by Kerlain Kate

Created on: March 04, 2009

GEOGRAPHY

Costa Rica
is one of the smallest country in Latin America. More than 27% lands are national parks, reserves and protected territories. This exotic resting place will provide you a lot of abilities: to listen to the wild nature sounds, to go for a swim on a surfboard, to visit a lot of tropical beaches, to see volcano places, huge crocodiles and the smallest hummingbirds, playful monkeys and slow turtles.

CLIMATE

This beautiful country borders both the Caribbean Sea to the East and the North Pacific Ocean to the West. It also borders Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the Southeast. At least, it has only two seasons: dry and rainy. Dry season begins and continues between late December and the middle of April. This period is very hot and rainless. May is hot and wet. It's the end of the rainless season, but it also may bring a severe downfall. Rain is short, but it repeats daily - mostly in the second half of the day. Caribbean coast is very often place of tornados and windstorms. You mostly can see them in August, September and October.

TEMPERATURE

Costa Rica is a tropical country situated between 8 and 11 degrees above the equator. Long tradewing brings plenty of rain to the Caribbean cost. Along the Puerto Limon harbour annual rainfall totals up to 3100mm. So it's not less than 150mm monthly. The main influence on temperature is altitude. Average monthly temperature keeps at least 27 degree Celsius. Seasonal swings have a low level. This zone is full of tropical forests and plantations. Coast line of Blue lagoon is overgrown with weeds. Although in the mountains above 2000 meters you get much cooler temperatures, the average annual temperature for most of the country lies between 22 and 27 degree Celsius. The coolest months are from November through January, and the warmest from March through May. The capital of Costa Rica stands at approximately 1170 meters altitude and has a mean annual temperature of 20.6 degree Celsius.

REQUIRED CLOTHES

You will need to wear lightweight cottons and linens most of the year. Warmer clothes are necessary for cooler evenings and waterproof during the rainy season. Loose-fitting clothing is best. Wear neutral browns and greens for birding and wildlife viewing. Beach clothing in Costa Rica is the same as anywhere else in the world: swimming trunks for men and bikinis for women. Away from the beach resorts, clothing tends to be more conservative. So wear long pants from day to day and the only time wear shorts at the beach or at home. Also you may prefer to wear long sleeved shirts despite the warm weather or a T-shirts. Clothing for women is similarly conservative. It's unusual to see the women walking around town in a mini skirt or wearing a blouse with a very deep neckline. So it's recommended to wear knee length skirts or pants.

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