🇨🇷 Costa Rica or 🇹🇭 Thailand
Which one, honestly
Costa Rica leads on nature. Thailand leads on value for money, food and cities.
A normal day costs about $130 in Costa Rica and $85 in Thailand.
Side by side
- 🇨🇷 Costa Rica🇹🇭 Thailand
- Jan, Feb, Mar, DecBest monthsJan, Feb, Nov, Dec
- $130A normal day$85
- 2h 55m from Mexico CityClosest hub2h 25m from Singapore
- Very goodBeaches and seaExceptional
- Not the drawCities and cultureVery good
- GoodFoodExceptional
- ExceptionalNature and hikingVery good
- Not the drawValue for moneyExceptional
- GoodEasy to get aroundVery good
- A hire car with clearance, the distances are short but the roads are slowGetting aroundCheap domestic flights, sleeper trains and boats, all easy
- September and October on the Caribbean side, the wettest weeks of the yearWhen to avoidApril, the hottest month, and the burning season in the north
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 Thailand if
you want your money to go a very long way, with beaches and food, and you do not mind heat.
Full Costa Rica guide →Full Thailand 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.