The New Key to Costa Rica: A Wild and Crazy Guide to Celebrating Your True Self

by Beatrice Blake and Anne Becher

Book Overview

- Over 400,000 copies sold of previous editions - The original guide to Costa Rica, updated with even more insider hints, tips, and secrets - Features extensive travel information plus in-depth coverage of the natural environment and advice on how to benefit the local economy and conservation efforts - Recommends and details over 50 hotels that practice sustainable tourism - Written by a dedicated conservationist who lived in Costa Rica for 12 yearsCovers...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1569756961
• ISBN13: 9781569756966
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Ulysses Press
• Length: 488 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.1" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

A MUST HAVE for travel to Costa Rica!

This book is amazing! I am from San Diego and we flew into San Jose for a two-week vacation. We had very little planned. We knew we were going to rent a car and drive the entire west coast. I read parts of this book prior to our travel and I was by far the most prepared. I brought most of what she recommended and was very happy I did. Honestly, this book made my trip memorable. A lot of this information is hard to find once you are there. It has detailed descriptions of every place (big, small, popular, hidden, etc). Costa Rica holds a special place in my heart because of this book. I learned so much from it! I learned about the culture, environment, and people. My travel buddies were a little apprehensive about relying on a book. But soon, they were demanding to know what it said! Blake includes information about restaurants, hotels, cabinas, etc. Most of the time she even includes information about the owners of such places! Furthermore, her information about safety is impeccable. Pay attention to her view of a town and the beaches. If she says it has a lot of crime, you can bet it does. If she says it gets rowdy at night (Pavones), it does. If she says don't miss this, don't miss it. Her information was always right on. It is incredible! Please do yourself a favor and take this book with you to Costa Rica, your trip will be the BEST because of it!

Excellence, Absolute Best Travel Book

I used a previous edition of this book as a guide when I was an exchange student in Costa Rica. This book contained everything that I needed. I spoke little Spanish in the beginning of my stay, and this book helped me to travel the country with easy. It contains information about everything from restaurants to travel to ecological information. Prior to using the New Key, I had never used a travel book. After using it, I wanted to buy a travel guide for every trip. Though I have now used several travel books, unfortunately, I have never found another book that is so comprehensive and useful as the New Key. This book explains a lot of inside information that one needs to know and hotel and restaurant tips. I highly recommend it. I only wish the makers of the New Key would do New Key books for other places,especially other Central American countries. I would buy any New Key book even if it were over my own home city so that I could let my visitors use it. I would buy the full set without hesitation. My few words can hardly do justice to this excellent book. If there were a nobel prize for travel books, this book would have won it. If you are taking a trip to Costa Rica, buy it!

The best Costa Rica guidebook we found

When my family and I decided to vacation in Costa Rica, I bought several guidebooks. This is, by far, the best of the lot. Prices and descriptions are accurate, and I especially appreciated the e-mail and Web site addresses. This allowed me to finalize prices and make reservations without expensive phone calls. We continued to use the guidebook when we arrived in-country. The descriptions and historical backgrounding were accessible to all of us, and our four teen-aged sons often asked me to read aloud the "New Key" information about our next destination.

BEST TRAVEL BOOK

As a president and founder of the Bed and Breakfast Asoociation and Central Reservation System for B & B's in Costa Rica for the past 10 years, I highly recommend "The New Key to Costa Rica". The information provided is invaluable. Both of the authors have lived and travelled extensively for over 14 years in Costa Rica. Readers couldn't possibly find a better updated travel book written, by the book's authors who have experienced and continue to travel this wonderful country first hand.

Great EcoTourism guide

Great Family guide. We traveled and volunteered for six weeks with a 12 and 14 year old, and found the book invaluable. Everything was accurate and helped use get around on a limited budget. Bus schedules and directions were great. Since we got back, we have compared it to several other books for places we stayed, no other book compared. It has great reviews of the national parks and the country Map includes the National Parks.