🇵🇹 Portugal or 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Which one, honestly
Portugal leads on cities, value for money and food. Costa Rica leads on nature.
A normal day costs about $125 in Portugal and $130 in Costa Rica.
Side by side
- 🇵🇹 Portugal🇨🇷 Costa Rica
- Apr, May, Jun, Sep, OctBest monthsJan, Feb, Mar, Dec
- $125A normal day$130
- 6h 50m to LisbonNonstop from New York5h 15m to San Jose
- Very goodBeaches and seaVery good
- Very goodCities and cultureNot the draw
- Very goodFoodGood
- Very goodNature and hikingExceptional
- Very goodValue for moneyNot the draw
- Very goodEasy to get aroundGood
- Cheap trains along the coast, a car for the wine countryGetting aroundA hire car with clearance, the distances are short but the roads are slow
- The Algarve in August, when it fills up and doubles in priceWhen to avoidSeptember and October on the Caribbean side, the wettest weeks of the year
Pick by what you want
🇵🇹 Choose Portugal if
you want Europe on a smaller budget, with the ocean, and you do not mind cool water.
🇨🇷 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 Portugal 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.