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Frommer's Costa Rica 2010 (Frommer's Color Complete Guides)

by: Eliot Greenspan
en

0470482176  9780470482179  9780470407196 

Frommer's Costa Rica 2010 (Frommer's Color Complete Guides)
By Eliot Greenspan




Product Description:

NEW FULL-COLOR GUIDE!

Completely updated every year, Frommer's Costa Rica features gorgeous color photos of the lush rain forest, the amazing array of wildlife, and the spectacular beaches that await you.

Personally researched by a longtime resident, it's the only truly up-to-date guide that gives you such in-depth coverage of this fast-changing country, with recommended accommodations in every price category.

You'll visit rugged wilderness preserves and sleepy beach towns, spectacular orchid gardens and mineral hot springs at the foot of a steaming volcano. There are adventures here to suit all ages and abilities: swooping from treetop platform to treetop platform on a canopy tour, taking a dip in a jungle swimming hole, spotting playful spider monkeys as you hike through lush foliage, windsurfing on Lake Arenal, or watching endangered sea turtles nest on the beach.

With Frommer's in hand, you'll experience the wonder of Costa Rica's amazing biodiversity, as we point out the best places to see hundreds of unique, colorful species of animals and plants. You'll even get a color fold-out map!



Amazon.com Review:

Discover The Best of Coasta Rica
Content from Frommer's Costa Rica 2010

 

First coming to the attention of international travelers in the mid-1990s, Costa Rica is currently—and consistently— one of the hottest vacation and adventure-travel destinations in Latin America, with over two million visitors each year. Despite the boom in vacationers, Costa Rica remains a place rich in natural wonders and biodiversity, where you can still find yourself far from the maddening crowds. The country boasts a wealth of unsullied beaches that stretch for miles, small lodgings that haven’t attracted hordes of tourists, jungle rivers for rafting and kayaking, and spectacular cloud- and rainforests with ample opportunities for bird-watching and hiking. In addition to the country’s trademark eco- and adventure-tourism offerings, you will also find luxury resorts and golf courses, plush spas, and some truly spectacular boutique hotels and lodges.

 

Having lived in Costa Rica for more than 18 years, I continue to explore and discover new spots, adventures, restaurants, and lodgings—and my “best of” experiences keep on coming. In this chapter I’ve selected the very best of what this unique country has to offer. These places and experiences are covered in greater detail elsewhere in the book; this chapter is merely meant to give you an overview of the highlights so that you can start planning your own adventure.

 


Costa Rica's Top Destinations by Category

The Best of Natural Costa Rica
The Best Beaches
The Best Adventures
The Best Bird Watching
The Best Luxury Hotels and Resorts
The Best After-Dark Fun


Summary: Great Information Poor Construction
Rating: 3

I bought both the Frommer's and Fodor's Costa Rica guide book. I've used Frommer's more so far. I prefer something about how it is laid out and written (but I can't exactly put my finger on why). Both pre great information on multiple activities.

The biggest problem? The first time I opened the book the binding broke. I intend to update this review after the trip but right now I'm very disappointed with the quality.



Summary: Excellent, thorough resource!
Rating: 5

Typical of the Frommers guides, this is an outstanding resource for planning travel. It gives a comprehensive and helpful overview of pretty much everything you'd need to know in planning a trip to Costa Rica. Excellent & recommended.



Summary: Frommers does it again!
Rating: 5

Costa Rica has so much going on. . . . beaches. . . nightlife. . . large variety of hotels. . . nature. . . adventure. . . The list goes on and on. This book helps you make sense of it all and get the most out of your trip to this beautiful country. Great map. . pictures. . and so on. I haven't seen a better book on Costa Rica.



Summary: Great guide, for planning and the coffee table
Rating: 5

I'm about to go on a guided tour to Costa Rica, but if I had found this guide a bit earlier, I would have planned my own trip.

The "meat" of the book is organized in 7 chapters by region, each with a little intro, travel essentials, a wealth of lodging and dining options (all rated and reviewed), and of course activities. To help you get a bearing of the regions, the first 100 pages host five chapters such as "best of", "suggested itineraries", and "planning your trip". If anything, I found those first chapters a little redundant -if not confusing- and I got a lot more out of the regional chapters.

Overall, the outline and depth of the book reminds me a little of Lonely Planet's, with notable exceptions: First, it is better written. It helps that the author is a poet and journalist, and his love for the place clearly shows. The description of hotels and activities make you think he's really been there himself, rather than just giving you the phone number and location. The entire book has a very positive, even enthusiastic tone, but he doesn't forget to warn you about dangers, customs, or the occasional tourist trap. Also, there is on average one color photograph per page, and it really adds to the prose. I find myself grabbing the book from the shelf and just browse for pictures.

The map in the book is a nice plus. You have to snip it out to use it. It's semi- laminated and great to lay out in front of you as you read the chapters.

If you just want to get a bearing of Costa Rica but aren't necessarily going soon, I also recommend NG's Costa Rica, which is thinner and overall perhaps prettier because of the missing reviews. But if you're considering visiting this year, this is the book that has it all: pictures, current in- depth info, good prose, and a map to boot.



Summary: Kind of tight binding but it's packed with information!
Rating: 4

I actually got this book as an additional guide for reference since I'm an artist. This is of course a travel guide if you want to head down for a nice vacation or get-away to Costa Rica. The size of the book is of course small to make it easier to tuck away when traveling, however it's rather bulky at the same time so it can be a bit cumbersome when trying to read or carry. The binding is really tight so it's harder to keep a page open sometimes when reading. That is ok, since you don't want it falling apart on you when you're trying to find out what foods are safe to eat when you're out in Costa Rica.

The back of the book comes with a map you can pull out. Just be careful and tear along the perforated area so you don't kill the back of the book.

As for the information in the book itself. It's pretty thorough which is why it's so thick. You can find information on hotels and ratings and prices. Areas that are good for birdwatching or monkey sightings, what kind of customs and attitudes you can expect with native residents in Costa Rica (it's also very honest about it, and tries not to come off as PC). There are also ideas on how to spend your days in Costa Rica, such as going out to San Jose, and river rafting one day, bike riding another, and even offers tips if you're with a family or just having a romantic time with your significant other.

It also tell you about how to shop, and what to look for when shopping for example crafts in Coasta Rica (since it states it's not especially known for craft work).

It doesn't leave out phone numbers, and contacts in case you get sick or have another emergency to take care of. It also has information on transportation.

The pictures in the guide are fairly decent, since the guide is small and is mostly telling you about areas of interest and other information, the pictures are small too. I do love some of the landscape and animal photography in this book.

You definitely need some kind of guide if you're headed over to foreign land, and I honestly couldn't tell you if Frommer's is better than some other competing travel guide. However, the information I did find in this book is rather useful.