Costa Rica Map

Budget travel through Costa Rica doesn't have to mean roughing it, and planning ahead helps. Costa Rica is great for budget travel because most foreign currencies are fairly strong, and hiking in a National Park and other ecotourism activities are fairly cheap. A free day birdwatching in the rainforest or hunting an orchid for a photo leaves your entire travel budget for food and lodging. Posters of the rainforest show wildlife and an orchid framed by a waterfall spilling right onto a beach. Reality is less ideal (but only a little). Mosquitoes are wildlife too, and don't forget rainforest is a contraction of rain forest, finally strenuous hiking trails guard the seclusion of the beach and waterfall. It's not the ideal shown in the tour posters, but ecotourism in the rainforest is a big motivation for budget travel in Costa Rica. A map of hiking trails and bicycle routes for Costa Rica is hard to find. A mountain bike can negotiate the rainforest but you need good maps. A topographic map helps, because on a bicycle or following hiking trails, it's important if the waterfall is on top of a hill. Cyclerica helps you find a topographic map, and suggests hiking trails and bicycle routes. Ecotourism is the big attraction here. Shoot an orchid photo in Braulio Carrillo National Park or wildlife photo in Corcovado National Park. Birdwatching in the rain forest is another form of ecotourism. Even riding a bicycle or walking along a hiking trail in a National Park falls under the new umbrella of ecotourism. Check out the cyclerica website by clicking on the graphics below for help planning Costa Rica budget travel.

A good guidebook is essential. Our guidebook review, and more in the resources section. Small as this country is, you will still need a good road map to find the nature reserves. Find a National Park, Tico Newspaper or hundreds of other things by name. help with your travel plan, where to go where to stay etc.