🇹🇭 Thailand or 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Which one, honestly
Thailand leads on value for money, food and cities. Costa Rica leads on nature.
A normal day costs about $85 in Thailand and $130 in Costa Rica.
Side by side
- 🇹🇭 Thailand🇨🇷 Costa Rica
- Jan, Feb, Nov, DecBest monthsJan, Feb, Mar, Dec
- $85A normal day$130
- 2h 25m from SingaporeClosest hub2h 55m from Mexico City
- ExceptionalBeaches and seaVery good
- Very goodCities and cultureNot the draw
- ExceptionalFoodGood
- Very goodNature and hikingExceptional
- ExceptionalValue for moneyNot the draw
- Very goodEasy to get aroundGood
- Cheap domestic flights, sleeper trains and boats, all easyGetting aroundA hire car with clearance, the distances are short but the roads are slow
- April, the hottest month, and the burning season in the northWhen to avoidSeptember and October on the Caribbean side, the wettest weeks of the year
Pick by what you want
🇹🇭 Choose Thailand if
you want your money to go a very long way, with beaches and food, and you do not mind heat.
🇨🇷 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 Thailand 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.