Costa Rica’s area is only 19,700 square miles (51,100 sq. km), which makes it comparable in size to Denmark or the state of West Virginia. It is small, but oh so varied!

It’s no wonder it was named “Rich Coast”, with its dense jungles, cold mountains, roaring waterfalls and endless, tropical beaches. However despite its small size, the connectivity within it is slow. Because there are mountains and rivers to evade, it often takes hours to get from one place to another even if destinations are only separated by 50-100 miles.

The Caribbean is only 132 miles (212) km long, but to get from one border to the other would probably take about five hours. Similarly, to drive from the northern to the southern border of the much longer Pacific coast (801 miles or 1,290 km) would take about ten hours due to the winding roads.