🇨🇷 Costa Rica or 🇮🇸 Iceland
Which one, honestly
Costa Rica leads on the sea. Iceland leads on getting around and cities.
A normal day costs about $130 in Costa Rica and $190 in Iceland.
Side by side
- 🇨🇷 Costa Rica🇮🇸 Iceland
- Jan, Feb, Mar, DecBest monthsJun, Jul, Aug, Sep
- $130A normal day$190
- 5h 15m to San JoseNonstop from New York5h 40m to Reykjavik
- Very goodBeaches and seaNot the draw
- Not the drawCities and cultureGood
- GoodFoodGood
- ExceptionalNature and hikingExceptional
- Not the drawValue for moneyNot the draw
- GoodEasy to get aroundVery good
- A hire car with clearance, the distances are short but the roads are slowGetting aroundA hire car on the ring road, and a four wheel drive for the interior
- September and October on the Caribbean side, the wettest weeks of the yearWhen to avoidNothing seasonally, but the highland roads are shut from roughly October to June
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 Iceland if
you want landscape above everything else, and you have accepted in advance that it costs more than anywhere else here.
Full Costa Rica guide →Full Iceland 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.