Costa Rica is Central America's jewel. It's an oasis of calm among its turbulent neighbours and an ecotourism heaven, making it one of the best places to experience the tropics with minimal impact. It's also mostly coastline, which means great surfing, beaches galore and a climate built for laziness.

Costa Rica's enlightened approach to conservation has ensured that lush jungles are home to playful monkeys, languid sloths, crocodiles, countless lizards, poison-dart frogs and a mind-boggling assortment of exotic birds, insects and butterflies. Meanwhile, endangered sea turtles nest on both coasts and cloud forests protect elusive birds and jungle cats.

Thrill seekers can fly through forests on zip lines, peer into boiling volcanoes, surf oversized waves and dive withdolphins and whales – all in the course of a normal day. Then again, if you have some serious chilling to do, you can always lounge in a hammock and enjoy the pure life, or pura vida – a national expression that sums up the desire to live the best, most hassle-free existence.

Full country name: Republic of Costa Rica
Area: 51,100 sq km
Population: 4.1 million
People: 96% Spanish descent, 2% African descent, 1% indigenous, 1% Chinese
Language: English, Spanish
Religion: 75% Roman Catholic, 14% Protestant
Government: democratic republic
Head of State: President Abel Pacheco de la Espriella

GDP: US$32 billion
GDP per capita: US$8,300
Annual Growth: 1%
Inflation: 9.1%
Major Industries: Tourism, electronics, coffee, bananas, sugar, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products
Major Trading Partners: USA, Germany, Italy, Japan, Guatemala, Mexico

Currency: Costa Rican colón
If you're coming from one of the poorer neighbourhoods such as Nicaragua or Honduras, Costa Rica can strike you as the rather well-to-do Central American cousin with a proportionately high-cost lifestyle. In reality, it's a fast-developing country with an unabashed interest in the tourist dollar that, nevertheless, still has hotels and nosheries for the shoestring traveler. If you're traveling with someone else and don't mind a bit of grunge living and a few low-rent meals, you should be able to scrape by on 35 a day. If you're planning to have your own bathroom, eat decently and catch an occasional plane, 40 to 60 should cover your needs. Travelers expecting to be very comfortable can easily spend 100 to 150 per day, depending on their definition of comfort. The best tours cost upwards of 200 per day, but these include flights and first-class accommodations and services.

If you want to change cash, stick to US dollars (but make sure they're in decent condition and avoid 100 bills - due to a counterfeiting scam, most Costa Ricans won't touch them). US dollars are your best bet for traveler's checks as well, as other currencies will rarely be accepted - any of the major brands will do. If you buy colones with your credit card, expect to get hit with a huge interest bill. Banco Popular, ATH and Credomatic have the largest number of ATMs and their networks often extend as far as the smaller towns and cities. Some banks, though, such as branches of Banco Nacional, accept cards held by their customers only. Visa and MasterCard are the most widely-accepted credit cards; you may have some trouble with American Express.

You don't usually need to bother with tipping at restaurants, as most add a 10% tip (plus 15% tax) to the bill. You should tip bellboys and room cleaners about 0.50, tour guides 1 to 5 a day per person. Of course, if the service is excellent or lousy you should use your own discretion.