🇨🇷 Costa Rica or 🇨🇴 Colombia
Which one, honestly
Colombia leads on value for money and cities.
A normal day costs about $130 in Costa Rica and $75 in Colombia.
Side by side
- 🇨🇷 Costa Rica🇨🇴 Colombia
- Jan, Feb, Mar, DecBest monthsJan, Feb, Jul, Aug, Dec
- $130A normal day$75
- 5h 15m to San JoseNonstop from New York5h 40m to Bogota
- Very goodBeaches and seaVery good
- Not the drawCities and cultureVery good
- GoodFoodGood
- ExceptionalNature and hikingExceptional
- Not the drawValue for moneyExceptional
- GoodEasy to get aroundGood
- A hire car with clearance, the distances are short but the roads are slowGetting aroundCheap domestic flights, because the Andes make every bus ride long
- September and October on the Caribbean side, the wettest weeks of the yearWhen to avoidApril, May, October and November, the two rainy stretches
Pick by what you want
🇨🇷 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.
🇨🇴 Choose Colombia if
you want coffee mountains, Caribbean coast and one of the great party cities, on a budget that goes a long way.
Full Costa Rica guide →Full Colombia 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.