Get to Know This Spectacular Tropical Country
I n the last twenty years, ultra peaceful Costa Rica has become a most popular tourist destination in Central America, attracting approximately one million tourists annually to its magnificent beaches, nature preserves and eco-wonders. With explosive growth in tourism and development along the Pacific Coast heating up, Costa Rica is primed to become one of the top destinations in the world over the next 20 years.
The country lies in between sleepy Nicaragua to the north and effervescent Panama to the south reaching from the sparkling blue Pacific Ocean to the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. Costa Rica is perhaps Central America’s most attractive country. Though small in size, the country is home to a staggering array of natural beauty that is unique in the world. Majestic mountain ranges fall away to Pacific and Caribbean coastlines, resplendent green tropical rain forests, romantic high-altitude cloud forests, simmering volcanoes, hundreds of kilometers of pristine black, gold and white sand beaches and a spectacular diversity of animal, insect and aquatic life grace this lush, tropical land. The friendly people of Costa Rica enjoy a culture long-established in democratic tradition, and convey a distinctive warmth widely acknowledged by those who visit and come to live here. Costa Rican culture and tradition meshes well with the increasingly international population coming here to play and live, offering them both tropical splendor and the creature comforts Westerners are fond of enjoying.
Guanacaste Province
Guanacaste is the seventh, and largest, of Costa Rica’s provinces and it embraces all that the country has to offer. Guanacaste is accentuated by volcanic mountain ranges and national forestlands to the east and hundreds of miles of Pacific Coast beaches to the west. Great golden savannas and undulating hills become verdantly green in the rainy season. The climate is considered one of Costa Rica’s most temperate, averaging 85°F with an ideal 65 inches of rainfall annually. Sunshine is the standard most days, even during the rainy season, insuring outdoor activities such as sailing, diving, fishing or lounging on the beach year round.
Playas del Coco
Playas del Coco is the first beach community one reaches heading southwest from the provincial capital of Liberia and the Daniel Oduber International Airport. Coco is 30 miles from Liberia and 17 miles from the airport. Playas del Coco is a historic fishing town overlooking Guanacaste’s enormous Papagayo Gulf. The town enjoys tropical vistas that simply take your breath away. The lush, jungle covered hillsides edge up to wide, sandy beaches tracing the arcing cove facing Gulfo de Papagayo. The grandeur of the Pacific seems infinite as it meets the laid-back tropical atmosphere.
Picturesque and highly functional, the town of Coco has banks, churches, a police station and post office, well-supplied supermarkets, hardware stores, pharmacies and taxi services. Cable and satellite television, telecommunications and internet services are readily available. A medical clinic and 24-hour emergency services are minutes away. International port and immigration offices are in Coco, and plans for an important, full-scale marina are under development. Coco’s main street offers ample shopping with its colorful stores and outdoor vendors while nightlife gets a bit of sparkle from Coco’s beachfront bars, discos and restaurants. Dining out includes local and international cuisine and casinos open late into the night.
Truly, most of what one would want or need —from the practical to the luxurious— is to be found in Playas del Coco.
Coco’s long-awaited marina project is set to begin construction within the coming year. The multi-million dollar project promises to give unprecedented boost to Coco’s economy, benefiting commercial and sport fishing, the tourism industry, local businesses and residents all.