Travel Alert--Remember to take passports to any of the Caribbean, Central American, Mexican, and Canadian locations. Even children traveling with their parents need passports.

For travelers looking for a natural paradise, Costa Rica is the destination. In the heart of Central America, Costa Rica has beautiful beaches on the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean/Atlantic Ocean. Although its primary language and the architecture of its churches are Spanish, its culture is diverse with European and Mayan influences. Visitors to Costa Rica should plan on packing their passports, English to Spanish dictionaries, cameras, and binoculars as well as a notebook for recording notes about all of the incredible birds, including the scarlet macaw, found in the rainforests.

Eco-tourists and hikers can work with naturalist guides to tour the jungle rainforests where they will find monkeys and colorful butterflies in addition to the exotic tropical birds. If the hikers get tired, they can soak in the hot springs, cruise through the biological reserves. While touring through the rainforests, visitors also can see white water rapids, rugged mountains, and volcanoes.

San Jose, the capital city, is a perfect place for a base from which to travel throughout Costa Rica because it is the hub for auto and air travel. In San Jose, travelers can visit the Plaza de la Cultura Central Park, National Theatre, and National Museum. One of Costa Rica's most famous tourist attractions, which is just east of San Jose, is the Rainforest Aerial Tram. After taking the tram for an overview, visitors can hike through Tortuguero National Park where there are over 300 species of birds including, green macaws, toucans, parrots, and kingfishers. Beachcombers and surfers like the beaches in Costa Rica. In eastern Costa Rica, visitors can go on a bird watching cruise (Cano Palma), visit a butterfly garden, and explore a green turtle research station. In northern Costa Rica at Cano Negro, visitors can see hot springs and unusual wildlife such as spider monkeys, water-walking lizards, cormorants, and whistling ducks.

Agri-tourists can visit coffee, cane, sugar, orange, and teak plantations while shoppers searching out the crafts of Costa Rica can tour Jaco after a hike in the Cloud Forest where orchids and tropical plants grow.

Other trips to plan while visiting Costa Rica would include a stop in Panama, Mexico, or any of the Caribbean island nations, territories, or states.