Pauline Frommer's Costa Rica (Pauline Frommer Guides) |  | Authors: David Appell, Nelson Mui
Creator: Pauline Frommer
Publisher: Frommers
Category: Book
List Price: $19.99
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Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 421036
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 404
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.1 x 1
ISBN: 0470052279
Dewey Decimal Number: 917.2860452
EAN: 9780470052273
ASIN: 0470052279
Publication Date: October 22, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Spend less, see more. This is the philosophy behind Pauline Frommer’s guides. Written by travel expert Pauline Frommer (who is also the daughter of Arthur Frommer), and her team of hand-picked writers, these guides show how to truly experience a culture, meet locals, and save money along the way. • Industry secrets on how to find the best hotel rooms • Details on alternative accommodations, great neighborhood restaurants, and cool, offbeat finds • Packed with personality and opinions "Full of good tips and suggestions."
—Chicago Tribune "Packed with information on how to eat and sleep without depleting your bank account"
—Louisville Courier Are You Ready to Travel Smart? If you'd like to get the most out of your dollar and your trip, this is the guide for you. I put a fresh spin on budget travel, showing you how to see the best for less and how to see it in a more authentic way-the way the locals do. The guide promises travelers a first-class trip on a third-class budget, with experiences that bring travelers closer to Costa Rican culture—language and cooking classes, volunteering to protect sea turtles during nesting season, and more. Destinations will include the Monteverde Cloud Forest, the Guanacaste beaches, Tortuguero, Manuel Antonio National Park, and the thriving capital city of San José. An illustrated guide to Costa Rica’s wildlife as well as coverage of the country’s history, culture, food, and drink. Happy Travels,
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
 Glad I bought it March 3, 2008
chp (Miami)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
For my super-detail oriented personality there wasn't quite enough meat (logistics-wise) in Pauline Frommer's Costa Rica for it to successfully stand alone as the only guidebook for someone on an independent vacation (with rental car). If you're on a package tour it's more than adequate. But when taken along with another guidebook (Moon's Costa Rica in my case) Pauline Frommer's shined.
It excels in recommending excellent beaches, beach towns, restaurants and hotels but is lacking in maps and discussion on travel logistics - i.e. how long it will take to drive from town X to town Y on the dirt road, etc.
Here's where it shines and is worth purchasing. On three occasions it guided us to sights (a secluded hard-to-reach pink sand beach, a beautiful beach town, and a wonderfully authentic restaurant (where there was no menu but 2 huge plates of food, 2 sodas, and 2 dessert pan dulces all came to under $9)) that made our vacation really special and were either totally left out of the other guidebook or not emphasized sufficiently to warrant exploration. This is a mark of a great guidebook and allowed me to feel confident that the authors, David Appell and Nelson Mui, knew what they were talking about and recommend great stuff! We also like the author's laid back and relaxed, but realistic attitude. We only traveled to areas covered by 3 chapters of the book so I can only imagine the other gems recommended in other parts of the country.
This guidebook can definitely work alone, but I simply like to have more details about transportation - especially maps. The next version should include more. Also, as a young man I almost did not purchase this book simply because Pauline's picture is displayed prominently all around. It looks like it's targeted to my mom's demographic, which it may be, but if its trying to be a new series of guidebooks aimed at allowing the traveler to "see more" and "spend less" it could appear more contemporary and less like a book for ladies.
Great Information January 21, 2008
kla (Austin)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I looked through several guides on Costa Rica before purchasing this one - it wasn't just a list of where to stay etc., it had the kind of info a good friend really familiar with an area would let you know. For example we are interested in staying at the beach on the pacific side and there was a lot of detailed info on the beaches and beach towns to help decide which area we wanted to stay in. I know which beaches are considered more family friendly and which towns are the party spots. The book also talks about things like the history of development in the beach towns and gives info on which are still sleepy towns and which are sort of like Cabo. Also included is info on alternatives to hotels, and lots of good websites to check out. This isn't a comprehensive guide but rather a good place to start with all the online resources you need for further info.
Accurate descriptions, but double the prices July 31, 2008
Hal Brodsky (Gainesville, Florida)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Its July 2008, and my family has just returned from a wonderful 9 days in Costa Rica, enhanced by this book (2008 version, copyright 2008.) We traveled to San Jose, Monte Verde, Arenal/La Fortuna, and Sarapiqui. This book provided excellent descriptions of local sites and attractions and lodging. The sections on food, tipping, transportation, were all accurate and helpful. White water rafting and zip line recommendations were good. Recommended restaurants were good. The book is for the most part well organized.
My only gripe with the book is that the prices were off by 25-100% even though we traveled in the same year the book was published. For example, the butterfly exhibit in Monte Verde is quoted at $8 per peron, and it is actually $10 per person. A Pizza Parlor in La Fortuna recommended for its $5 pizzas actually charges $10.50 for its cheapest pizza. At first I thought this might be an exchange rate issue (after all the dollar is doing poorly this year), but the book quoted the exchange rate at approximately 470 Colons to the Dollar and when we arrived it was 540 Colons to the Dollar. Then I thought maybe this was a problem with world food prices rising (yada-yada-yada). So I did a study of a single item : Imperial Beer. According to the book, Imperial Beer costs 60 cents in bars and "up to $2 in Better Hotels". We paid between $1.25 and $4 for an Imperial (mostly around $2). So, was it the excahnge rate or World Food Prices?.... neither. I went into two super markets, one in Monte Verde and one in San Jose . Both were charging 90 cents FOR A SIX PACK. So in Costa Rica places recommended in the book, they have doubled the price of beer since the book went to press and raised admission fees 25%. Whether this is a result of being included in the book or a sudden country-wide realization that Americans will pay this much, I don't know, but I would not plan a budget using this book as a guide. (Prices in San Jose were closer to the quoted prices than in the other areas).
I took two other books with me that accompanied this book well. One was Moon Costa Rica (Moon Handbooks)which has MUCH deeper information on the history and culture and politics of Costa Rica (you can buy a used copy that is a couple of years old CHEAP on Amazon and you won't miss anything if you stick to the opening and closing sections). The other was The Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide. Unless you plan to just get hammered and lay on the beach for a week, you have to bring this book and a pair of binoculars. They have the most increadible birds down there and many places put out fruit scraps so that these amazing creatures come to join you for breakfast!
REALLY on the mark! June 20, 2008
A. Stover
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book came from the library after we came back from Costa Rica, so we read the section about the area's we had visited, and BOY was Paula right on! It's simply amazing how one person could have such complete observations about so many area's. I would highly recommend this book (and Costa Rica). I will be buying it for my sister who is on her way... May all your travels be filled with wonderment, beauty and love.
 ok guide, but wish there was more content May 12, 2008
K. Fletcher (Cambridge, MA United States)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
has a nice writing style, but I wish more specific places were reviewed. not quite the in-depth guidebook I was hoping for.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
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