Tucked in between Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south, Costa Rica is truly the crown jewel of Central America. Though tiny in size, the country is home to a stunning range of natural beauty that is virtually unrivaled anywhere else in the world. From its inland mountain ranges to its Pacific and Caribbean coastlines, it offers a maze of emerald green rain forests, misty altitude-high cloud forests, smoldering volcanoes, miles of clean black and white sand beaches and an unprecedented diversity of animal, insect and aquatic life. Amidst the plush tropical setting is a Costa Rican culture steeped in democratic tradition, a people noted for its warmth and a government working to stay in step with the rest of the world.

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Costa Rica's largest province, Guanacaste, more so than any other, has a little of all that the country has to offer. Characterized by sweeping savannas and rolling hills that turn dense and green in the rainy season, Guanacaste is edged with volcanic mountain ranges and national forestlands to the east and miles and miles of Pacific Coast beaches to the west. The climate perhaps is Costa Rica's most temperate, averaging 85°F and only 65 inches of rainfall annually. Sunshine washes over the region most days even during the rainy season, making outdoor activities from hiking or windsurfing to sport fishing or lazing about on the beach a year-round possibility.

It is all within easy reach from Playas del Coco, the first beach community you arrive at when traveling southwest from the provincial capital of Liberia. Located 30 miles from Liberia and 17 miles from Liberia's Daniel Oduber International Airport, Playas del Coco is a traditional fishing town set on a large, sandy cove in the heart of Guanacaste's Papagayo Gulf. Here, the lush sounds and greenery of the jungle combine with the grandeur of the Pacific to create a laid-back tropical atmosphere in which Costa Rican tradition and culture mesh with an international population and Western World creature comforts. 

The bank, church, police station and post office are located around Coco's main paved road as are a well-stocked supermarket, hardware store, small pharmacy and taxi services. Cable and satellite television, telecommunications and Internet services are readily available. There's a medical clinic in town and 24-hour emergency services only a few minutes away. International port and immigration offices operate out of Coco, while plans for a full-scale marina are underway. Among the available leisure activities is plenty of opportunity for shopping. Open-air booths and small retail stores line the main drag of Coco.