Originally discovered and named ‘Costa Rica’ by Christopher Columbus more than 600 years ago, Costa Rica is still being discovered every day by tourists from around the world. It is a tropical paradise with year-round great weather and a government committed to sustainable development. In fact, in 2008 a team of Columbia and Yale researchers found that of 149 different countries’ studied, Costa Rica was in the top 5 for environmental performance—-far above the United States, Canada, or any other country in the Western Hemisphere.

In a part of the world often known best for its instability, Costa Rica is a proud, stable democracy and, along with Switzerland, only one of two countries in the world without a military. With an ever-improving tourism infrastructure and two international airports, it is a great place for a spectacular vacation. There is nearly an endless list of things to do and see in a country famous for its incredible diversity of plants and animals.

The world-wide economic downturn has proven challenging to Costa Rica tourism, which has been struggling. However, every challenge presents an opportunity and if you are thinking of a vacation, now may be exactly the time to travel Costa Rica. Airfares are cheap and there are some great travel and accommodation bargains. Indeed, the Costa Rica Institute of Tourism (ICT) has put together a website with discount coupons. Simply Google ‘visitcostarica.com/crplus’ to check it out. And do not forget that lots and lots of resorts and hotels will offer discounts if you just ask.

Costa Rica is world famous for the diversity of its animals and plants. As small as it is, Costa Rica has set aside nearly 25% of the country for protected national park and wildlife sanctuaries. How small is it? Think tiny, but mighty: only the size of little West Virginia, it has more species of butterflies than in all of the countries on the African continent combined. It is birdwatchers’ nirvana with nearly as many different kinds of birds as in the entire continental United States and only about 100 fewer species than the entire continent of Europe. The diversity of life is simply staggering. Though it takes up only 1/10,000 of the earth’s land mass, nearly 1 of every 5 species of plant and animal on the face of the planet is found in Costa Rica!

Ever seen a volcano? A real volcano that sometimes spectacularly erupts? Go to Arenal Volcano with its hot springs resorts and you can drink your mai tai, camera in hand, photographing Arenal. At nearby Lake Arenal, you will find great freshwater fishing at one of the world’s best and most famous windsurfing lakes. There is also a real Swiss train that goes to a real Swiss hotel in the mountains of Costa Rica! There is also Irazu, just outside San Jose. Here, on the day in 1963 that John F. Kennedy visited Costa Rica, a monstruous eruption greeted the President—I like to think of it as a salute. And, only here on a clear day can you drive to the top of its summit, look into its crater, then look west and see the Pacific Ocean, or look east and see the Atlantic ocean. Or, look at both of them at the same time! This ain’t Kansas, Toto!

Be sure to consider going to some of Costa Rica’s Seven Wonders, identified by Costa Ricans themselves. For intrepid adventurers and fisherfolk, there is remote Tortuguero National Park along the Caribbean coast. It is the world’s largest protected area for green sea turtles, its waters teem with great sportfish, and you will gaze-literally-over waters sailed by Columbus himself. There are two great volcanoes among the Seven Wonders: mighty Arenal Volcano and spectacular Poas Volcano just outside San Jose. Not far from Arenal is the Monteverde Cloudforest Reserve with its great plant and animal diversity—including its spectacular orchids and the only butterfly in the world that makes a sound! If you like to dive, charter a boat for magnificent Cocos Island (300 miles off the coast and halfway to the Galapagos. Jacques Cousteau called it the “most beautiful island in the world” and you’ll still see rocks signed by seafarers. This was a famous pirate island with a fabulous fortune of still undiscovered buried treasure and today it provides the best large animal diving anywhere. If you like to hike, try Mount Chirripo, the tallest mountain in Central America, where your hike will take you from tropical forests to cold, glacial lakes. There is a magical place, still virtually unknown to most folks, called the Rio Celeste (Celestial River) where the river literally changes color, from crystal clear to sky-blue in front of your eyes.

No visit to the country would be complete without spending some time at the stunning beaches. Indeed, many tourists spend most of their vacation at the beach. Among the most beautiful in the world, you will find many different types of beaches in Costa Rica: black sand beaches, white sand beaches, coral sand beaches, even boulder strewn rugged beaches. Most of the most popular resorts and fancy hotels are located on the Pacific coast but you will find that the Caribbean coast also has no shortage of beautiful places to go too. The Pacific coast is more-and-more Americanized while the Caribbean has a unique, distinctive, Caribbean aura—and is clearly Bob Marley country.

In Costa Rica there are activities to suit just about everyone. While you can go in for the extreme sports, many people take part in swimming, cycling or sunbathing, all pastimes which are particular popular for tourists to Costa Rica. Costa Rica is also famous for having some of the best tropical golf courses in the world. And, if that is not enough, here are a few more things to do to keep you busy during the days: 1. Fish the deep sea for marlin (I recently fought a 450 pounder before releasing it), sailfish, huge tarpon, snook, and dozens of other varieties. 2. Surf! Don’t know how? Go to surf school. 3. Raft or kayak in some of the world’s best whitewater or leisurely raft a tropical river with the kids. 4. Sail or take a dinner cruise. 5. Windsurf at Lake Arenal, considered the second best place in the world. 6. Defy death and bungee jump into deep canyons or at night. 7. Take an ecotour 8. Zipline 80 feet up the air through tropical forests. 9. Become a bullfighter. But beware that in Costa Rica the bulls cannot be harmed, anybody can jump into the ring with these critters, and you can buy insurance just before you take your life into your hands. 10. Take a horseback ride in the mountains, along the beaches, or even across the entire country. 11. Take a hot air balloon ride or go hang gliding. 12. Become a canyoneer and rappel tropical waterfalls. 13. Take a train ride—in a genuine Swiss train to a genuine Swiss mountain hotel or from San Jose to the beach. 14. Visit a tiny park, Corcovado, only half the size of NYC but the most biologically intense place on earth. 15. Scuba dive or skin dive in a Caribbean marine park at the largest coral reef in the country. 16. Watch whales (Costa Rica has the world’s longest whale-watching season). Wonder at the sea turtles as they have nested since the days of dinosaurs. 17. Enjoy tropical gardens or tour plantations where the finest coffee in the world is grown. 18. Hike, bike, rent motorcycles or ATVs. 19. Take a walk on the wild-side into the crater of an active volcano. 20. Tour an African wildlife park. 21. Take a photography tour. 22. Go on a volunteer vacation. Enough ideas? I have more!

The capital of the country is San Jose. It offers an abundance of things to do and most of the population (and traffic) is there. It is famous for its lively Latino style nightlife and also boasts plenty of shops and museums and other attractions. It is also home to a particularly impressive national theatre that is definitely worth a visit if you are going to be spending any time in the city. And, at night, San Jose and most of the beach communities provide lots of adult entertainment. Restaurants, cinemas, plays, bars, nightclubs (many, very adult in tone and tenor), casinos, and beautiful, hot women from around the world. Just remember: what happens here, stays here. And, increasingly, there are more and more places to go and activities for gays and lesbians.

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