The Bookwatch
"...(differs) from the others in its naturalist-oriented cosiderations of outdoors activities and unusual offbeat adventures...mention of transportation challenges and unusual accommodations leads the visitor away from well-worn paths."

Travel Books Review
"...the definitive book to read...well-written and well-researched...you are shown the best jungle hikes, the best jungle hikes, the best beaches with top offshore diving and snorkeling locations, white water rivers suitable for rafting/kayaking (with recommended outfitters), tips for bird watching, and mucn more... I recommend that you buy this book."

Daryl Loth, Tortuguero Safaris
"Your material about Tortuguero National Park is solid... I even learned a thing or two..."(Daryl Loth, Tortuguero Safaris (writing about Tortuguero National Park) "Your material about Tortuguero National Park is solid... I even learned a thing or two...")

Shirley Miller, Costa Rica Outlook
"This book will be one you'll want in your library and to carry with you on your next trip to Costa Rica.... The...references are excellent and good reading. If you want to expand your knowledge about Costa Rica..then buy a copy of this book and READ it! You'll enjoy the light writing style."

American Library Association Booklist
" ...this extensive, up-to-date guide for Costa Rica is a welcome sight. Selected accommodations and restaurants span the scale from luxury to low-budget, while the author's respectful, ecologically aware perspective contributes a progressive view of the sights and scenes encompassed in mountains and lowlands, rain forests and beaches."

Travel Books Review
" ...the definitive guidebook to read. This well-written and well-researched book covers every aspect of the country and carefully prepares you for your trip. ...The numerous easy-to-understand maps and color photos add to the text, which leaves no stone unturned."

Michael Kaye, founder and CEO, Costa Rica Expeditions
"Your book is impressive as hell!"

Book Description
Travel with award-winning travel guide and author Harry S. Pariser around Costa Rica, and experience its wonders: *Dive and snorkel off the coast of the remote Osa Peninsula *Visit the intimate hotels of the Nicoya Peninsula *Ascend by rope and pulley into the rain forest canopy *Surf, kayak, canoe, bungee jump, mountain bike, spelunk and trek *Or just lie back on a beach, relax and watch the monkeys at play. Everything's in this humorous, informative, educational, detailed guide. There's no other book quite like it! It covers *Internal flights, ferry schedules and bus travel *Sustainable tourism, including volunteer opportunities *Studying Spanish *Maps, photos, websites and lots more useful tips. For travelers who don't want to be called tourists, Explore Costa Rica is the book!

About the Author
Harry S. Pariser graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in Public Communications. He has traveled extensively throughout the world, and speaks Spanish, Japanese, Indonesian. In 1995 he was awarded The Society of American Travel Writers' Lowell Thomas Award for "Best Guide Book." His other books include The Adventure Guide to Barbados, Jamaica: A Visitors Guide, The Adventure Guide to Belize, and many more travel books. He lives in San Francisco.

Excerpted from Explore Costa Rica by Harry S. Pariser. Copyright © 1999. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
Sample excerpts from Explore Costa Rica: Costa Rica's capital city of San Jos was once a sleepy backwater. Today, it is today a mixture of boldly intruding billboards advertising Kentucky Fried and Coke, shanty houses on hillside tugurios, and ten-speed bicyclists in spandex, who roam the streets in the company of BMWs and Volvos. Within a single generation San Jos has been transformed from a quiet town into a crowded, bustling metropolis, one which has already engulfed neighboring suburbs and threatens to swallow the nearby cities of Cartago, Alajuela, and Heredia, in the process creating one giant megapolis. Forecasts are that the greater San Jos metropolitan area will have over two million inhabitants by the end of this century. With some 660-700,000 people, 30% of the nation lives here. MUSEO DE JADE: Misleadingly named, this small jewel of a museum is really a full-fledged introduction to the cultures of Costa Ricas indigenous peoples. There are musical instruments, bows and arrows, an aerial photo of the Guayabo archaeological site, ceramic ocarinas, flints, anthropomorphic metales (grinding stones) and others with elaborately carved undersides, a disk with Maya inscriptions, fantastic female ceramic figurines (from AD 700-1100), and a large two-piece incense burner with a marvelous lagarto (lizard) carved on the lid. The quality of both the imagery and the technique puts most contemporary art to shame. After some finely crafted carved jade pieces showing South American influences, theres a sitting room with a great view to the north. Give your feet, brain, and eyes a brief rest here because youll need it for whats to come. Next is a room displaying ceramic and gold objects. Then, the displays change with room after room of anthropomorphically-shaped jade scrapers and other objects from the Pacific coast, many of which show a Mayan influence. Works from the central and Atlantic areas are also on display. These jade pieces did not come from archaeological sites but rather were purchased from private collectors who bought them from looters. The last room shows some enormous clay phalluses along with phallic ocarinas, masturbating clay men, ceramic hermaphrodite and female fertility figures, and a group of wild-eyed, frantically clutching, copulating clay couples. Finally, out in the hall theres a replica of a 14th C. Tang Dynasty ceramic horse, a gift from the Chinese Embassy. Do you wonder where all of the objects in the museum came from? They were purchased from private collectors who bought them from looters. Very few items were excavated. The museum (% 223-5800) is located on the 11th floor of the INS (Instituto Nacional de Seguros; Institute for National Security), C. 11, Av. 7. Its open Mon.-Fri., 8-4:30. Admission is US$2 for adults; children are free. After visiting the museum, head for Caf Mundo at Av. 9, C. 15 (to the E) to dine or get caffeinated. Be sure to check out the views before you leave; to the south is the Edificio Metlico (Metal Building), an incongrous green prefab building designed by French architect Victor

