Excellent companion for travelling in Costa Rica
351092
Up to date and detailed road map of the country.  Even if you don't plan on driving yourself, it provides a variety of information about parks, activities, and inset  maps of many of the popular destinations.
4204335
I bought this for a 10 day trip to Costa Rica. I originally intended to use it just on our days hiking through the rain forest. We put our rain coats, some sunscreen, mosquito repellent, and water in them. My husband loved it so much that he ended up using it daily. The backpack is very light weight and it's definitely water resistant (that was tested many times in Costa Rica). I really love that the backpack folds up nicely into a small pocket. It makes it so easy to pack in the suitcase and it barely takes up any room. We will be using this for any upcoming trips. I love it.
1295021
A great introduction for the clueless gringo who will travel to Costa Rica!  It's quite an entertaining, informative and enjoyable read; I recommend it.
3420296
I moved to Costa Rica two years ago and since then have been loving every minute of it. However like life is we often get too busy to appreciate everything around us, even in beautiful Costa Rica, fortunately this book Two Weeks in Costa Rica allows both tourists traveling around and expats living here to fall in love with it all over again!!! And again!!!
I loved the multiple views & tips Matt & Jenn both provide throughout the book. Switching from personal experiences to travel tips everyone will find useful is a fun & engaging way that kept me interested in every page from beginning to end! Detailing their adventures gave me better insight to certain areas & make me want to go travel around this wonderful country!
I look forward to them moving here & sharing more stories about their experiences!
If you or someone you know is coming to Costa Rica they should definitely download & read this book. It will prepare them for the good, the bad and the BEAUTIFUL!!!
Thanks Matt & Jenn!!!
Pura Vida!
-Macho Pollo & the Pollo Pass team!
[...]
@pollopass
774445
We are retiring to Costa Rica and needed a reliable map. This is an excellent map and very strong material for carrying in backpack, won't tear when wet. Everything you need for exploring a beautiful country. Very glad I purchased it.
4714884
This guide book came in very handy during my trip in Guatemala. It was especially helpful when we completed our planned activities, and were looking for spontaneous things to do. I got this and the Lonely Planet guide book, and they complimented each other well. It is, for the most part, accurate and up to date.
1953112
My wife and I recently took a trip to Costa Rica.

Before I continue I would like to sidebar...
If you are planning a trip to Costa Rica, check out the blog she wrote on it, Tips when Traveling to Arenal Costa Rica (find it by Googling "ACER Aspire 1410 Review- Laptop Power with Netbook Size", go to this review shown in the results, and then clicking on the link provided in this same paragraph). I think it should have been titled "Every single thing you need to know when Traveling to Arenal Costa Rica"
End of sidebar...

We flew on an airline that only allowed a single carry on bag, which had to be less than 22 lbs.  That meant my laptop went, or our camera equipment went.

With no TV in the first hotel for 4 days, we decided to look for a Netbook.

After doing an average amount of research, I decide to go with the ACER Aspire 1410.

PROS:
* Very light weight.
* Battery power has not let me down yet.
* I have loaded all the Microsoft Express version of Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008 Express. That is enough for demos, for travel programming fun,

and looking at book examples. No issues with performance and I still have not upgrade to 4 GB of RAM.
* Loaded all of Office 2007 and have no performance complaints.
* Screen has a great resolution
* Keyboard has bigger keys than my normal size laptop.
* Has the full version of Windows 7 64 bit installed unlike other Netbooks I was looking at, which have the starter version. It is performing great!!!
* Screen is slightly bigger than a normal netbook, which is just enough to get away from the feeling that I am watch a movie on my phone, like other

netbooks gave me.
* Price, you just can't beat it.
* Perfect for games. Easy to pass around.

CONS:
* Volumn is a little low. Overcame that with a set of external speakers (Logitech V20 Notebook Speakers (Black) )
* Windows Media Player plays slow. I don't think I can blame the laptop for than though, since VLC plays everything just fine.

All in all I highly recommend this little thing!!!

Some shots of it are included in the images on this product page. I have included a side by side with my 17 inch laptop, and some shots of code and
windows media player to give you an idea of screen real estate. The shots are not that great with respect to showing off the clarity of the screen, but
they give you an idea of what fits on it.
1310253
This book guided me around a fabulous month in Colombia - a beautiful country with super-friendly people.

I'm a long-time Lonely Planet loyalist, but LP Colombia is out-of-date and has many well-publicized issues, so I decided to give Footprint a try.  I was very impressed.  The Handbook provides a terrific high level overview of the country (e.g. with two-, three- and four-week itineraries) and the regions, and then drills down to very accurate (in my experience) detail.  The maps were good, the recommendations were very helpful, ... in short, it was all I would have expected from a really good LP guide.

The Colombian Peso has depreciated against USD since this guide was written, so the US traveler will often be quoted lower prices than expected.

Caveats:  could have used a bit more editing in parts (Colombia has no "battleships"), and I would have preferred the Sleeping and Getting There sections to be closely associated with each city, rather than lumped into a group at the end.  Minor quibbles.

