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Until you actually arrive at a location, you don’t really know if what you’ve seen or heard are true. Unfortunately, they often are mostly fluff and the trip can be disappointing. Costa Rica, however, defies this trend.

Beaches. Costa Rica is known for them and it lives up to the hype. With coasts on both side of the country, it is hard not to. If you want waves, stick to the Pacific Coast. If you prefer diving, the East Coast is better.

Ah, but Costa Rica is much more than just beaches. It has world class wind surfing on Lake Arenal, stunning eco-tourism opportunities in protected rain forests and so much more. Oh, and the food is tremendous.

All and all, words are cheap. If you are considering a trip to the country, you need some hard information. Here are few tidbits to wet your appetite.

Costa Rica is odd in the makeup of its population. Unlike all the countries around it, most of its population are decendents from Europeans, particularly Spaniards.

The Spanish discovered the country and had visions of huge amounts of gold. They never found it, but overcame the disappointment and settled down into agriculture.

In 1821, Costa Rica joined other Spanish provinces in a joint declaration of independence from Spain. It took 21 more years to gain independence as a country.

Costa Rica had a basic agricultural based economy like much of Central America. Think bananas. It has converted into a tourism based economy, which allows it to maintain a more stable economy.

Costa Rica has no standing military, but does have a police force.

Costa Rica is definitely the most visited nation in the Central America region with a $1.7 billion a year tourism industry

Education is tremendous in Costa Rica with the country having a 96 percent literacy rate. Average life expectancy for a woman is 79 years while men come in at 74. Spanish is the dominant language.

Costa Rica puts Seattle to shame when it comes to rain. 100 inches annually is the number. Mountain areas can get as many as 250 inches. Temperatures always remain in the 70 to 90 degree range.

Instead of a military, the Constitution guarantees universal public education for all citizens. Primary education is obligatory, and both preschool and high school are free. The county has leading Universities in biological fields.

In an old world mix, the Roman Catholic Church and government are in bed on marriage. The government only acknowledges marriages by the church. All other marriagesare civil and must be by a lawyer.

At the end of the day, there are tons of different things you could know about Costa Rica. The most important way to find them out, however, is just to visit the country and take in one of the best travel destinations in the world.