Tired of the Humdrum? Need to Get Away and Relax? I Have Just the Remedy - A Costa Rica Vacation

Here are 10 terrific reasons to take a Costa Rica vacation now. costa rica vacations

1. You'll find great airfares and travel bargains to this lovely country right now. Many hotels and resorts are offering discount, off-season rates.

2. There are nearly 800 miles of pristine coastline with hundreds of great Costa Rica beaches. These are uncrowded beaches on both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. In fact, you might be the only one on most of the beaches right now. costa rica vacations

3. Are you an ecotourist? Costa Rica has more species of butterflies than the entire African continent including the only butterfly in the world that makes a sound. Not to mention almost as many different species of birds as on the entire continent of Europe or in all of the continental United States. But, don't leave your camera or backpack unattended at fabulous Manuel Antonio Park because the monkeys steal everything they can get their hands on.

4. Costa Rica boasts a park on its Osa Peninsula which National Geograpic calls the most biologically intense place on the planet. On its northern end you can fish off Drake Bay, named after Sir Francis Drake, the famous English sea captain who landed there just a few years before he saved England and defeated the mighty Spanish Armada. costa rica vacations

The park's actually quite tiny but filled with an extraordinary array of animals and plants.

In fact, tiny Costa Rica has nearly one-fifth of all the species of plants and animals in the world. Imagine that in a country that takes up only 1/10,000 of the planet's surface!

5. Visit mighty Irazu. This volcano saluted John F. Kennedy by erupting on the day he visited Costa Rica in 1963. You can drive to its summit where, on a clear day, you can see the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean at the same place.

Or go to Arenal Volcano, one of Costa Rica's Seven Wonders, and luxuriate in magnificent hot springs, drink in hand, while the volcano's crater spits out glowing lava far into the night sky.

6. Thousands of Americans travel to Costa Rica for cosmetic surgery, dental, or other medical care because the quality of care is world-class but often only about a one-third of the price in the States. Take a tropical vacation, get some great and inexpensive medical or dental care, and return home with some of your hard-earned money.

7. Some folks come to take Spanish lessons in schools that also teach them how to surf! Or yoga. Or sexy latin dancing. Or all of the above. You'll find that learning a language was never this much fun.

8. The temperatures are fantastic year-round. You can swim every day and cool off in the nearby mountains. Think about taking a hot-air balloon in the face of magnificent volcanoes.

9. I like to fish. Do you? Want to actually catch a fish? Some of the best ocean fishing in the world is available every day of the year. Imagine catching lots of huge tarpon or trying your hand on the mighty marlin (I hooked a 450 pound, 13 marlin recently). Remember: catch and release is the rule here. Folks here take their Costa Rica fishing seriously.

10. You will be just a short trip away from a place where there is a stable democracy. Costa Rica abolished its army more than 70 years ago and you will find lots of friendly, smiling courteous people who really like Americans and Europeans. costa rica vacations