Top Reasons Why Costa Rica Is the Perfect Pandemic Destination

If you’re looking for the perfect pandemic destination, Costa Rica might just be it.

The country has long been at the forefront of sustainable tourism and has now established itself as one of the most popular destinations for socially distanced travellers who want to avoid large crowds when they travel.

The Costa Rica vaccine program is going well with no quarantine or entry requirements needed if you are vaccinated and the country has a focus on vaccinating its hospitality workers in order to attract tourism back.

Costa Rica is the perfect pandemic destination because it’s welcoming to tourists who want to enjoy some of the most beautiful sites in South America without fear of getting sick, or anyone who wants an exhilarating vacation experience free of stress or worry about getting ill while abroad.

In this article, we’ll be taking a deep dive into why Costa Rica is an excellent choice for your first social distanced holiday.

1. Costa Rica is one of the most beautiful destinations in the world

For your first pandemic holiday, you’ll want to pick something that really brings home the exhilaration and beauty of global travel. In that regard, Costa Rica has exactly what you need.

The aptly named Rich Coast boasts a huge variety of biomes for you to explore and the country was at the forefront of developing adventure tourism in the 1980s, cleverly using raised walkways and ziplines to open up its wildlife-filled jungles.

As you might expect for a country that has such a variety of  flora and fauna, there’s a huge range of things to do in Costa Rica.

It’s rare for one country to be able to provide horseback riding, beautiful Caribbean coast beaches, surfing, jungle trekking, white water rafting, boutique hotels and some of the best coffee on the planet.

2. Its safe, welcoming, and well developed for tourism

Some tourists are, perhaps understandably, put off the idea of South American travel by the lingering ideas of heavy narcotics trafficking and political strife.

The good news is that Costa Rica has hardly been touched by the troubles that have plagued countries to the north and doesn’t even have a standing army. Costa Rica has governed through peaceful democratic elections since 1953.

The country tops the Happy Planet Index, which measures the amount of “sustainable wellbeing for all” when ranking countries. To put it in context, Canada ranks  85th in these rankings, the U.S comes in at 108th and the UK is at 34th.

The country has also put significant effort into enhancing its tourism industry, building an excellent highway system, a huge number of excellent national parks, facilitating the growth of a great hospitality industry and also promoting the widespread use of English as a lingua franca.

3. Its taking pandemic precautions seriously

Since 2020, Costa Rica has won plaudits from the UN, EU, and WHO for its handling of the Covid-19 outbreak. Costa Rica has a robust universal health system that provides coverage for around 95% of its five million citizens.

The government reacted quickly, putting in place a specialized centre for COVID-19 cases and appointing their health minister, Daniel Salas, an expert in epidemiology to oversee the response to the pandemic.

Because of this rapid, science-based, response, and the fact that the Costa Rican population have come together to responsibly follow instructions, covid cases have remained low and vaccination levels are high.

To put that into perspective, the total number of covid-19 cases in Costa Rica since the start of the outbreak is lower than the current monthly number of cases in the USA.

4. The entry requirements are easy

According to Costa Rica’s entry policy:

“As of August 1, 2021, all tourists who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and inoculated with Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson can enter the country without a travel policy. The last dose of the vaccine must have been applied at least 14 days before arrival in Costa Rica.”

The other primary restriction being that travellers who are not vaccinated must have mandatory travel insurance that covers them for USD $50,000 of medical expenses and  USD $2,000 for extended lodging expenses if they are required to quarantine.

5. Costa Rica is at the forefront of sustainable travel

Costa Rica has placed a heavy emphasis on sustainability over the past decade, instituting new sustainability measures, green power projects, and announcing a goal of being the world’s first zero-carbon country by 2050.

According to research done by Booking.com, 87% of travellers said they wanted to travel sustainably and 55% said they were more determined to make sustainable travel choices than the previous year.

The country also plays host to the famous luxury eco-hotel, the Pacuare Lodge, which combines sustainable accommodation with white water rafting, traditional Costa Rican indigenous culture experiences, and a focus on wildlife and wellness.

So, if you’re looking for a sustainable travel option, Costa Rica is an excellent choice!

6. There are some amazing places to visit

As we’ve already mentioned, Costa Rica has a huge number of amazing places to visit.

You could spend a few nights in the serenity of the Nayara Tented Camp, enjoying its amazing volcano views, luxury two-story tents, access to its sister resorts Nayara Gardens and Nayara Springs, and even a visit to a sloth sanctuary.

If you’re near the Rincón de la Vieja National Park, home to one of Costa Rica’s many volcanoes, you can spend the day as a Costa Rican cowboy, known as a sabaneros, taking in the amazing countryside from the back of a horse.

You can even mountain bike down the back of an active volcano if you’re feeling particularly adventurous.

8. The food is amazing

Costa Rica might not have a particularly well developed culinary reputation, but, as you might expect from a country with such a heavy emphasis on tourism, there is a thriving food scene.

One of the primary drivers for the unique foodie culture found in Costa Rica is the huge variety of indigenous fruits and vegetables found in the country.

Go visit one of the local markets and you’ll find tropical favourites such as mango and bananas sitting alongside local varieties, such as mamon chino, mangosteen, pejibayes, guanabana, and star fruit.

The sheer variety of indigenous fruits and vegetables available means that the food you have in Costa Rica is always different from anything you’ve had before.

Costa Rica also has a rich history as a grower and exporter of some of the finest coffee in the world, and that coffee culture persists, making it a fantastic destination for coffee lovers.

Visit to Costa Rica now!

Costa Rica is a perfect pandemic holiday destination.

It’s an easy place to visit, with few entry restrictions, high vaccination rates and a low risk of infection due to the social distancing measures in place.

The country offers amazing experiences for those looking for tranquillity or adventure, from nature hikes through jungle rivers and rainforests, to surfing on some of Latin America’s best beaches. This destination checks all the boxes as a first pandemic holiday.