Student Hotels by Regions
San Jose was neither the first city established in Costa Rica, nor the original capital, yet today it is both the primary city of the country, and the capital. This dominance is seen not only its large area, but in its economic prosperity. It is in San Jose that the upper class has lived. During the late colonial times, many of the very small upper class became the coffee barons of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Also concentrated in the capitol city is the middle classes, which greatly expanded in the twentieth century due to the growth of industry, commerce and government. Recently many other cities have begun to grow in population and prosperity, but none have escaped from the shadow that San Jose has shed.
Arenal is considered Costa Rica's most active volcano and has been studied by seismologists for many years. Although the activity nowadays is less damaging, you can still see ash columns, underground rumbling, glowing orange lava flows and sudden explosions on a daily basis. With its perfect conical shape it allows breathtaking views of volcanic action in the summit. Almost every night the crater offers a spectacle of lights with its explosive eruptions.
Manuel Antonio National Park, in Spanish the Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio, is a small National Park in the Central Pacific Conservation Area located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, just south of the city of Quepos, Puntarenas, and 132 km from the national capital of San José. Established in 1972 with an area enumerating 4,014 acres (16.24 km2) (the smallest of any Costa Rican national park), it is the destination of as many as 150,000 visitors annually and well-known for its beautiful beaches and hiking trails.
Monteverde (Spanish for 'green mount') is a small town in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. It is often considered a major tourist destination in Costa Rica, primarily frequented by ecotourists drawn by the high biodiversity of its numerous reserves, the most famous of which is the Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde. Monteverde is humid, misty and cloudy, with temperatures ranging from 15 to 22° Celsius (59 to 77° Fahrenheit).[1] Annual rainfall averages around 3,000 millimetres (118 in).
Tamarindo is a town located on the Northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica in the Province of Guanacaste. The district has a population of 3,525, and can swell to 5,000 people during the tourist season. The main attractions are surfing and eco-tourism. Playa Tamarindo is a long beach, with excellent waves near the mouth of the estuary. Currents can be strong, especially on a falling tide. Tamarindo has two main breaks for advanced surfers: Pico Pequeño a rocky point in front of the Hotel Tamarindo Diriá and the excellent river mouth break called El Estero. The rest of the beach breaks are perfect for learning.
The Northern Pacific area or Gold Coast, which includes Peninsula Nicoya, is located in the Province of Guanacaste and is justly famous for its golden sand beaches. The Northern Pacific Region stretches all way from Nicaragua along the Cordilleara of Guanacaste and features a spectacular string of dormant and gently active volcanoes located in protected national parks. Rainforests, cloud forests, tropical dry forests, wildlife refuges and biological reserves are other natural resources that command attention in this region. Recreational activities in the Northern Pacific abound and vacationers can participate in everything in-between sport fishing or gambling in a Casino.
Jacó is a coastal city in Costa Rica's Puntarenas province, located in the Central Pacific Region, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Jacó is approximately 1.5 hours from San José and 1 hour North of Manuel Antonio National Park. It lies between several mountains, and encompasses the beaches of Herradura, Jacó and Hermosa. At about 15 miles north of Jacó, lies the Carara National Park, recognized for it´s wildlife. Jacó hosts several bars, nightclubs, discos, and all-inclusive hostels. Located in neighboring Herradura Bay is the resort Los Sueños.
Costa Rica's Caribbean Coast is located within the Province of Limón, covering 18% of the nation’s territory, but only 9% of its population. The result of this “unbalanced” ratio of majestic, undeveloped land is what makes Costa Rica so attractive to locals and visitors alike. The region of Costa Rica along its Pacific shore offers long and irregular coastlines and beaches quite different from the neighboring Caribbean side. Smooth sweeps of mangrove swamps, encroaching forests that reach to beaches and up to rocky shores are a few of the characteristics of this region Not only does the Pacific offer smaller tide variations than the Caribbean coastline, but the microclimate along this shore offers a continuously wet climate with no dry season.
Tortuguero seems to have a future full of promise. In past eras, its inhabitants weathered economic cycles. Those that stayed after the wood businesses disappeared barely survived by hunting, fishing, and agriculture. Tortuguero National Park offers an alternative to this unstable existence, because the incredible natural resources of this area, if well preserved, will attract more and more visitors. The last few years there has been a strong effort to organize and educate the villagers about how to protect their natural resources. The Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC) has been an important group in undertaking this public awareness campaign in the village itself and with the surrounding hotels. The educational system here in the village has been strengthened in the past few years.
Located about 110 km West of San José, the Central Pacific Region was traditionally the main destination for residents escaping the capital city of San José for a few days of leisure. The Central Pacific Region starts with the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula in the north and ends at Playa Dominical in the south. The region includes the biggest coastal city in Costa Rica, Puntarenas, which is the capital of the province of the same name.
