Costa Rica is worldwide famous for its wildlife, preserved eco system, sustainable tourism and beautiful scenery but beside natural paradise where ever you go, you will find one of the most hospitable people in this part of the world. They are more then friendly, interested to hear about other cultures and you will feel that you are part of the familly while you are discovering this gem in central America.
But why they are called Ticos? If you are visiting Costa Rica even for a couple of days, you will hear about tendency that Costa Ricans are adding suffix ,,Tico,, or ,,Tica,, to almost all possible words. By doing this they are making diminutives of the words, for example instead of saying that sky is blue ( azul ) they will call it ,,azulitico,, and instead of gato for a cat they would use word ,,gatico,, or small cat.
By exploring this beautiful country you will see that Ticos are very open, they want to share their story and they are really proud of their culture and country. And they have a lot to be pride of. Costa Rica is the country without army, it is one of the greenest and country with the most diverse wildlife in the world.
If you visit south-east of the country, near the Caribbean coast you will find one of the most amazing eco lodges. Selva Bananito is more than a place to sleep over – it is a place where you will learn about ecology of Costa Rica, about wildlife and eco tourism. You will be greeted by Jurgen Selva who is owner of this lodge and he will be the best person for explaining everything about how to preserve nature, not just in Costa Rica but whole eco system in the world, because everything is connected, and we have to choose if we are making positive or negative domino effect. Beside eco workshops Jurgen will also show you jungle from above on his special plane- gyrocopter.
Patricia Nelson is receptionist in Selva Bananito eco lodge and she is there to help you with all of your questions about your rooms and lodges surounding the jungle.
Fernando Arias Jimenez is true spirit of jungle, and he is more than a guide. He will be showing you birds and animals but also he will leed you during horse back riding.
From deep south-east of Costa Rica you will be able to explore both the jungle and Caribbean sea. If you are sun seeker and beach lover there is no better place than El Cameleon Hotel. It is a luxurious sustainable hotel, on the beach, surrounded by lush greenery where you can spot sloths and monkeys.
You will be welcomed by Gilberto Gondola – General manager and his colleagues Aramis Brown and Klaus Duarte who will be showing you the best of Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.
If you are in Costa Rica you have to try chocolate, and what is better way to understand process of making chocolate than on a cacao tour. You will be able to see cacao plantage and to learn more about growing process but also to try one of the best chocolates in Las Americas. During cacao tour you will meet Alex – tour guide and Arelis – one of the girls working on a cacao farm.
Do you know what is glamping? It is combination of camping and luxury accommodation and Faith Glamping Dome is perfect place to experience it. On the beach, but surrounded by lush nature you will be amazed by hospitallity of the owners of Faith Glamping Dome and one of your host will be Adrian Gomez Flores.
One of the most amazing experience in Costa Rica is to cross the country in one day, coming from a Caribbean part, crossing high mountains of central Costa Rica and then, by the end of a day see sunset on a Pacific coast. Pacific coast is perfect for Ziplining and one of the best Zipline centers is Rain forest Adventures. Ziplining is invented in Costa Rica so you have to try it. Edgar Blanco will tell you a lot of stories about jungles of Pacific side of Costa Rica before showing you how to use zipline and his colleague Jose Duran will be always there to guide you during this amazing experience.
After chocolate and ziplining you would like to try coffee and one of the most popular tours to experience in Costa Rica is Coffee tour where you will learn about all different types of coffee and how small familly coffee plantages in Costa Rica are now producing one of the most quality coffee for worldwide export. Your guide will be Jose Mario Alfaro Vargas, and Carlos Arieta Barbosa and his son Jose will show you their familly coffee plantage.
Jose Mario Alfaro Vargas – coffee tour guide
During Costa Rica trip you can explore country by your own, it is perfectly safe and you can wonder from north to south of the country, but it is really good to have professional guide as there is so many secret places where just local can recommend. One of the best guides in central America – Juvenal Acuna Sanchez will drive you and show you the best kept secrets of Costa Rica.
