Fodor’s Costa Rica 2010
Product Description
Costa Rica has become one of the most popular destinations for travelers seeking natural beauty, outdoor adventure and sun. It’s no wonder. Little Costa Rica is endowed with a mosaic of natural landscapes that are packed with an amazing array of flora and fauna. This is also one of the easiest places in the world to experience the beauty and complexity of tropical nature.
Now in full color, Fodor’s Costa Rica 2010 shows off the splendor of Costa Rica like no other guidebook. Features include:
• More than 200 color photos to inspire you
• An all-new, illustrated “Experience Costa Rica” chapter loaded with valuable advice, including tips on choosing an eco-lodge and planning a destination marriage or honeymoon
• A brand-new, illustrated “Biodiversity” chapter to guide you through the country’s varied landscapes and help plan your vacation based on particular activities or topography
• New magazine-style … More >>
My wife and I have traveled all over the world and have used a ton of travel guides. Typically we are Frommers users and not Fodors. With one of my best friends getting married recently and traveling to Costa Rica for his honeymoon I thought this was a great opportunity to review this travel guide.
This new “Gold Guide” has many more full color pictures than the normal Fodor’s or Frommer’s guide. Not quite as many as eyewitness guides but sometimes those guides focus to much on pictures and not enough on the info. The guide is well laid out and provides excellent travel information. It’s nice that even though there are now a ton more color pictures the actual information in the book is still very good and was not ignored. Overall I think this guide edges the Frommer’s and the normal Fodor’s guides. I think the information is very similar but the inclusion of so many color photo’s really does make the guide more fun to use.
I lent this to my friend and his wife and they loved the guide while in Costa Rica. Their comments were that the guide seemed very up to date and was broken down into sections that made it easy to find what they were looking for while there. They did enjoy the color pictures but seemed to be more impressed with the actual information in the book and how helpful it was on their honeymoon. Overall they thought this was an excellent guide book as did I. Recommended.
I received this book through the Vines Program and rated it against my recent visit to Costa Rica. I found the material in the book to be very accurate and really did wish that I had this book with me when I visited Costa Rica as it would have saved me a lot of time and eliminated the trial and error method that I employed while there!
The book does an excellent job of providing you with a comprehensive geographical view of the country. If you have ever visited here via cruise ship and thought you had seen the country, this book will help you to see that you only saw a very small part of the country!
If you are considering Costa Rica as a retirement location, this book would be indespensible to you as it covers all of the regions of the country, the culture, the history, the attractions, and the cities. The included Map of the country (large fold out that is detachable from the book)is excellent!
The pictures in the book alone are worth the cost of the guide. The book is well written and a pleasure to read.
Fodor’s Costa Rica 2010 is a really nice book. I previously bought this very same guide book when the 2008 edition came out, and the 2010 version far surpasses it in many ways. With the full color 2010 edition there are so many more pictures that help you get a better idea of the cultural aspects of Costa Rica’s tradition and the people of this picturesque country. The thicker, glossy paper used in this edition helps to bring out the detail of the numerous photos. The 2008 edition did not have nearly as many photos, with only a small section in the front of the book that had just a few color pictures.
The Contents in the front of the book are very helpful, very extensive, and makes it easier to find the area you are looking for without having to thumb through the pages. The breakdown of the book by geographical location is very helpful to concentrate on specific areas within Costa Rica, and at the top of almost every page shows the general location in bold orange with a more specific location in a regular font. Each area also separates out such things as “where to eat”, “where to stay”, “nightlife”, etc. In the 2008 version where to eat and stay were combined, which was far less useful especially for those on the go. I like that they isolated in this edition. There also seems to be a more reviews of places to eat and stay and have been updated with additions and deletions from the previous addition. This shows that Fodor’s has gone back to Costa Rica and is doing its job. I also really liked the addition of “pros” and “cons” in the reviews of places to stay.
The multipage color “In Focus” features on shopping, coffee, canopy tours, choosing a beach, bird watching, surfing, scuba diving and snorkeling, sport fishing, understanding Costa Rica and the travelling smart are very informative and a great addition to the 2010 book that was not available in the 2008 edition.
The Costa Rica Planner and Top Attractions, FAQ’s and the “Experience Costa Rica” section in the front of the book was very helpful, as was the extensive section on “Understanding Biodiversity” in the different Eco-Zones of the country. There is also an substantial section on the city of San Jose, including a San Jose planner for those in visiting the capital city.
Like the 2008 edition the 2010 edition has a pullout map, the full color map has elevations and shows the terrain quite well. Throughout the book there are also several maps with elevations (where appropriate) that concentrate on the specific geographical area of the book that was in context. The maps also show the roads and highways for those who rent a car it makes it easier to show how to get to a specific location. The edition of car rental agencies in some areas are a great help in the 2010 edition that was lacking in 2008.
Overall this is a great guide book. The only thing that I think that needs improvement is the index in the back of the book. Some towns or beaches are not listed in the index, while they are included in the book such as Panama Beach (Playa), while others that were in the 2008 edition have been dropped in the 2010 edition like Brasilito. I would not let this stop you from buying the book though.
I’ve noticed that travelers tend to be rather loyal to a certain brand of travel book publishers. I like Rough Guides and Lonely Planet and never thought highly of Fodor’s. They just seemed rather stale to me.
So going in, I really didn’t think I’d be in love with this book. Wrong. The color photos were like a slap in the face in a good way and makes you realize that if guide books added more photos, people would not only buy them because they’re helpful, but they’re for nostalgia. I was really impressed. It sort of made me want to start to plan a trip there and explore. The maps were really cool.
The book itself warrants 5 stars: It’s crammed full of information and would make it the “go to” book for the trip, but the additional info on plants and wildlife makes me want to head into the national parks with my camera and look for beautiful creatures and plants I’d never see at home.
I’m impressed, Fodors. Good job!
A well organized and comprehensive guide to Costa Rica. The overview chapter and the chapter on biodiversity are excellent. San Jose is well covered. The rest of the country is not covered in much depth, a sacrifice made in order to try to cover as much of the country as possible. This is pretty typical of whole country guides. The photos are excellent.
My only complaint about the guide is that it is relatively heavy. Costa Rica is a place where you will likely be walking and hiking. The book is printed on high quality glossy paper, which is great for durability, but makes for a heavy book. When hiking, every ounce matters.