🇨🇷 Costa Rica or 🇲🇽 Mexico
Which one, honestly
Costa Rica leads on nature. Mexico leads on cities, food and value for money.
A normal day costs about $130 in Costa Rica and $95 in Mexico.
Side by side
- 🇨🇷 Costa Rica🇲🇽 Mexico
- Jan, Feb, Mar, DecBest monthsJan, Feb, Mar, Nov, Dec
- $130A normal day$95
- 5h 15m to San JoseNonstop from New York5h 15m to Mexico City
- Very goodBeaches and seaExceptional
- Not the drawCities and cultureExceptional
- GoodFoodExceptional
- ExceptionalNature and hikingVery good
- Not the drawValue for moneyVery good
- GoodEasy to get aroundGood
- A hire car with clearance, the distances are short but the roads are slowGetting aroundComfortable long distance buses and cheap domestic flights
- September and October on the Caribbean side, the wettest weeks of the yearWhen to avoidThe Caribbean coast in September and October, peak hurricane season
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 Mexico if
you want one of the great food countries, ruins and two very different coastlines, without European prices.
Full Costa Rica guide →Full Mexico 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.