FROM THE PUBLISHER

We are proud to publish Explore Costa Rica. Explore Costa Rica is the only guidebook to offer hundreds of e-mail addresses and web sites. It contains more coverage of flora and fauna, environmental issues, sustainable tourism, and other info than other guides.

Explore Costa Rica includes: 528 information-packed pages Maps and numerous color and black and white photos All ranges and types of accommodation including nature lodges Whitewater rafting, surfing, horseback riding, snorkeling, and scuba Birdwatching, hiking, whale watching, canopy climbing, and ballooning Complete background information Volunteer opportunities, language schools, environmental organizations Car rental, buses, plane travel, and ferries Thousands of web sites, e-mails, phone numbers, and fax numbers

About the Author: Harry S. Pariser graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in Public Communications. He has traveled extensively throughout the world, and speaks Spanish, Japanese, Indonesian. In 1995 he was awarded The Society of American Travel Writers' Lowell Thomas Award for "Best Guide Book." His other books include The Adventure Guide to Barbados, Jamaica: A Visitors Guide, The Adventure Guide to Belize, and many more travel books. He lives in San Francisco.

SYNOPSIS

Travel with award-winning travel guide author Harry S. Pariser around Costa Rica and experience its wonders! Dive and snorkel off the coast of the remote Osa Peninsula. Experience the Caribbean coast with its rich Jamaican culture. Visit the small hotels of the Pacific Coast and the Nicoya Peninsula and remote lodges in the heart of the rainforest. Dine everywhere from gourmet restaurants to local sodas. Ascend by rope and pulley into the rainforest canopy, explore caves, surf, kayak, canoe, bungee jump, mountain bike, trek, or just lay back on a beach, relax, and watch the monkeys at play. Internal air flights, bus travel, ferry schedules, what to do, what to avoid. Studying Spanish, volunteer programs, and sustainable tourism. Maps, photos, web sites, useful tips. Humorous, informative, educational, detailed. There's no other guide quite like it!

FROM THE CRITICS

Shirley Miller - ( Costa Rica Outlook )

This book will be one you'll want in your library and to carry with you on your next trip to Costa Rica.... The...references are excellent and good reading. If you want to expand your knowledge about Costa Rica..then buy a copy of this book and READ it! You'll enjoy the light writing style.

Bookwatch

...(differs) from the others in its naturalist-oriented cosiderations of outdoors activities and unusual offbeat adventures...mention of transportation challenges and unusual accommodations leads the visitor away from well-worn paths.

Midwest Book Review

Costa Rica has long been a favored vacation destination offering the on-site visitor a wealth of recreational opportunities of all kinds and categories. Harry Pariser's Explore Costa Rica is an ideal, very highly recommended travel guide and planner. This informational compendium is wonderfully enhanced with color photography and covers everything from surfing to hiking, horseback riding to ballooning, cruising the countryside to wandering around the towns, and much, much more!

American Library Association Booklist

.this extensive, up-to-date guide for Costa Rica is a welcome sight. Selected accommodations and restaurants span the scale from luxury to low budget, while the author's respectful, ecologically aware perspective contributes a progressive view of the sights and scenes encompassed in mountains and lowlands, rain forests, and beaches.

Travel Books Review