Costa Rica Tour Guide


This website was built to help tour guides in Costa Rica to find costumers directly through the internet; our mail goal is to use the internet to provide our costumers with a quality service and unique personal feeling. All the tour guides on this website are licensed by the Costa Rica bureau of tourism. Our Costa Rica tour guides are all professionals with high service standards. All our tour guides have many years of experience in the tourism of our country. We can provide from private transportation to a professional bird watcher, with our website you can discover the real Costa Rican culture and people. If you have any question please feel free to contact us.


If you really fell has eco tourist, and you want to help and support the research and conservation of this amazing country, this is one of the best ways to do it. The Costa Rica tour guide website is dedicated to provide you with all the information that you need to visit Costa Rica, learn about the culture and be evolved in different projects of conservation around the country, understand why Costa Rica became famous in the world, in his fight for the sustainable development of his people. Our Costa Rica tour guides have deep knowledge about the real situation of the country, and the most responsible projects on it, stop to travel without a real meaning, have fun in Costa Rica and leave your tracks in a responsible, knowledge and peaceful country.

Costa Rica: an oasis of virgin nature and culture

Full country of life and nature, with more than the 25% of its territory transformed into protected areas, Costa Rica is outlined like a small paradise inside Central America. Their tropical climate and the kindness of their people –without forgetting the thousands of adventures that can live themselves between their forests and coasts- do it an unforgettable destiny.

History

They were barely 17 the days that passed Columbus in this country of Central America, after disembarking near the present Port of Limon, and to verify that was the first European that stepped similar paradise. The Caribbean natives did not offer him resistance neither they were deprived to light up jewels of gold and precious stones. That’s why Columbus calls “Costa Rica” (rich coast), to this beautiful piece of land.

The history of Costa Rica is a triumph of the peace on the hostility, due to the tranquil atmosphere of this country. Done studies in Costa Rica confirm that many civilizations have settle down in this region since 10,000 years ago, and after the arrival of the Spanish conquerors. Many native civilizations, they have disappeared, being Costa Rica their home, they left after them mysteries and wonders for the future generations. One of these wonders are hundreds of rocks that have been found in the coast of the Pacific, perfectly spherical, that go since the size of a ball of baseball to rocks of the size of a car. Objects of gold and jade are other treasures by these old civilizations, and now they can be admired in museums in the Central Valley.

More recently, old native ruins in the outskirts of the Central Valley have been found, leaving al discovered sophisticated systems of aqueducts and channels, al the same as magnificent constructions that escape to the imagination. By the epoch of the arrival of Columbus, there were four main native tribes living in Costa Rica. The Caribbean coast was under control of the Bri Bris and Cabecars as the most important group of indigenous people, and whiles the Borucas, Chibchas and Diquis lived in the south-western one. To begin, these populations were not numerous and when the Spanish arrived, they took charge against them; some managed to escape and other perished, even so many colonizers established colonies in Central America and Mexico, which finally gained their independence of Spain in 1821.

Early the coffee became the main product of Costa Rica, and the coffee oligarchy became the ruler class. Other products as the bananas also helped al economic growth of Costa Rica. All these efforts of the agriculture made possible the improvement of the systems roads and telecommunications, building roads, railroad tracks, doing the electricity and available education for all.
Without any doubt, and even the date, the major achievement of Costa Rica was the dissolution of the army, after the civil war of 1948, low mandate of the former-president José Figueres Ferrer, and that changed for always the face of our nation, converting it in what is now: a hot vacation paradise nation, with a lot of tour guides, calm and peaceful. Now in this days Costa Rica continues being a country lover of the peace, has one of the highest levels of literacy of the world. The tourism also plays a very important role, for which the Costa Rican have learned to value and to appreciate the benefits that the foreign investment can offer them, putting a lot of money on the education of the future Costa Rica tour guides If you visit Costa Rica, you will realize that all the people in Costa Rica are friendly and always willing to help as a tour guide.

The capital

The city was born in 1737. One must say that is very quite and the tourist only receives smiles and help. The cultural agenda offers always a good excuse to see theater and ballet, above all dances modern.

