EXTENSIONS: 51,100 square kilometers square kilometers
POPULATION: Approximately 4.2 million inhabitants.
Capital: San José.
LANGUAGE:
• Official language: Castilian
• Other languages: The second language for a great part of the population is English.
CURRENCY:
- Costa Rican Colon
- 1 Euro = 687.31 colons; 1$ = 502 colons.
- In most places and tourist sites U.S. dollars are accepted.
TIME DIFFERENCE: 6 hours less than the meridian of Greenwich.
ELECTRICITY: 110 volts with a plug with two pins.
Telephone code: + 506
Religión:
• Official Religion: Catholic
• Other Religions: There is freedom of religion.
GOVERNMENT:
- It's a republic.
DOCUMENTATION
- Citizens of Canada, the United States and most European countries do not require visas.
- Need a passport and a return ticket.
TRANSPORTATION:
- By air:
- The country has three mayor airports
- Juan Santamaría International Airport in Alajuela, 17 km. of the capital.
- The Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste (North Pacific).
- In Pavas, San Jose, is the Tobias Bolaños for domestic flights, although there are numerous runways enable various tourist sites
- The national airline is TACA-Transporte Aereo del Continente Americano-.It has direct flights to Mexico, Miami, New Orleans, New York and Los Angeles, and other countries of Central and South America.
- Iberia has daily flights from Madrid.
- The companies lSansa and NatureAir have domestic flights to major cities.
- By boat:
- A large number of shipping companies and cruise lines stop at the coast of Costa Rica.
- Ports of Limon and Moin in the Caribbean, Puerto Caldera and Puntarenas on the Mid Pacific and Golfito and Quepos in the South Pacific.
- By road:
- The American Highway runs through Costa Rica from La Cruz on the Nicaraguan border to Progreso on the Panamanian border passing through the capital San Jose.
- Costa Rica has an extensive network of roads, mostly paved, which allows access to almost anywhere in the country.
- A network of buses connects the main cities and towns having a number of tourist buses.
COMMUNICATIONS:
- The telecommunications service is provided by the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), State owned entity. • The modern telecommunications network includes: direct communication worldwide trough the automatic telephone system MIDA, telephone, telex, telegram, fax, cellular, internet and data transmission using satellites and microwave.
PLACES OF INTEREST:
- San Jose, Tortuguero National Park, Corcovado National Park, Paraiso, the Amistad National Park, Bahía Drake, Oro Verde Biological Reserve, Canals of Tortuguero, Volcano Poas National Park, Rincón de la Vieja National Park, among others
GASTRONOMY:
- The most popular dishes are the casado, the pot of meat, roasted pork (Chicharrones) and black soup.
- As a snack stand out the gallos, toasts and arreglados.
- The coffee is excellent.
- Barley water, coffee, sweat water and horchata de chufa are typical.
FESTIVALS:
- April 11 Anniversary of the Battle of Rivas
- July 25 Anniversary of the Annexation of Guanacaste's Province.
- August 2, Feast of Our Lady of the Angels.
- August 15 Mother's Day