The New Key to Costa Rica [Paperback]

Beatrice Blake (Author)

Book Description

Series: New Key to Costa Rica | Publication Date: January 27, 2009

• Over 400,000 copies sold of previous editions
• The original guide to Costa Rica, updated with even more insider hints, tips, and secrets
• Features extensive travel information plus in-depth coverage of the natural environment and advice on how to benefit the local economy and conservation efforts
• Recommends and details over 50 hotels that practice sustainable tourism
• Written by a dedicated conservationist who lived in Costa Rica for 12 years
Covers the entire country, from 44 beaches on two oceans to 38 national parks, 13 volcanoes, and three cloud forests
• Shows how to enjoy Costa Rica’s natural beauty and ecology in a socially responsible way

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Beatrice Blake has been living or travelling in Costa Rica for more than 30 years. In 1985 she rewrote The Key to Costa Rica, which her mother, the late Jean Wallace, had originally published in 1976, and has been updating it every other year since then.

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Ulysses Press; 19th Edition edition (January 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569756961
• ISBN-13: 978-1569756966
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #276,052 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Travel > Latin America > Central America > Costa Rica

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive dining/logding guide, April 5, 2009

By 

Sunshine (Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Key to Costa Rica (Paperback)

This book is clearly up-to-date and very comprehensive in its coverage of the dining, lodging, and daily life details for a traveler who wants to venture into the smaller towns and villages of Costa Rica. Do not expect it to provide information on the flora and fauna, other than very brief descriptions. And given Costa Rica's complex history, covering the period from pre-Columbus to today in 17 pages leaves a lot out.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meaningful Travel Opportunities, May 21, 2011

By 

Yowza - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The New Key to Costa Rica (Paperback)

My fiance and I got the New Key to Costa Rica two months before our two week vacation in Costa Rica. It became an integral part of our experience. The focus of the guide is to direct tourists to tour operations and places to stay that have more soul, better community ethics, and more culturally expressive interactions than the vast majority of businesses in Costa Rica. Costa Rica has been in crisis with its tourism impact on wildlife and local culture for the past twenty years but Beatrice Blake steers eco-wanna-be travelers toward experiences that actually benefit local communities while helping to conserve and even renew natural habitats.

This book is a general guide to visiting Costa Rica, but much more than that it offers many alternatives to the stampede of airport to volcano to beach for both the short vacation and extended immersive discovery. Some of the tourism projects that are highlighted were inspiring just to read about and we are already planning to return with more time to volunteer and improve our Spanish while helping local communities conserve their rich natural resources.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars If you only get one book on Costa Rica, get the new Frommers, October 15, 2010

By 

alaskacie - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The New Key to Costa Rica (Paperback)

I usually go for Moon, Footprint and I thought this one would be in line with those.This book is really wordy and is not an easy read...I kept putting it down in favor of on-line research. I ended up getting way better information on Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree forum, and finally just ordered the new Frommers guide. It's cleaner, clearer, easier to read, with better editorial and a way better map. I personally don't mind having two books for pre-trip planning, but it's the Frommer's I'm bringing on the trip.