Costa Rica Travel News – There’s nothing quite like a visit to a national park in Costa Rica. These reserves and wildlife refuges are worth well more than they charge and the new entrance fee increase is justified.
The increase is between 200 and 600 colones. It’s the first increase in 5 years.
That will bring the price for Costa Ricans up to between 800 and 1,600 colones, depending on the park. Most charge 1,000. That’s a lot for many Costa Ricans living on a tight salary. Thankfully there are programs like that run from the Butterfly Garden in Monteverde which give low income locals a chance to experience the beauty of their land.
The price is also to be raised for children (to 500) and foreigners (to between $5 and $16, $5 for non resident kids). Parks with higher fees include Chirripo and Cocos Island, due to their remoteness.
The schedule of fees is available for view at www.sinac.go.cr. The explanation as to why the increase is that this will provide the needed income to invest in all 169 protected areas in the country. Only 46 are tourist attractions.
Some of the parks have also modified their schedules.
The Tortuguero Hill was recently opened and will allow visitors starting at 6am.Chirripo will be open from 5 am to 10 am.Carara will open an hour earlier than usual, at 7 am for the summer season. We’ll have to be off the beach in Tortuguero by 4 pm.
