Costa Rica is a world class tourist destination within easy reach of the US. The welcoming Central American paradise offers days of sun and surf, golden beaches and wonderful forests and nature reserves. There’s also an amazing Jewish heritage experience to explore in Costa Rica with some great bonding opportunities for the entire family!
Costa Rica at a Glance
Costa Rica is a safe and friendly country in Central America, located approximately 1,000 miles southwest of Florida. English is widely spoken and Costa Rica has a developed tourist industry with plenty of luxury hotels and an advanced US style infrastructure. One thing we love about Costa Rica is that the country generally attracts high end tourists and isn’t packed with vacationers. You can relax and unwind and enjoy a quiet and relatively private family travel experience in Costa Rica.
Jewish Costa Rica has a surprisingly rich heritage and there is a small but vibrant Jewish community of around 3,000 people there today. Costa Rica is generally a great place for US Jews to visit and to explore local Jewish history and culture. Gil Travel can also arrange interesting meetings and social events with the Costa Rican Jewish community as part of an organized family or group tour of the country.
The Rainy Season
The rainy season, or green season, in Costa Rica runs between late April and December on the Pacific coast and the opposite on the Caribbean coast. Most of the rainy season produces no more than an hour or two of rain per day, with plenty of completely dry days. Gil Travel will advise you about the best months to travel for a perfect Jewish themed Costa Rica trip and family vacation
Costa Rica: A Genuinely Family Friendly Destination
Costa Rica is about as close as a modern country gets to being a Garden of Eden. It’s a narrow strip of land, nestled between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean and is renowned for its wonderful clean beaches, with famous surfing spots, diving and other watersports, as well as some superb sea fishing. Outside the rainy season, the weather is warm and sunny and the local microclimates produce some amazing natural beauty. Costa Rica is noted for its splendid cattleya orchids, as well as 1,500 different species of butterfly and over 900 species of birds. An astonishing 27% of Costa Rica is protected national parkland or nature reserve!
The Costa Rican government is determined to preserve the country’s wonderful natural beauty and bio-diversity and has focused on promoting eco-tourism and respect for the environment. If you’re looking for a Jewish heritage experience in Costa Rica that also includes guided hiking in rain forests, visits to volcanoes and a chance to explore stunning natural landscapes, Gil Travel will help you to create the perfect custom tour itinerary. Costa Rica is a small country (less than 250 miles long and 170 miles wide) and it’s usually possible to take your kids to several mind blowing nature sites during your stay.
Explore Jewish Heritage with a Tailored Costa Rica Trip
The history of the Jews in Costa Rica goes back to the 15th century when Conversos or Marranos (forced converts to Catholicism) fled the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal in search of a safer life in the Americas. The Sephardic Jews initially settled in the city of Cartago and did their best to blend into the background and live discreetly. They were followed by more Sephardic immigrants who came to Costa Rica from across the Caribbean and Central America, with a few powerful families dominating the community.
A wave of Ashkenazi Jews emigrated to Costa Rica in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They came to be known as Polacos and created their own community, separate from their Sephardi counterparts. The Ashkenazis founded the country’s first Orthodox synagogue, the Shaarei Zion in San José. Modern Costa Rica attracts Jews from Israel and the US who are looking for a pleasant country to retire to, or who want to invest in property or explore other business opportunities.
Gil Travel has some excellent local contacts in Costa Rica. If you have family connections to the country, or simply want to explore its Jewish heritage, Gil Travel can work with you to create a custom-designed itinerary. We can also help with researching family history and tracing ancestry via local Spanish speaking historians and researchers. A trip can include visits to Costa Rica’s synagogues and Jewish cultural centers, including the Centro Israelita Sionista, and the opportunity to meet with the Costa Rican Jewish community and forge some lifelong friendships and connections.
