Costa Rica (Adventure Map) [Map]

I used this map along with one from Toucan Maps and one published by thecostaricamap.com. I found each of the three maps to be the best at times and used them equal amounts of time. The map from [...] had the most useful scale as I could look at a 12 x12 inch section of the map and look at the entire route for the day at a scale that still showed the principal towns and roads.

The National Geographic map was the best for going to the national park areas as it was more current than the Toucan Maps map for these areas. It also provides topographic information which the Toucan map of Costa Rica does not. The Toucan is like a standard USA street map while the National Geographic Adventure map is just what its name states.

None of the maps showed all the small towns and villages and none of them provide any guidance for getting from one end of the town where a highway ends and the other where it begins again. This is where a Costa Rica GPS map and guidance is more useful than any paper map I have been able to find. As the maps take up very little space and are relatively inexpensive I recommend buying both this map and the Toucon map and buying a downloadable GPS map with guidance as well.

Fortunately my Spanish was good enough to ask for directions and understand the people's responses most of the time. I also learned that the shopkeepers were the most helpful. If I asked someone on the street they would usually say they did not know where the road was to the next town. I did learn that I needed to ask the road to the next village instead of the next large town. Most of the people get around the country on the excellent Costa Rican buses and so I suspect that they do not really think about how to drive from one city to the next having never had to do it themselves.

Not unlike in the US where people know how to get somewhere but at a complete loss in terms of telling you how to get their yourself. They know the way but not the street names for the turn offs or will say turn left at the McDonald's which it turns out is how directions are given in Costa Rica as well.

Be Forewarned! I recently traveled to Costa Rica with this map. In one area (Monteverde) particularly the map was inaccurate. It showed "paths" (per the legend) that are actually now graded and graveled roads. These can be easily traversed by even non-4wd vehicles (buses & compact cars).

Luckily, I had a local guide. When I showed him the map, he expressed surprise at how "out-of-date" it was. The map is dated 2002 and was supposedly revised in 2010. However, according to my local guide these paths had been roads since well before the revision. If I had depended solely on the map, I would have traveled MANY miles out of my way to reach my destinations.

The misinformation provided on the parts of the map I used lead me to doubt the accuracy of the remainder of the map. Truly, I now will be extremely cautious in depending upon any National Geographic travel map.

I wrote to National Geographic Society Maps after my return home. As of several weeks later, I have not received the courtesy of a reply.

Please do not depend upon this map if you travel to Costa Rica!

The good news was the map was by National Geographic. The bad news was the map was 8 years old. Needless to say this was not mentioned in the sales write up. Had we known this, we would have purchased a more recent map. So much for truth in advertising. Despite this problem, the map was useful, especially for geographic referencing.