To begging you can visit the Museums of Gold and Jade. The first guard a good collection of miniatures and medium pieces in gold, is possible to know some beliefs and religious practices; and details on the technological advancements in the use of this metals in chronological time. The second is, not only the most famous museum of the country but the one that harbors "world the greater collection of jade of the Americas".

Culture

The costa rican culture is the reflection of the mixture of races that coexist in the country. The main influence is the European, in aspects as the official language (Spanish), the architecture of the churches and other historic buildings.

A more recent influence is the one that comes from U.S. that is perceived in many areas since the billboards of movies in San José to the fast-food chains that abound in its cities. An important aspect of the costa rican cultural inheritance is its love by the peace and the democracy. The ticos try to emphasize that its nation is the exception of Latin America, since for a very long time the politics is dominated for the democratic system and not by dictators.

The ticos pride it self to have more than one century of democratic tradition and more than 50 years without army. This was revoked in 1948, and the money that saves the country al not to have armed forces invests it in improving the standard of living of the costaricans, what helps for the social peace, that does of Costa Rica a pleasant place to visit.

Cultural activities Costa Rica offers great quantity and variety of places and cultural activities, with concerts, festivals, exhibitions and plays interpreted and carried out by professionals and lovers of the art.
The National symphony Orchestra, orchestra recognized internationally, has carried out tours to Taiwan, Los Angeles, Spain, Germany and Oriental Europe in recent years, carries out presentations in the historic National theater of Costa Rica two times at month.

A handful of barons of the coffee, very visionaries, they entrusted the construction of the National Theater, a done structure of stone, for 1000 occupants and designed by Belgian architects and decorated by Italian artists. Many International stars have acted here, such as, Cousin Ballerina, Anna Pavlova, of the Ballet Bolshoi, Andres Segovia and Arthur Rubenstein. The theater has become a jewel of the theatrical and musical patrimony of Costa Rica.

The Melico Salazar theater, with capacity for 1,500 occupants, and other 13 small theaters receive representations of the Youthful symphony Orchestra, a talent group of youths whose ages oscillate between the 6 and 12 years and that carry out presentations during the school year (between the months of March and November); the Company of National Operates and the very recognized National Chorus, they are presented in the Melico Salazar and the National Theater that likewise it is a host of frequent representations of the most praised companies of dance of the country, the domestic Corporation of Dance and The National Workshop of Dance, which alternate programs of classical dance and avant-garde (vanguard). Large local and international artists exhibit of all in the 19 galleries of the country, cubist from forms and photomontages to neoclassical figures. The artistic community works many times in cooperation with the Department of Culture, assuring special commitments that complement the permanent exhibitions in the galleries of the metropolitan area.

Some of the better exhibitions and works in scene can be views in the National Center of Culture (CENAC) a complex of theaters, museums and restaurants surrounding a yard of bricks and an amphitheater in Neighborhood Amón. The Department of Culture, adopt as a general headquarters the property of what once was the National Factory of Liquors and built The Theater and the museum of Art and Contemporary Design. The museum provides a weekly list of the events and exhibitions in the national environment. The theater of quality is dominated for the domestic Corporation of Theater, which routinely carries out productions of high budget. Smaller theaters present funny comedies, raw farces and occasionally experimental pieces.

Tour guide: Pure nature.

Geography

It can be found high zones in the country, with a height from 1.000 to 2.000 meters above sea level. The mountain Range of Guanacaste, Central mountain Range, and mountain Range of Talamanca are the main mountainous zones of the nation. Also there are various volcanos (Arenal volcano, Irazú volcano, Rincon de la vieja volcano and Turrialba volcano), and the highest mountain (Chirripó montain) with 3,821 m. (in some of this volcanos you would need to hire a tour guide, to go inside the parks, for safety reasons).Costa Rica has a long coast in both oceans, Atlantic and Pacific, as well as an extensive number of rivers.

Tour guide: Climate

The climate of Costa Rica is pleasant all the year, with more heat in the coastal zones. The temperatures in the mountainous zones are not colds, especially during the day, giving a sensation of 'eternal spring'. The temperature annual average patrols among the 31.7ºC in the coast to the 16.7ºC in the interior. The rainy season goes from May to November, and the rain season goes from December to April.

