🇲🇾 Malaysia or 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Which one, honestly
Malaysia leads on value for money, food and cities.
A normal day costs about $75 in Malaysia and $130 in Costa Rica.
Side by side
- 🇲🇾 Malaysia🇨🇷 Costa Rica
- Jan, Feb, MarBest monthsJan, Feb, Mar, Dec
- $75A normal day$130
- 1h 5m from SingaporeClosest hub2h 55m from Mexico City
- Very goodBeaches and seaVery good
- Very goodCities and cultureNot the draw
- ExceptionalFoodGood
- ExceptionalNature and hikingExceptional
- ExceptionalValue for moneyNot the draw
- Very goodEasy to get aroundGood
- Cheap flights, good trains and buses, one of the easiest countries in AsiaGetting aroundA hire car with clearance, the distances are short but the roads are slow
- The east coast islands from November to February, when most of them closeWhen to avoidSeptember and October on the Caribbean side, the wettest weeks of the year
Pick by what you want
🇲🇾 Choose Malaysia if
you want Thailand's food and beaches with a fraction of the crowds, and everything running slightly more smoothly.
🇨🇷 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 Malaysia 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.