Are you planning a trip to Costa Rica and need to find the best resources? This summary of Costa Rican tourist guides will help you!
Costa Rica has so much to offer that it can be difficult to know where to start in your planning. I mean, world class rafting and some of the best beaches in the world. from national parks with active volcanoes to cloud forests with the best bird watching in the area. If you haven’t visited Costa Rica yet, these guides will help you plan your trip.
You are reading: Costa rica guide books
considerations when choosing a guide
There are so many guides that it can be difficult to know exactly which one to choose. Between online blogs (like this one!), self-published guides, and old guides, there are plenty of options. Here are some considerations when choosing a Costa Rica tour guide.
electronic vs. print books
For me, there’s nothing like flipping through a print book while planning a vacation. For some reason, the way the guides are broken down by region makes it very easy for me to get a feel for the country as I plan my trip. Plus, I can underline and fold the pages for easy reference. I know a person can do that with an e-book, but it’s not the same for me.
however, the guides can get bulky if you plan to travel with them. sometimes you don’t have the most up-to-date information about a destination, but that’s why we have instagram, right?
on the other hand, ebook travel guides to costa rica can be useful if you are already bringing an ebook reader to costa rica and want to travel light. this way you can have all your books in one place and also refer to the guide. Don’t forget to download the book offline in case you need to refer to it when you don’t have an internet connection.
Be sure to read e-book reviews online before purchasing, as some of the kindle editions of these books have complaints, mostly about ease of use such as navigability and the ability to read maps.
One option is to find these books or e-books at your local library; They may be previous editions, but many things in Costa Rica don’t change that fast. the older edition, along with a good map (more on that below) can be just as good as the newer edition.
choice of editing
You may want to find the latest edition of each guide and use it. however, I find that many of the later editions only changed the title and printing date, but much of the information remained the same.
For this reason, you can often save some money by buying an older edition of a guide or buying a used one on Amazon. I wouldn’t go back more than 10 years and google the hotels you plan to stay at, just to make sure they haven’t closed.
As I mentioned before, when I search for activities in Costa Rica, I often use Instagram. You can check specific hashtags, popular instagram accounts or just go to the recent stories of the region you plan to visit. instagram is a wealth of travel information and often I can find insider information there that I can’t find anywhere else.
related publication: guide to national parks of costa rica
online search versus guide
Many people like to search online instead of using guides. I think that’s a great idea, but for me, it might be good to use a guide that has been vetted and breaks down the area by region.
If you are looking for online resources in addition to this blog, you may want to check out:
- two weeks in costa rica
- my tanned feet
- costa rica guide
- james kaiser
These are my favorite resources and all the authors of these blogs have also created their own guides or maps.
personal inquiries
many popular costa rica travel blogs (including this one!) offer time to speak with an expert. it can be a great way to develop your travel plans and make sure you’re on the right track. I offer this service (see below) and I especially love talking to travelers with children.
Mainstream Travel Guides
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These are the greatest hits of travel guides and are tried-and-true household names in the guide book world.
Lonely Planet Costa Rica
this is the best costa rica travel guide in my opinion. It is the one I recommend the most. is a one-stop resource for those planning a trip to costa rica. includes detailed information on destinations, activities, restaurants, and attractions, as well as maps and travel tips.
It’s easy to navigate and has tabs for each region. I love the cultural and historical information about Costa Rica at the beginning of the book.
the lonely planet guides are more geared towards budget travelers and backpackers, but I still find a lot of great information and love this book.
the kindle edition is free on amazon with kindle unlimited.
central america lonely planet
Lonely Planet’s Central America Guide has everything you need to plan the perfect trip to this region, whether it’s Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala or Honduras.
Inside this book are detailed descriptions of each destination and activity suggested by lonely planet writers, maps for each area of the country, travel tips, and cultural information about the people who live there.
the costa rica section is abbreviated but excellent, and i add this book here because if you travel to various central american countries, this book will cover costa rica very well.
This book is also free with Kindle Unlimited.
