Fodor's Costa Rica 2010 (Full-Color Gold Guides) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"In terms of comprehensiveness of coverage, the very accessible format, and the enthusiastic tone, this series remains one of the best on the market." –Booklist
 
"Fodor's super-informative guidebooks are known for accuracy and attention to detail…" –The Sacramento Bee
 
"The Fodor's guides are notable for their ratings of sights, restaurants, shops, accommodations and attractions." –Chicago Tribune
 
"The great detail, infectious spirit, and attractive format are distinguishing traits of these guides, which are entries in one of the top series in the business." –Booklist
 
"Fodor's can help you plan the perfect adventure" –The Arizona Republic
 
"Always thoughtfully written and easily readable, Fodor's travel guides have become a must-have when traveling to unfamiliar destinations" –Mid South Magazine
 
"Widely recognized as the gold standard of mainstream travel" –Honolulu Advertiser

Product Description

Costa Rica has become one of the most popular destinations for travelers seeking natural beauty, outdoor adventure and sun. It’s no wonder. Little Costa Rica is endowed with a mosaic of natural landscapes that are packed with an amazing array of flora and fauna. This is also one of the easiest places in the world to experience the beauty and complexity of tropical nature.

Now in full color, Fodor’s Costa Rica 2010 shows off the splendor of Costa Rica like no other guidebook. Features include:

• More than 200 color photos to inspire you
• An all-new, illustrated “Experience Costa Rica” chapter loaded with valuable advice, including tips on choosing an eco-lodge and planning a destination marriage or honeymoon
• A brand-new, illustrated “Biodiversity” chapter to guide you through the country’s varied landscapes and help plan your vacation based on particular activities or topography
• New magazine-style illustrated features highlight quintessential Costa Rica: surfing the Salsa Brava, sport-fishing off the Pacific coast, canopy tours in the cloud forests, turtle-nesting tours in Tortuguero, and bird-watching in the rare tropical dry forests of Guanacaste
• Interactive full-color maps and planning pages help you easily get your bearings and plan the trip of a lifetime

Fodor’s. For Choice Travel Experiences.

Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: Fodor's; Pap/Map edition (October 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400008476
• ISBN-13: 978-1400008476
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,288 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #1 in	Books > Travel > Guidebook Series > Fodor's > Gold Guides
  #1 in	Books > Travel > Guidebook Series > Fodor's > Latin America
  #2 in	Books > Travel > Latin America > Central America > Costa Rica

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully Comprehensive Travel Guide, October 14, 2009

By	S. D. Fischer (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

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This is one of the best travel guides I have seen. It is comprehensive and well-organized with many detailed maps and beautiful color photos.

I haven't been to Costa Rica but two friends have been there and raved about it. After receiving this book, I know why!

The first chapter, Experience Costa Rica, provides an excellent introduction to the country including when to go, an overview of transportation to and within the country (details are provided on this throughout the book), money/credit cards/ATM, government, agriculture (mainly coffee and fruit), weddings and honeymoons, travel with children, the people and two sample itineraries.

The second chapter, Understanding Biodiversity, includes concise and fascinating descriptions of the flora, fauna, top destinations and how to best experience each of Costa Rica's diverse regions: rainforests, volcanic regions, the cloud forest, tropical dry forest, wetlands & mangroves and the shoreline (beach). Small color photos accompany many of the highlighted flora and fauna.

The next seven chapters highlight specific regions including San Jose, the Central Valley, Northern Plains, North Pacific, Central Pacific, South Pacific, and Caribbean. Each chapter includes maps, how to get there, top attractions, where to eat, where to stay, eco-lodges in the area, nightlife and the arts, and more color photos. Each also includes a special focus on a specific topic such as souvenir shopping, the country's coffee production (including the history of coffee and plantations that give tours), canopy tours, choosing a beach, bird watching, surfing, scuba diving and snorkeling, and sportfishing.

The next chapter, Understanding Costa Rica, includes a brief history of the country, wildlife and plant glossary, menu guide, and a brief (five page) vocabulary (Spanish to English) and the final chapter, Travel Safe Costa Rica, covers the specifics of air, bus, car, cruise ship, taxi and train travel, communications (internet and phone), customs and duties, local do's and taboos, emergencies, health, mail, money, safety, packing, tipping tour and more.

There are 35 maps plus a large, pull-out map. The maps are listed with page numbers in the Contents pages and there is a comprehensive index to help you quickly find what you need.

This is well-worth the $19.99 (and is a true bargain at Amazon's price). There are 640 info-packed pages. I am excited to plan a trip to Costa Rica and believe me, I'll be bringing this guide! I feel like I have a great feel for the company and its residents after reading it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice premium Fodor's guide, better than the normal guides., October 15, 2009

By	Bearcat (Ohio) - See all my reviews

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My wife and I have traveled all over the world and have used a ton of travel guides. Typically we are Frommers users and not Fodors. With one of my best friends getting married recently and traveling to Costa Rica for his honeymoon I thought this was a great opportunity to review this travel guide.

This new "Gold Guide" has many more full color pictures than the normal Fodor's or Frommer's guide. Not quite as many as eyewitness guides but sometimes those guides focus to much on pictures and not enough on the info. The guide is well laid out and provides excellent travel information. It's nice that even though there are now a ton more color pictures the actual information in the book is still very good and was not ignored. Overall I think this guide edges the Frommer's and the normal Fodor's guides. I think the information is very similar but the inclusion of so many color photo's really does make the guide more fun to use.

I lent this to my friend and his wife and they loved the guide while in Costa Rica. Their comments were that the guide seemed very up to date and was broken down into sections that made it easy to find what they were looking for while there. They did enjoy the color pictures but seemed to be more impressed with the actual information in the book and how helpful it was on their honeymoon. Overall they thought this was an excellent guide book as did I. Recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite the impressive guidebook!, October 8, 2009

By	N. Hawkins "whereishawkins" (Chicago) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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I've noticed that travelers tend to be rather loyal to a certain brand of travel book publishers. I like Rough Guides and Lonely Planet and never thought highly of Fodor's. They just seemed rather stale to me.

So going in, I really didn't think I'd be in love with this book. Wrong. The color photos were like a slap in the face in a good way and makes you realize that if guide books added more photos, people would not only buy them because they're helpful, but they're for nostalgia. I was really impressed. It sort of made me want to start to plan a trip there and explore. The maps were really cool.

The book itself warrants 5 stars: It's crammed full of information and would make it the "go to" book for the trip, but the additional info on plants and wildlife makes me want to head into the national parks with my camera and look for beautiful creatures and plants I'd never see at home.

I'm impressed, Fodors. Good job!