Customer Reviews

Frommer's Costa Rica 2002 (Frommer's Complete Guides)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The descriptions of hotels and restaurants in the guidebook are accurate and colorful. Frommer's prepares you for exactly what to expect, and in a few instances correctly identify places that are overrated.

In Costa Rica we found that many places were just that: overrated. It seems that places that the most commonly used guidebook, Lonely Planet, raved about had jacked up their prices and become content on coasting on that review, letting the money roll in without exerting any effort (or facility upkeep) to earn the money.

It is important to understand that Frommer's does not devote much attention to budget travel; it is not appropriate for people on a tight budget. Additionally, Frommer's is not very comprehensive (only listing a handful of hotels at each location) and Frommer's doesn't give you enough nuts & bolts about how to get to places, which buses to take, how much a taxi should cost, or the real "on the ground" grunt work that you need in a foreign guidebook.

Thus, my rating of this book as a 5-star is only as a secondary book. It is not sufficient guidebook by itself. But the information it does have you can really count on. Once you're in the country and a little tired out from travel, and frustrated by inaccurate and outdated info in other guidebooks (LP) you'll really appreciate this book's information.

I have been in Costa Rica for 2 months now and have one more month to go. I have been using this guide to find hotels, great places to eat, shop, and hang out at night. His recommendations are awesome and, of course, accurate. The only discrepancy has been some of the hotel prices. They seem to be quoted lower in the book by a few dollars even though I am traveling during the low season. His bus schedule times are pretty accurate although with so many fluctuations with scheduling it is best to call ahead. If you want more history on any particular region it would be best to do outside reading as this guide book is more to the point step by step instructions on how to get there and where to stay.

My husband recently took me to Costa Rica for my thirtieth birthday and we used this guide every day. We travelled to Santa Teresa & visited many places of interest & local places to eat in the area. The guide was most helpful. We went to the waterfalls in Montezuma & would not have known about them if not for the guide. The hotel/restaurant reviews were very accurate and saved us a LOT of heartache. Thanks Frommers!

Lotsa solid information here, "best of's" gathered over the last nine years. But despite it's deceptive length of over 350 pages, Frommer's "Complete Costa Rica" misses out on many of the more subtle aspects of the experience this country affords.

Buy this for the condensed travel tip. Buy "Costa Rica: The Last Country the Gods Made" for an expansive, deeply researched, euriditely written book on a country whose "second bests" are well worth investigating.

Very good resource to plan your trip, but once in Costa Rica I did not think the book was completely accurate. The locals had very different opinions about places and activities. It would have been nice if the book had included information about alternate forms of transport such as boats from town to town or Interbus. Overall a great resource to get started and get a good idea of what you want to do and where you want to go. Ask the locals before you make reservations. Pura Vida

This is one of three books I purchased for my trip to Costa Rica and we referenced this book most often because of its simple layout and definitive information. While some of the hotel prices and hotel phone numbers were not 100% accurate, we found it to be a good guide that pointed us in the direction of some sure-bet hotels.

We relied on the 'Moon Handbook' guide to Costa Rica to fill in where this book lacked. Specifically, we found that the Moon Handbook provided more in-depth information regarding the flora and fauna of Costa Rica and a few additional hints.

I traveled to Costa Rica with some friends. All together we had four different guides. The best was Lonely Planet's, Frommer's ranking second.
We found the guide lacking an enormous amount of maps, specially for cities. The guide is written for US tourists only. Since we were all from Spain, the conflict was served.

G.

My wife and I greatly enjoyed a week in Costa Rica earlier this month. We are not frequent travelers, and neither of us had previously visited a country where English is not the primary language. Frommer's certainly made our trip smoother and more enjoyable. We foud this guide to be accurate regarding both factual information and perspective. Without it, we would have missed some memorable sights and experiences, including side trips to see the beautiful churches in Zarcero and Las Canas. We rented a small SUV, and had very little trouble finding our way, thanks to Frommer's. Driving in San Jose was a bit of an adventure due to a nearly complete absence of street signs, but Frommer's amply warned us about this in advance. I appreciate Eliot Greenspan's sense of humor as well. We also brought the Lonely Planet guide with us, but I must give Frommer's the nod. I have just one difference of opinion with Mr. Greenspan. The Costa Rican cuisine can actually be quite good. We enjoyed some unique fish and poultry dishes at several hotels and resorts that I would put up against any in the states.

If you are planning a trip to Costa Rica, this is one of the best travel guides you can buy. Everything you need toi know is packed into this book!

We used this guide to get us an hotel in Montezuma. We stayed at the Nature Lodge Los Fincas. It was a dump and we were forced to either stay or lose all of our money for the entire saty. We did what the couple before we checked in did. We paid them to leave. The rooms were covered with ants, triantulas, no constant running water....hot water, no way. The food was served with ants and bugs in it. I think this writer is either dillusional or just tells the hotels to get ready cause he is on his way. My advice, pick up another guide.