Add “wad of cash” to your list of essentials to bring to Costa Rica's national parks.
Entry fees will jump 67% in 2008, the nation's environment ministry recently announced.
The modest Tico and foreign resident (with cédula ) fare jumped from 600 colones (about $1.20).to 1,000 (about $2) – but foreign tourists will see the price increase between $3 and $15, depending on the park.
According to the Environment and Energy Ministry (MINAE), the average price of entry into a national park will be $10 for foreign tourists, up from $7 last year.
By comparison, entrance fees to the world-famous Yellowstone National Park in the United States were $12 per person on foot, bike or skis, or $25 per automobile.
The increase in Costa Rican parks compensates for inflation, which hovers around 65%, according to Environment Minister Roberto Dobles.
Who told the daily La Nación that the Finance Ministry had agreed all funds raised be directed into the park system, where it can be used for maintenance and staffing.
In the past, he said, fee increases found their way into other ministries and uses.
Chirripó National Park saw its fees double this year – the sharpest increase of any park. Tourists must now cough up $15 a day per person, up from $7.50 last year. For those hiking Chirripó, the country's highest peak at 3,820 meters, the typical three-day stay required to summit the mountain will now cost $45.
Other popular parks – including Tortuguero, in the northeast Caribbean, and Poás, the park and volcano that hover over the Central Valley, saw fees rise $3, to $10.
There are nearly 200 protected areas in the country – ranging from indigenous reserves to wildlife refuges and national parks.
Costa Rica's national park system has won worldwide admiration. Parklands and refuges now cover upward of 25% of the national territory |
| 
| 
| Exchange Rates