Four impressive mountainous mountain range give rise to the biological diversity of Costa Rica. You join, while they are distributed along the country, they give form to a backbone of heights and of outstanding beauty, where the natural resources do not have rival.

Tour guide:
Ecology: a natural road

More than one fourth of the costarican territory has been separated to protect it against the exploitation and the havoc produced by other human beings. No another country in the world itself about to these statistics. More than twenty-seven percent of the space understood by Costa Rica has been declared national park, biological reserve or refuge of wildlife, besides other categories of areas in protection, so much private like public. The ecology of Costa Rica is represented by high figures: between 500.000 and a million species of flora and fauna; hundreds of thousands of species of insects; 2.000 of orchids; 208 of mammals; more than 850 of birds and an innumerable quantity of butterflies and moths. More than six percent of the flora and existing fauna in the planet is found in this territory that covers a 0.06% of the terrestrial surface. Rodrigo Carazo, former-president of Costa Rica (1978-1982), affirmed the following thing on the system of national parks: the parks are "... splendid natural laboratories that offer so much to the international scientific community, as to the children, the tour guides, young and adult that should not be private of the direct contact with the nature in their original state. The national parks are the way by which the “Ticos” promote the peace between the human beings and the good will among the nations". The history of the creation of the parks and the areas protected of Costa Rica has been marked by the drama, the ideals and the sacrifice. One of the pioneers in the protection of the environment and of the species was Nils Olaf Wessberg, who along with its wife, Karen, arrived at Costa Rica in 1955 originating from Sweden. At that time Nils bought a farm in Nicoya, near the town that today we know as Montezuma. As the naturalists impassioned that were, the couple built its home with leaves of palm tree, and was arranged to live as harmoniously as possible with the environment. Montezuma is found in the corner more remote than at that time was a quite unexplored Nicoya peninsula. Nevertheless, this isolation did not suffice so that Nils and Karen Wessberg managed to escape from the progress, and touched them to witness, dismayed, the gradual destruction of the virgin forests of cabo Blanco, in the Peninsula of Nicoya. Because of this, Nils was consecrated like the activist. It worked tirelessly to collect funds in order to buy large extensions of land, and in this way preserve the region. After three full years of complications, he managed to collect $30.000, the necessary quantity to buy the 1.172 hectares that today constitute the Absolute nature Preserve of cabo Blanco. Now, a plate installed in the interior of the park is a sample of gratitude to the memory of Nils, who was murdered in the hands of who did not they share its conservationist ideals while tried to establish another park in the Osa peninsula.

Another personage that emphasizes is Mario Boza, a tour guide and investigator of the forests of Costa Rica, who began to work his conservationist thought in the creation of Santa Rosa, the first national park of the country. In 1969, the Forest Law announced the imminent creation of the National Monument of Santa Rosa, and Mario Boza established the department of national parks. But due to the shortage of funds and of necessary personnel to give him a firm structure to this type of laws, the efforts passed almost unnoticed and the use of the forest floors continued being like in the past: pasturelands for the cattle of the outskirts and estates where long invaders and they burn the vegetation.

Boza could not stop the destruction through the traditional bureaucratic mechanisms, so opted for resorting to the press in order to arriving from a direct form al costarican town. "Santa Rosa in flames; National Park in ruins", the headlines of the press said. The public was maddened and the authorities of the parks received the authorization to expel to the invaders of the lands and to protect them against the investment cattle raiser and agricultural.

