🇨🇴 Colombia or 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Which one, honestly
Colombia leads on value for money and cities.
A normal day costs about $75 in Colombia and $130 in Costa Rica.
Side by side
- 🇨🇴 Colombia🇨🇷 Costa Rica
- Jan, Feb, Jul, Aug, DecBest monthsJan, Feb, Mar, Dec
- $75A normal day$130
- 5h 40m to BogotaNonstop from New York5h 15m to San Jose
- Very goodBeaches and seaVery good
- Very goodCities and cultureNot the draw
- GoodFoodGood
- ExceptionalNature and hikingExceptional
- ExceptionalValue for moneyNot the draw
- GoodEasy to get aroundGood
- Cheap domestic flights, because the Andes make every bus ride longGetting aroundA hire car with clearance, the distances are short but the roads are slow
- April, May, October and November, the two rainy stretchesWhen to avoidSeptember and October on the Caribbean side, the wettest weeks of the year
Pick by what you want
🇨🇴 Choose Colombia if
you want coffee mountains, Caribbean coast and one of the great party cities, on a budget that goes a long way.
🇨🇷 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 Colombia guide →Full Costa Rica guide →
And what the world thinks
Dead even. The next vote breaks the tie.
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.