Costa Rica, a small country roughly the size of west Virginia is wonderful to explore, offering the visitor two coasts with miles of beautiful beaches, and extensive national parks system covering approximately 25% of the land, and an incredible biodiversity, including tropical rain forest, dense cloud forest, and active volcanoes. There is a wide choice of hotel accommodations throughout the country, ranging from five star hotels to quaint lodges, something to suit everybody's taste and budget. Costa Rica is easily reached from most important cities in United States, Canada, and Europe with daily flights on major Airlines. All these factors as well as Costa Rica's friendly people and peaceful democratic life style make it a favorite vacation destination. The diversity of the tourist attractions within the country including the white sand beaches of Guanacaste, famous for its pristine waters, and a world Mecca for sportfishing. In addition to it's splendid beach resorts; then the Central Pacific Area with the popular Jaco Beach (the closest Beach to San Jose) a complete Beach resort area and the nearby Manuel Antonio National Park, also renowned for it's beautiful beaches. The most popular destinations for nature lovers include the jungles and canals of Tortuguero National Park. Costa Rica's nine active volcanoes offer visitors a chance to see the awesome power of nature such as the Arenal Volcano; the unspoiled mountainous areas have a lot to explore as in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. All these will give a perfect opportunity to have a close up look at nature's masterpiece... Costa Rica! Sports and adventure enthusiasts will discovers Costa Rica's mighty rivers for white water rafting and river kayaking; the marine life in the warm Pacific waters will astonish scuba divers; the mountains offer extraordinary challenges to mountain bikers, and a wide diversity of scenery for horse back riding.