In Guanacaste an experiment of natural reforestation exists, conceived and developed by the American biologist Janzen. This project has implications that can affect the future of all the planet land. For Janzen, is obvious that the reforestation of the forests devastated is not as simple as has been believed always. The careful study of similar extensions of the parks of Costa Rica, has taught us that the weaving of the life infinitely is elaborated, and that to reconstruct what has been unstitched does not suffice with sow trees; is required of a more complex work. Just as it is happening in other countries, the economic level of this developing country seems to contradict the efforts of the environmentalists. The parks and the extensive areas protected have a high cost. The urban expansion, product of the concentration from 60 percent of the costarican population on the most fertile floor of the country -the Central Valley-, covers the land of concrete and asphalt, and continues its road to a frantic step. In an intent by imitating the model of the United States and of the First World, an inevitable conflict between the consumerism arises and the conservation. Consequently, the river system, as well as the hydroelectric structure that feeds al country, seriously they are being threatened. The not management production of toxic waste produced by the banana plantations, coffee and fertilizers, among others, has contaminated the coastal and internal water. The pesticides done based on agricultural chemists initially were utilized only for the traditional products of export, like the banana and the cane of sugar, but now they are being implemented for the producers of flowers and vegetable, threatening to destroy important species such as the armadillos and the Crocodiles that inhabit along the Tempisque river. The deforestation becomes the consequence inevitable of the extensive pasturelands for the cattle, and unchains a process of irreversible erosion that reduces the working layer of the floor.

The foreign naturalists and tour guides try to balance these forces. The environmentalists, tour guides and ecologists of the entire world have come to Costa Rica to be allied with the edict of "the good". Currently, Costa Rica counts on hundreds of environmental experts, and dozens of international organizations for the conservation work in name of the ecological efforts and helping the knowledge of the local tour guides of Costa Rica.

With the belief that the true alone conservation can be achieved through the will of the people, the system of national parks has placed its pledge in educating the local tour guides of Costa Rica and the “ticos” in general more affected by the conversion of free lands in parks. The cooperation of the local tour guides and the “Ticos” in general is indispensable for the survival of these protected areas. For example, the animal’s used to hunt species for which the park has become a refugee. The large animals, such as the jaguars and the pumas, they need a lot of free space to survive. Convincing the locals do not kill them, in spite of the fact that these cats represent a constant threat for the cattle, is a complicated task that generally passes unnoticed.

Al to, the ecological tourists with the local Costa Rica tour guides, when they visit the protected areas, they support the benefit of this activity on the national parks in Costa Rica, through their work and their contributions to the foundations that fight for protecting to Costa Rica, these visitors put their granite of sand.

“La Amistad” International Park crosses the border with Panama and is a part of the system of parks of that country; the project of the Park of the Peace, that will be located along the river San Juan and will cover the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, is a joint effort among both nations: these are two very clear examples of what it matter is what we can sustainable develop from our national parks and the development of more and better tour guides of Costa Rica. But, ¿will be enough? The fact that Costa Rica be considered a democratic, quite, and sure country is so much a blessing as a problem for the nation. The world is not going to continue offering him aid, attention and media coverage to a so kindly democratic place. Other many unlucky countries in the planet exist, that are always al edge of the desperation and that clamor for aid, attention, support and cover of the informative media.




The Costa Rica Tour Guide

Temperature

The temperatures do not vary a lot through the year. Generally, the maximum difference between the hottest months and the coldest does not come be over 5 C (Celsius). The temperatures vary in every Costa Rica, but not exceptionally, due to the altitude. Under the 800 meters the temperature can be among 25°C to 32°C, in regions whose altitude goes from the 800 to the 2,500 meters of altitude, the temperatures vary of 14°C to 25°C al the same as in the Central Valley, and above the 2,500 meters the temperatures can arrive at less than 14°C.

Rains

Costa Rica has two main rainy regions, an in the side of the Caribbean and the other in the Pacific, which at the same time they affect or they include the northern parts, central and south, as also the Central valley.

The main change in the stations is the quantity of the rains. During the rainy station, that extends from May to the middle of November in the northern regions, and from April to December in the South zone. The dry station covers what remains of the year, and this defined for two phases, first (December, January, February) serene skies cloudy and cold winds, later (March and April) the skies remain clear most of the day, with weak breezes, and the highest temperatures of the year are reached. The weak breezes and the absence of rain favor the formation of mist. During the dry station, are produced the highest temperatures during the day, while in the night the lowest are given. The rainiest month in the north and the Central tectonic depression is September, while in the south is the month of October.

The rains usually are produced during the afternoon or the night, so if you are planning to “book” a tour guide in Costa Rica maintain that in mind, and enjoy the sun during the mornings. During July and August there is a short dry season call the "veranillos". In the region of the Caribbean and the north region, is not a long dry season, its only one month, in October, without rains.