As always a good help

books:


	• Costa Rica (Country Guide) Mara Vorhees Lonely Planet, 2006 - 592 pages average customer review:based on 24 reviews view larger image
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Pretty out of date

I'm an LP loyalist for all my travels, but of all the countries I've visited before, this LP guide seems to have the least accurate information. I only traveled to a small section of CR, flying into Liberia and staying in Playa Grande. Even in that narrow scope, I found listed restaurants that no longer existed and hotel descriptions that were quite off the mark. For example, I chose Hotel El Punto in Liberia as a staging place before flying out on my final night based on this description:

s/d/tr/q US$21/41/48/53 This converted elementary school is now one of the chicest hotels in Liberia, though it would definitely feel more at home in NYC than humble Guanacaste. Rooms here are ultramodern loft apartments with private showers, small kitchens, Japanese minimalist accents and plenty of MOMA worthy art. This spot is recommended as the rooms are severely underpriced.

The decor is more IKEA than Japanese or MOMA, but the room is decent and one of the nicer places in town. It cost $90 per night for 2 people, however. In Liberia, that is far from "severely underpriced" and more than double what was noted in LP. The staff said that they have been trying to tell LP for a long time that the prices are incorrect, as it doesn't suit them to have travelers becoming immediately disappointed upon their arrival.

LP was right in recommending Hotel Las Tortugas in Playa Grande, however. The value for what you get is incredible - right on the beach, great food, great staff, great price.

I did notice the negative tone that other reviewers mentioned, but being a person that typically wants to avoid tourist traps and exploitation of land or locals, it did not bother me that much.

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So-So.

The detailed city maps are not very good, outdated with businesses that have gone away, etc. Moon guide books have way better maps than Lonely Planet. The hotel reviews I thought were way off base, and don't include some major hotels. All in all, let me just say this: Lonely Planet isn't the Bible. Check out other guide books and go with any of the major ones. If you buy Lonely Planet, also buy a map, because their city maps are wrong!

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As always a good help

The lonely planet helped as as always to plan our vacation. We spend only one week in this interesting country, but managed to plan an interesting and packed two day trip. Instead of booking through the hotel and spending at least $250 per person we took all the information out of the book. Besides saving some money, we had a lot of information and explored the country a lot better than with a pre booked trip. As the book is from 2006 some of the prices have already increased. I can highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to plan his trip on his own and/or wants background information on history, culture and people.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Beyond the deserted beaches of the Nicoya Peninsula and the visceral heights of the Monteverde cloud forests lies the real Costa Rica ? a land of delicate pathos, forthright purity and hard-won pacifism. Tromp through virgin rain forest ? sighting poison-dart frogs and howler monkeys along the way ? or simply explore the local lore and laid-back beach scene with this comprehensive guide.

Less Is More ? expanded ecofriendly coverage and loads of volunteer and learning opportunities make traveling with a conscience easier than ever.

The Wild Side ? spot your favorite rain forest dwellers ? scarlet macaws, caimans and more ? with our expert-written color wildlife section.

Gaps On The Map ? lose yourself in the seldom-visited corners of this ecological powerhouse with informed do-it-yourself content and more than 80 maps.

Charge It! ? surf the world?s longest left at Pavones, hike through rain forest in Corcovado or drop into roaring rapids with our Adventure Travel chapter.

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