Costa Rica is Central America's safest and most stable destination and has been attracting tourists for decades with its well-promoted eco-tourism, fantastic beaches, unspoilt wilderness and good infrastructure.

San Jos?s a cosmopolitan capital, somewhat commercial with shopping malls and fast food chains, but charming none-the-less with its colourful markets, pavement cafes and excellent museums. There isn?t much in the way of historic buildings but the CBD is pleasant and easily walkable.

Costa Rica has the benefit of excellent beaches facing both the Pacific and Caribbean. Golfito, on the southern Pacific coast, is a good center for exploring the coast and seeking out your own private beach among the lush vegetation. Playa Cativo, Playa Zancudo (good swimming) and Pavones (good surfing) are popular. The coast features numerous remote coves, with jungle-lodge accommodations and a virgin rain forest backdrop. Jaco is a much livelier resort town, full of package tourists, but you can escape to the quieter offshore islands, such as Isla Tortuga.

The Caribbean coast has more cultural diversity and more than half of this coastal area is protected by national parks and wildlife refuges. Puerto Lim? is the main town and attracts the environmentally conscious. Nearby, Parque Nacional Tortuguero has plenty of birds, monkeys and lizards. The Creole beach paradise of Cahuita has a nearby national park with attractive beaches, coral reef and coastal rain forest. Puerto Viejo de Talamanca is more bohemian.

The national parks are Costa Rica?s biggest drawcard. The Parque Nacional Volc? Arenal in the northwest, is famous for its perfectly conical Volc? Arenal. It is still active and if your timing is right you can witness spectacularly eruptions. Parque Nacional Santa Rosa, on the Pen?sula Santa Elena, is the oldest and best-developed park in Costa Rica and is a cornocopia of wildlife and natural beauty. The unique Rinc? de la Vieja is a volcanic wonderland of cones, craters, hot springs, boiling mud pools and lagoons, while Parque Nacional Corcovado (Pacific coast) has some of the best (overnight) hiking trails in the country.

If you?re really looking for adventure hire a 4X4 and explore the Pen?sula de Nicoya with its nature reserves, secluded bays, untouched beaches, caves and endless rainforests, teeming with wildlife.

San Jos? Juan Santa Maria International Airport receives the bulk of flights, mainly from North American cities, though connections to other Central American and limited Carribbean and South American cities are also regular. A second airport at Liberia, northwest of San Jos鬠has been upgraded to international status.