To recap:  I was delighted with my choice of Colombia as a destination, and as of 2009, the Footprint Handbook appears to be by far the best English-language guidebook to Colombia.  Go - you won't regret it.  (And if you can learn some Spanish before your trip, do - you'll have a much richer experience.)
3806831
The Garmin NUVI 855 is a perfect travel companion - especially for my wife who needs to find many out of the way addresses in Portland, Oregon-a difficult city to navigate without help. We have been using the Garmin 'out-of-the-box' without any upgrades. I am anxious to see if we can download and update the addresses, especially business addresses, that are not always accurate. Overall, though, a very good product.
4193170
I just spent about 3 months in Mexico with this book as my only travel guide. It worked out quite well, despite nearly being destroyed by a large Pacific wave! It seems particularly good if you are traveling on a tight  budget. The prices, etc. were more or less up to date--I doubt you'll ever  find anything up-to-the-minute, but this was sufficient for all of the  parts of Mexico, and even Guatemala, that I visited. My only complaint was  that the authors had a somewhat condescending style and repeatedly made  comments that I construed as belittling the locals in some of the areas (I  remember Teotihuacan as one example). But that aside, I'm sure this is one  of the better guides out there. The Lonely Planet "La Ruta Maya"  guide to the Yucatan, Belize, and Guatemala seemed somewhat more useful for  that region--not as confined by the national boundaries.
2062076
My family has traveled around the world and we have come to depend on Lonely Planet when we need the no nonsense guide to a country or region- and that is exactly what we got with Lonely Planet Costa Rica.  Although it had a new layout that segmented the regions of the country better than the old style, the same blunt writing style, full color pictures, and comprehensive reviews were vintage Lonely Planet.  As Costa Rica is known for their ecotourism, the majority of the guide deals with the abundance of beaches, forests, nature hikes, and adventure tourism opportunities. However, as my trip to San Jose was mostly for business, I would rate the section on the capital as adequate as best.  The writers were a bit dismissive of the city and I felt they could have done a better job finding out of the way restaurants, bars, and quirky places as they do in most of their other guides.  Also, they seem to have done away with their history background on the country- although a small thing, I always enjoyed reading it in other guides to get a sense of the place I was visiting. It is clear the writers preferred to concentrate on the nature outings for Costa Rica. Overall though, the guide was helpful and informative and a solid Lonely Planet edition.
4961190
I am part of a facebook travel group that recommended this product. I am currently using in Costa Rica which happens to use same voltage as USA. The nice thing about this is that I didn't have to pack several plug adapters for my electronics. I only needed my USB cords. Lightweight and doesn't take much space in suitcase. I only travel with a carryon so space and weight are very important to me. It has an on and off switch which is nice. It has an internal fan that you can hear but is not extraordinarily loud. I'm very happy with this purchase.
4493566
This book is perfect for what I needed.  I am a very casual outdoor enthusaist and am going to Belize hoping to see some wildlife.  I recently purchased the Book of Birds of Costa Rica which was way too scientific for me as well as the there were no photos just drawings of the birds.  The Field Guide is perfect for the casual person it explains how many times out of 15 they saw a specific animal or bird and where the species is most often found.  Also intersting factoids about each species.  Yes the book does not include all species of Costa Rica but does focus on what you most likely are going to see.  I could not be happier with this purchase also as a side note this was a pretty thick and heavy book most likley you will not be taking out in the field with you.
3788616
The outstanding travel guide company once again provides a top edition to a favored travel destination. The all-important pull-out map is included. My research indicates that some sections of Costa Rica are more hospitable to US travellers than others, so I was pleased to see that Fodor's addresses this issue with warnings for self-protection. Of course, Costa Rica has a fabulous climate - near the equator but with mountainous regions where the heat is moderated. You can expect all the regular travel tips about restaurants, lodging, culture, activities and establishments, extensive notes on flora and fauna including birdwatching tips and of course information on some rather interesting sports opportunities. Whether you desire complete solitude or high-speed computer connection, Fodor's gets you there.

I did take note of a couple of typos in both print and picture identification. I suppose that's my editor's eye; it just surprised me in a Fodor's guide... nothing to dissuade you from purchasing it.
4028050
I bought the TETON Sports Scout3400 Internal Frame Backpack (Mecca Orange) right before my trip to Costa Rica. I was there for a week and carried the majority of my belongings (I had a bag for my computer). It was fantastic. For the longest I couldn't find the rainfly (at the bottom), and I couldn't find anywhere online to help me out. Apparently I had found out, but that it was part of another compartment. Anyway, the rainfly helped while trekking through rainforest and tropical environment.

I wish it would have come with a water bladder but then again I'm not too big a fan of those.

It wasn't heavy or hard on my back or shoulders. It even inspired my travel partner to get one. I love it. Can't wait to use it again.
2851336
I recently obtained a copy of Harry Pariser's guide to Costa Rica. I was very excited about reading his book. A couple of years ago I spent over six months travelling through Costa Rica and had happened upon an earlier guidebook by Mr. Pariser at a hotel I stayed at in the Osa Peninsula. I enjoyed it immensely. So, as I opened my copy of 'Costa Rica Complete', I anticipated thorough research and genuine enthusiasm to be displayed in the book. I was not in the least disappointed. It is refreshing to feel the writer's personality shine through the text and he does a thorough job of detailing the information a fellow traveller needs to make his or her trip a fantastic one. I highly recommend this book!
168971
I used this on my trip to Costa Rica last month and I really loved it! It was nice having under my raincoat and easily accessible. I kept all my money and cards in here and always felt good knowing it was in my sight.