About Costa Rica

Costa Rica is Safe
Even beyond its political stability and pacifism (the Costa Rican constitution forbids a standing army), Costa Rica is internally peaceful. It is safer to walk the streets of San Jose, Costa Rica than the streets of San Jose, California or any other city of comparable size in the US. It is also cultured and clean. There is over 90% literacy in this peaceful, 150-year-old functioning and stable democracy. You can safely drink the water and eat anything that strikes your fancy.

Costa Rica Airport Safety
Juan Santamaria International Airport, located outside the capital city, San Jose, Costa Rica, meets all of the new US standards implemented for domestic airports. The airport has been undergoing a thorough security overhaul under the supervision of USA FAA regulators. Bechtel Corporation's Alterra has been in charge of major renovations and manages the airport under a concession from the Costa Rican Government. Alterra is a company specializing in operating safe and efficient airports around the world, including Singapore's Changi Airport, recently voted the safest airport in the world. Now in 2007 Costa Rica's airport is a state-of-the-art facility.

Costa Rica Tourism and Immigration
Americans and other foreign guests are welcomed. Even before Bostonian Minor Keith built the San Jose-Limon railroad in the late 1800's, Costa Rica's weather, great beauty and open people have attracted immigrants from all over the world. The annals of Costa Rica's proud history are dotted with English, French, German and Italian surnames. Costa Rica continues to attract foreigners. At the present, approx. 500 Jewish families and over 20,000 US citizens live in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica General Info
If you look at a Costa Rica map, it is bordered on the north by Nicaragua, on the east by the Caribbean Sea, on the southeast by Panama, and on the southwest and west by the Pacific Ocean. Area: 51,060 sq km (19,714 sq mi). Capital: San Jose. Population: 3,604,642 (1998 estimate). Costa Rica is divided into seven provinces: San Jose, Alajuela, Cartago, Puntarenas, Guanacaste, Heredia, and Limon. Government: Costa Rica is a republic governed under a constitution of 1949. Defense: Costa Rica has had no standing army since 1948, when the PLN came to power and abolished the army. The only security forces are the 4,500-member Civil Guard and the 3,200-member Rural Guard.

A Bit of History
In 1503 Columbus landed in what is now Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, on his fourth voyage to the New World. He named the area Costa Rica (rich coast). Some say because of the beauty he found there. Some say because he'd heard rumors of gold. Either way, he was right in the first instance and wrong in the second. It was quickly discovered that there was comparatively little gold, but the natural beauty of Costa Rica has been attracting settlers ever since initial colonization. Costa Rica was settled by those relatively few Spanish immigrants who valued natural beauty and independence more than riches. Since the rugged mountainous land was not suitable for large plantations, Costa Rica developed into a country of independent family farmers. Even now they are the backbone of the country. This, more than anything else, explains the fact that from independence (1821) on, Costa Rica has been the most stable democratic country in Latin America.

Costa Rica’s Favorite Pastime
Take the US's passion for baseball, basketball and football combined, multiply it by five, and you will get an idea of how Costa Ricans feel about soccer. If you want to get a feel for Costa Rican life, go to any small town on the Costa Rica map, on a Sunday morning and watch a soccer game. Whatever town is convenient will do. They all have soccer fields and they all have games every Sunday. Major league soccer in Costa Rica is just a hair below major league soccer in Europe. Costa Rica's best players often play on European teams who can pay more than the local clubs. Costa Rica Adventure Vacations is happy to get tickets to a game. If you have a team that wants to travel to play in Costa Rica, we can arrange that too. Let us know the level of play and we'll come up with appropriate opponents.