Explore Costa Rica, 5th Edition (Paperback)

by Harry S. Pariser (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Comprehensive guidebook covers accommodations, attractions, activities, adventure opportunities, transportation options, and plenty of useful travel tips. Complete background information...." -- Travel Weekly

"Mr. Pariser....openly advocates cross-cultural involvement and contact with the people as a preferential path to deeper understanding." -- Costa Rica Outdoors

Product Description
Travel with award-winning travel guide author Harry S. Pariser around Costa Rica and experience its wonders! Dive and snorkel off the coast of the remote Osa Peninsula. Experience the Caribbean coast with its rich Jamaican culture. Visit the small hotels of the Pacific Coast and the Nicoya Peninsula and remote lodges in the heart of the rainforest. Dine everywhere from gourmet restaurants to local sodas. Ascend by rope and pulley into the rainforest canopy, explore caves, surf, kayak, canoe, bungee jump, mountain bike, trek, or just lay back on a beach, relax, and watch the monkeys at play. Internal air flights, bus travel, ferry schedules, what to do, what to avoid. Studying Spanish, volunteer programs, and sustainable tourism. Maps, photos, web sites, useful tips. Humorous, informative, educational, detailed. There's no other guide quite like it!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 648 pages
• Publisher: Manatee Press; 5 edition (December 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893643557
• ISBN-13: 978-1893643550
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #207,464 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than Lonely Planet, January 15, 2007

By	Paul Gahlinger, MD, PhD (Salt Lake City) - See all my reviews

I do quite a bit of traveling and often buy a Lonely Planet guide as a basic reference. Lately, however, I've become somewhat jaded by its formulaic coverage and superficial approach. I'm also skeptical about how they go about choosing which accomodations and restaurants to include in their books.

Pariser's book at first glance looks remarkably like a Lonely Planet guide--the same format and much the same information. However, Pariser puts more of himself into it and the book clearly is a labor of love. Pariser's guide compares to Lonely Planet like a family restaurant to McDonalds.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Quality Guide to a Beautiful Country, May 3, 2007

By	Paige R. Penland "Paige R. Penland" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As co-author of the sixth edition of Lonely Planet Costa Rica, acquaintances often ask me which guidebook I recommend, now that my own is out of date. Explore Costa Rica is the perfect choice for independent-minded travelers interested in learning more about the country from travel writer who has been covering Costa Rica since at least 1992.

A detailed field guide of flora and fauna will help you appreciate Costa Rica's fabulous national parks, while useful advice on "Picking a Tour" is accompanied by listings that include everyone from slick, international package-tour operators to scruffy beachtown-based independent guides. Hotel and restaurant listings span a wide range of prices and expectations, and descriptions tend to be more detailed than in thinner guidebooks - at 621 pages, there's plenty of room. I especially appreciate events listings; you just haven't lived until you've attended a loud, guaro-soaked Costa Rican fiesta, and Pariser makes sure you know what's on while you're in the country.

My only quibble is with the maps - they're accurate and useful for towns and cities, and are more than sufficient for travelers using public transport. If you're planning to drive, however, be sure to ask for a free country map from your rental car company or any tourist office. Regardless, this book gets five stars because it is accurate, updated and insightful.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the best 'First Source' for trip planning, August 10, 2007

By	Casitagirl - See all my reviews

I should start by saying that I travel extensively and plan all my own trips. I enjoy the planning process almost as much as the trips themselves (sometimes more so, after a rainy trip to Switzerland when we did NOT see the Alps even once!!!). I've used countless guidebooks and internet sites, and consider myself pretty knowledgeable on travel information sources.

I bought this book as a starting point for planning a trip to Costa Rica and while it contains an incredible amount of information, I felt like it was too encyclopedic to be easily helpful for planning. For example, the first 170 pages deal with history, culture, national holidays, wildlife, etc., etc., etc. While I think all of this info is valuable and interesting, I don't want or need most of it when trying to decide where to travel within the country. This book, while providing a ton of detailed information, seems to assume that the reader has some previous knowledge of the country regarding possible itineraries and what the 'must see' areas are. Its 'Suggested Itineraries' section is one paragraph long and basically says 'do what you want and can afford' - not a big help, in my opinion. I don't always follow suggested itineraries but I find them helpful as a starting point, especially in a country as diverse and filled with so many wonderful possibilities as Costa Rica.

Additionally, I found the format to be kind of like a laundry list - lots of stuff but often no indication of relative merits between lodgings, attractions, etc.

I ended up going to the library and using Frommer's and Fodor's as a start for itinerary ideas and then used "Rum and Reggae's" Costa Rica (Jonathan Runge & Adam Carter) as a good source with a definite 'point of view' and lots of opinions. They make pretty clear WHY they like or dislike something, which helps determine if I'll agree or not.

Having said all of this, now that I've planned my trip (using other sources), I will read this book more closely and I'm sure I will benefit from it. It IS an exhaustive (and perhaps exhausting!) source of, I'm sure, everything you've ever wanted to know about Costa Rica.