If you do have Jewish Costa Rican ancestry, it can be an amazing experience to visit the places where your family lived and worked. Depending on the historical period, and available archive records, it may be possible to identify old family homes, schools and workplaces – and certainly the synagogues where your ancestors prayed. Walking through an old Jewish neighborhood, or paying your respects at San José’s Foreign Cemetery or Hebrew Cemetery (where Jews were buried) can be deeply moving and satisfying. It’s a special experience to make that kind of connection with your own personal heritage.
Enjoy a Family Adventure
Costa Rica is one of the world’s most beautiful countries (and is in many ways still unspoiled). When you’re exploring Jewish Costa Rica, we really recommend that you create an itinerary for you and your family that includes some adventure. Gil Travel can tailor your tour to include a complete Jewish heritage experience in Costa Rica, that also takes you to the heart of the natural world for some exciting bonding activities.
We already mentioned the country’s amazing watersports. If you love the ocean, nothing beats diving or snorkeling in the Pacific or Caribbean (or both during the same trip). There are also opportunities for windsurfing, kayaking, surfing and fishing. If you’re not a fan of the water, or your kids are a bit young, hire an ATV and hit the trails, or try a horseback trail or biking trip. There are age-appropriate outdoor activities that range from visiting nature reserves, all the way up to high adrenaline rock climbing, ziplining over rainforest canopies or whitewater rafting.
Enjoy Luxury Travel and a True Gourmet Experience
Costa Ricans know how to enjoy the good things in life. The food and drink is superb and with two oceans in easy reach, there are some world class fish restaurants. Coffee addicts will be spoiled for choice and Gil Travel will be happy to indulge you with a guided tour of a coffee plantation (complete with tasting and shopping).
Costa Rican cuisine makes extensive use of local fresh fruit and vegetables and tends to be tasty rather than spicy. The main culinary influences are Spanish, indigenous American, and modern global tastes. A Jewish Costa Rica trip will include plenty of chances to sample both Sephardi and Ashkenazi Costa Rican food. If you require kosher dining during your trip, talk to us and we’ll make a plan for a complete gourmet kosher experience.
Your choice of hotels and resorts is important when you’re planning a private family travel adventure in Costa Rica. Gil Travel can recommend the very best hotels in the country for your travel budget. We don’t just go by star ratings, but factor in considerations like their proximity to locations and events on your itinerary. If you’re focused on watersports and the beach, a beachfront hotel is ideal. If you require kosher dining, we know the very best hotels to stay in. Equally, if you have young children, you might prefer a child-friendly hotel or a luxury self-catering complex that offers organized activities and even babysitting.
Plan for a Hassle-Free Trip to Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a safe, friendly and welcoming country that is increasingly popular with US tourists. If you make a few simple preparations you can eliminate most of the problems that do occasionally occur. When you plan a Jewish heritage trip to Costa Rica, Gil Travel will talk to you about your general requirements, and preferences regarding the weather. We will help you to choose the perfect travel dates for your tour.
We’ll also give you up to date recommendations about vaccinations, health/trip insurance and whether you should take precautions against malaria. Apart from that, if you apply the same rules and basic common sense that you use at home, you’ll have a great time in Costa Rica. The exchange rate is extremely favorable to US tourists (currently USD:CRC 520) and US dollars are welcome pretty much everywhere. Costa Rica isn’t the cheapest country in the region – and you will pay to enter nature reserves – but the quality of life and service standards are good.
One thing that’s worth mentioning is that once you get off major highways, the roads aren’t great. If you’re exploring the rainforest or mountains, your tour guide will ensure that you’re traveling in top quality 4×4 vehicles. The best way to explore Costa Rica – and its Jewish heritage – is with experienced travel professionals. Gil Travel will take you to the heart of this amazing country and take care of all the administration and logistics, leaving you free to enjoy a wonderful family vacation.
Talk to Gil Travel today and we’ll put together a custom itinerary, packed with adventures and experiences that you’ll treasure for years to come!
