🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates or 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Which one, honestly
United Arab Emirates leads on cities, food and getting around. Costa Rica leads on nature and the sea.
A normal day costs about $175 in United Arab Emirates and $130 in Costa Rica.
Side by side
- 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates🇨🇷 Costa Rica
- Jan, Feb, Mar, Nov, DecBest monthsJan, Feb, Mar, Dec
- $175A normal day$130
- 12h 45m to DubaiNonstop from New York5h 15m to San Jose
- GoodBeaches and seaVery good
- Very goodCities and cultureNot the draw
- Very goodFoodGood
- Not the drawNature and hikingExceptional
- Not the drawValue for moneyNot the draw
- Very goodEasy to get aroundGood
- Metro in Dubai, taxis everywhere else, a car for the mountainsGetting aroundA hire car with clearance, the distances are short but the roads are slow
- June to September, when outdoors stops being an optionWhen to avoidSeptember and October on the Caribbean side, the wettest weeks of the year
Pick by what you want
🇦🇪 Choose United Arab Emirates if
you want guaranteed winter sun, very short flights from Europe and Asia, and a city that works like clockwork.
🇨🇷 Choose Costa Rica if
you want wildlife above everything else, cloud forest and two oceans in one small country, and you accept it costs more than its neighbours.
Full United Arab Emirates guide →Full Costa Rica guide →
And what the world thinks
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates leads by 3 votes.
Compare something else
Written and checked by hand. Nothing here about visas or entry rules: those change often and depend on your passport, so check an official source.