Moon Costa Rica
This guide was written by a woman who lives in Costa Rica, so it includes lots of insider tips on the region. her thoughts on Costa Rican culture are spot on. moon tends to be a good mix of budget and high-end accommodation and activities, and this is a great guide for family trips.
national geography of costa rica
This image-packed guide focuses on experiential travel, so if you’re looking for excursions, this is a great option.
related post: the best excursions in costa rica
Frommer’s Costa Rica
What I like about this book is that it includes itineraries for different periods of stay in the country. A pocket map is also included.
Rough Guide To Costa Rica
These books are geared more towards backpackers and those looking to get a little further off the beaten path. I usually consult with an earlier edition of this book and then build my itinerary from there. this book hasn’t been updated since 2017, but the most recent edition of the book is available for pre-order, so I’m excited to see what they’ve done in the most recent edition. there will also be a free kindle version of the book.
DK Eyewitness Costa Rica
This is a great book! I love the driving routes to cultural sites, and there’s a section on ecotourism. there are many full-color pictures and cultural information. I love your restaurant recommendations section. I am a total fan of Costa Rica!
related post: a gastronomic restaurant guide for la fortuna, costa rica
fodor’s costa rica
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this guide has many full color photos, which will make you want to leave for costa rica immediately. Fodor’s has long been an authority on general travel, and this guide is no exception. I really like the “best of” section of him at the beginning of the book.
self-published guides
These guides are created by bloggers and authors who are on the ground in Costa Rica. These are all the bloggers I follow and love and can attest to the authenticity of their content.
- james kaiser
- my tanned feet
- two weeks in costa rica
- costa rica guide
guides to take with you on your trip
costa rica spanish – lonely planet
There are a lot of travel books in Spanish, but my favorite is an old Lonely Planet book specifically in Costa Rican Spanish. you can get it used on amazon, and if you see it for sale, get it because it’s the best.
related post: basic phrases in Spanish for traveling
Laminated Wildlife Guides
these are the best. my kids love referring to the species they’re seeing in real life with the guides, and we bring display markers to circle what we’ve seen. We also do treasure hunts. these are a fun souvenir from the trip, and we also talk about what we saw on the plane on the way home! These are some of my favorites:
- Costa Rica Wildlife Guide
- Costa Rica Marine Guide
- Rainforest Birds of Costa Rica
- Reptiles of Costa rich
costa rica bird guide
the birds of costa rica is the definitive guide to costa rican birds, and all guides to costa rica use it. if you are a bird watcher, this is a must have for your trip.
related post: popular animal sightings in costa rica
maps of costa rica
I would definitely recommend bringing a map to Costa Rica. even though google maps and waze work, it is actually very easy to turn around on the secondary roads of costa rica, and internet connectivity is not guaranteed.
In order not to get lost, I recommend the following maps:
Waterproof Map by Costa Rica Guide
I happen to know from talking to this couple that they do meticulously perfect updates on this map. They travel across the countryside to study the discrepancies between reality and Google maps. It is the definitive map of Costa Rica, plus you are supporting a small business with your purchase.
national geographic map of costa rica
This map is one of the most detailed maps on the market and I have traveled with it for years. if you stick to the main roads and some known back roads, this map is for you. if you’re going off the beaten path, I recommend the laminated map above.
You can also find a lot of free printable maps online that show specific regions, which can be good for orientation, but not necessarily for navigation.
related post: driving in costa rica – complete guide
conclusion- my favorite guides
my favorite guide is the lonely planet; I think you do a very good job of giving the background on each area. I also like that there aren’t too many luxury places in the book, as we tend to be more of a budget or mid-range travel family. finally, i think they do a great job of updating the book year after year and have amazing resources online.
As far as maps go, you have to go with the Costa Rica Waterproof Travel Map. Ray and Sue’s Costa Rican experts spend a great deal of time making sure your map is as up-to-date as possible. the latest edition was revised in 2020 and is excellent.
For the kids, it’s great fun to get the wildlife guides laminated and carry some dry erase markers. You can make a game of spotting different species or use them as a reference when you go on wildlife and nature tours.
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