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Commissioning Editor Catherine Craddock

Coordinating Editors Martine Power, Branislava Vladisavljevic

Coordinating Cartographers Mark Griffiths, Valentina Kremenchutskaya

Coordinating Layout Designer Jim Hsu

Managing Editor Annelies Mertens

Managing Cartographers Alison Lyall, Herman So

Managing Layout Designers Indra Kilfoyle, Celia Wood

Assisting Editors Carolyn Bain, Laura Crawford, Evan Jones, Trent Holden

Cover Research Sabrina Dalbesio, lonelyplanetimages.com

Internal Image Research Aude Vauconsant, lonelyplanetimages.com

Project Manager Rachel Imeson

Thanks to Lucy Birchley, Daniel Corbett, Bruce Evans, Mark Germanchis, Michelle Glynn, Craig Kilburn, Yvonne Kirk, Lisa Knights, Rebecca Lalor, John Mazzocchi, Daniel Moore, Kirsten Rawlings, Averil Robertson, Fiona Siseman, John Taufa, Nick Thorpe, Juan Winata

THE LONELY PLANET STORY

Fresh from an epic journey across Europe, Asia and Australia in 1972, Tony and Maureen Wheeler sat at their kitchen table stapling together notes. The first Lonely Planet guidebook, Across Asia on the Cheap, was born.

Travelers snapped up the guides. Inspired by their success, the Wheelers began publishing books to Southeast Asia, India and beyond. Demand was prodigious, and the Wheelers expanded the business rapidly to keep up. Over the years, Lonely Planet extended its coverage to every country and into the virtual world via lonelyplanet.com and the Thorn Tree message board.

As Lonely Planet became a globally loved brand, Tony and Maureen received several offers for the company. But it wasn’t until 2007 that they found a partner whom they trusted to remain true to the company’s principles of traveling widely, treading lightly and giving sustainably. In October of that year, BBC Worldwide acquired a 75% share in the company, pledging to uphold Lonely Planet’s commitment to independent travel, trustworthy advice and editorial independence.

Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Melbourne, London and Oakland, with over 500 staff members and 300 authors. Tony and Maureen are still actively involved with Lonely Planet. They’re traveling more often than ever, and they’re devoting their spare time to charitable projects. And the company is still driven by the philosophy of Across Asia on the Cheap: ‘All you’ve got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go!’

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THANKS

MATTHEW D FIRESTONE

My family has gotten bigger since the publication of this book, so first off, I’d like to extend a warm welcome to my wonderful wife, Aki. We’ve traveled the world from east to west, but there is still so much more for us to discover together. And of course, I can’t overlook the overwhelming support that my parents and sister have shown me over the years, which has guided me over more hurdles and around more obstacles than I care to mention. At Lonely Planet, a tip of the hat to commissioning editor extraordinaire Catherine Craddock for getting behind the steering wheel of yet another edition of Costa Rica. And finally, a sincere muchísimas gracias to Carolina and César, who are two of the most diligent and high-spirited authors I’ve ever had the privilege to work with.

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