Rating: 
Summary: very comprehensive book!
Review: i went to langage school in alajuela, costa rica for 8 weeks and needed a good guide book. i have used/reviewed other guide books for other trips (frommers, etc) and found that this book is far better. this book is for everybody, but is realy good for budget travelers. this book includes maps of ALL the towns (small towns too!) that you want to viset! (other books dont have this!) It also lists all the information you could ever need in not only major areas, but small areas as well. negitives: sometimes its hard to find specific info without looking for a few min. (its there, just a little hard to find). And i wish a new version would come out more often. (i had no problem using my 3 year old copy though) over all this book is great and you only need to buy it and no other guide book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the Best Guide for Travelers
Review: I've read and used both this book and Moon's Costa Rica Handbook. The latter is by far the better of the two and contains about twice the information.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent guide book
Review: I've used a couple of guide books for my trips to Costa Rica. This one was the best, It had more in it than others, and provided better discriptions that most of the others. The reviews of the places were honest and the prices were usually about right. The edition I used was a 2000 edition, I think that this is the most up to date lonely planet guide for Costa Rica, but I could be wrong. The is no guide book that has everything but this is the best I've found. If your only going to buy one guide book or if you are thinking about a trip to Costa Rica and want some information, I would highly recommend this book. The section in the back with animal descriptions is also very nice. Get the book, and the go to Costa Rica, you'll love it.
Rating:
Summary: response to forest hills reader
Review: If the critic below from Forest Hills does not like the emphasis on birding in the guidebook that is fine. But I have some objection to the attitude expressed in the critique and suggest that such a person is not a good representative of responsible travel in Costa Rica. Although the comment about how he and his buddy tried to run over every bird that they saw on their motorcycles is tongue in cheek, it reveals an attitude of many ethnocentric and selfish tourists who think that Costa Rica is the southern extension of their Daytona Spring Break. Costa Rica is not just a place to go and party and rip around on motorcycles with no regard for the natural environment. The stunning geography and abundant biodiversity of Costa Rica influences Tico culture and makes it a unique nation. People with the attitude of the critic from Forest Hills should probably just do Costa Rica and its people a favor and take their next beach trip to the Jersey Shore. They would save on airfare and would not continue to make a bad name for the visitors who actually appreciate Costa Rica.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Second Choice
Review: In preparing for a four-week trip to Costa Rica, I bought both the Lonely Planet Guide and Moon Handbook to Costa Rica. Although both were very good, I would give the edge to the Moon Handbook which provided more detailed and personalized descriptions of places to stay, eat, and visit.
I have used Lonely Planet books in many parts of the world and have long considered them my travel Bible. However, I have noticed that they seem to have lost some of their spark and have become more mainstream and institutionalized in recent years.
For those planning an extensive trip to Costa Rica, I would suggest buying both Moon and Lonely Planet guides as each provides information and insights the other lacks. But I would give Moon the edge if you are planning to purche only one.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Second Choice
Review: In preparing for a four-week trip to Costa Rica, I bought both the Moon Handbook and the Lonely Planet Guides to Costa Rica. Both were very good, but I would give the edge to Christoper Baker's Moon Handbook which provided more detailed and personalized descriptions of places to stay, eat, and visit.
I have used Lonely Planet guides for years in many parts of the world and have long considered them my travel Bible. They remain excellent, reliable, and encyclopedic sources of travel information. However, I do sense they have lost some of the spark and individualism they once had and are becoming more mainstream and institutional.
For travelers who plan an extensive trip to Costa Rica I would recommend buying both Moon and Lonely Planet as each provides information and insights the other misses. But if you only want to purchase one guide, I would recommend the Moon Guide.
Rating: 
Summary: Necessary to know what to avoid
Review: Just got back from Costa Rica (2 wks), and had a good time, though it wasn't without serious disappointment. While there we noticed that almost all the guidebooks people were carrying around were Lonely Planet (LP). But everywhere we stayed that LP raved about was very disappointing, and the few places we stayed that were very understated in LP were excellent. My theory is that so many people are using LP that if a place gets a rave recommendation the business just pours in. They jack up their prices, sit back and rest on their reputation, and the facility and service deteriorate. But the money keeps pouring in because of that great LP review. Meanwhile the underrated places have to work their butts off to get business. Even though LP CR is only 2 years old, the prices of the highly rated hotels were off by as much as 50%, whereas the ones with understated descriptions were right on. Generally, I like using LP, but for CR I would say that too many people do. Grab a different guidebook and cross-ref it with LP. If it has a nice sounding place that's not in LP, stay there! We also used Frommer's even though it doesn't have much of a selection of budget places. Frommer's descriptions are so much more colorful and accurate. You get the impression that they only write about places for which they have first-hand knowledge. Plus Frommer's 2004 edition is new and the prices were exactly right. But, it's not sufficient by itself because it just doesn't list enough places. Our rule of thumb for LP CR: If LP writes more than half a column about a hotel or lodge, avoid it! It will be overrated by now, with ridiculously high prices, and an inattentive staff. Next gripe related to the advice in this guidebook: all the concerns and warnings are grossly exagerated. The roads are bad, but they don't swallow cars and break axles. There may be some crime, but there aren't people learching in the shadows to flatten your tires every time you stop. The busy season doesn't fill every hotel -- in fact without reservations, we got our first choice of hotels every night. I wonder how much more fun my trip would have been if I hadn't let this book make me so defensive! Here's a tip for Costa Rican hotels: it doesn't matter how expensive the place is, the showers are lousy, with very little hot water and terrible water pressure. So don't pay $45 for a place just because it has hot showers when the place next door is only $25.
Rating:
Summary: essential
Review: Lonely Planet is always on the money with their guide books, but the Costa Rica edition is even better than average. It has everything you could conceivably need to know, and if it doesn't have it, it tells you how to find out. The info. was up to date when I went there, but Costa Rica is such a friendly and easy going place, that it doesn't really matter which hotel or restaurant you eat at. Just ask a friendly local and they will be more than willing to help you out. The only drawback is that some of the maps are not detailed enough if you are planning to take some of the backroads, so get a roadmap in addition to this book. However, that is a small price to pay for such an indispensable little guide. But remember, it is just a guide, not an instruction manual. You will have a better trip if you discover some stuff out for yourself, rather than going to the first "attraction" that LP suggests and finding 100 other tourists walking around with the same guidebook in their hand! Oh yeah, and not to mention, it is impossible to destroy an LP guide. Later.
Rating:
Summary: A response to Thomas K
Review: One would think that an alleged "author" would make more sensible comments than yours, but unfortunately your retort was as well researched as Rob the Birder's book. Your incorrect assumptions about my attitude and reasons for being in Costa Rica are just that - incorrect assumptions. Plus, you give no response to the actual critiques of my review, that the book is simply poorly researched, out-of-date, and not very knowledgeable. Like Rob the Birder, I would suggest you stick to facts in the future. If I want opinions, I'll pick up the NY Times. If I want travel info, I'll go for Lonely Planet. And if I want accurate travel advice, I'll stick to LP books NOT written by Thomas K and Rob the Bent Birder.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best eco-touring pocket guide on Costa Rica.
Review: There are nearly a dozen decent guidebooks available on Costa Rica. I have them all. This is probably the best, most accurate and most current among the group--especially for eco-travelers. I have recommended it to many friends and their feedback has been all positive.
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