing. If a comparable country had a 10% tax rate you could still pay $14,000 more for rent, travel, transport etc. before breaking even.

   Third weakness: lack of honesty. Crime has increased in Costa Rica. The author's attempt to gloss over this was so transparent he would have been more credible if he had purposely omitted the topic. The dead give away is the authors comment "like many other countries Costa Rica has crime." He then works to minimize the issue. No statistics are given - and particularly year to year so you can see trends.

   You are much better off looking up articles on the country. Just a preview: a lot of things rot or have mechanical difficulties in the humidity. Some people's idea of paradise (particularly the Germans') is spending 365 days a year smoking and drinking, and waking up with a hangover half naked on the beach in the morning.

No comments about AA Explorer Costa Rica (AA Explorer Guides).

4 comments about Adventure Guide to Costa Rica (Adventure Guide to Costa Rica, 3rd ed).

1. Hi, I am working at ILISA, Spanish Language Institute in San Jose, Costa Rica and I just want to let you know that this book helps our students a lot by making travel plans and by getting their way around in Costa Rica. Thanks!



2. This book had excellent information in it, but some of the formating is hard to understand. Also, it is vague in where hotels are located at and without a lot of maps in the book it's hard to figure out where different places are in reference to other places. Maybe, Adventure guide implies that it is focuses mostly on adventure, but I think that budget hotels ($10 and Under) are an adventure in themselves, when I plan a trip I want some more information about what the budget hotel consists of ( Little things that give it charm, hot water, cleanliness, ect..) Overall good information about the culture and osa pennisula.



3. This was my families third trip to Costa Rica, we found this book interesting, but not useful. The information on prices and hotels is old. I certainly would like to know that last time the writer actually vistit the country. His observations or opinions of quality of hotels certainly should be questioned. As well, as his ability to judge the communities. It seems like the writer has not been to Costa Rica in a long time. That goodnes we have traveled the country three times, each time with new guide book, this time, just a bad choice. Thought that anybody interested in traveling to Costa Rica should know, this is a good reference for background, but do not count on it for accurate descriptions of hotels or the communities.



4. This is not a "hotel" guide and is not meant to be!

   This is a great ADVENTURE guide! Especially valuable to first-time travelers to Costa Rica and Spanish-language learners.

   This is more of a background book, with sections on the climate, the history, festivals and events, flora and fauna, sports and recreation, the people, the land, the economy, and the government.

No comments about Heritage of the Conquistadors: Ruling Classes in Central America from Conquest to the Sandinistas.