In 2000, Gil Calvo, a professional naturalist and tour guide inspired by a lifelong passion for his native Costa Rica, founded Tropic Advisors Costa Rica Inc. Since then, the company has evolved into one of Meso-America’s premier natural history and custom travel companies.

Gil recognized that truly experiencing Costa Rica requires more than simply traveling from one destination to another. A great journey should place visitors directly in front of the country’s natural treasures, even when reaching those special places requires going farther off the beaten path.

Costa Rica is a remarkable land of rainforests, pristine beaches, majestic mountains, and extraordinary ecosystems, all within a relatively small country. It is home to one of the world’s most impressive concentrations of biodiversity. But Costa Rica is much more than its landscapes and wildlife. It is also its people.

You cannot truly experience Costa Rica from an air-conditioned bus, rushing from point A to point B. You need time to slow down, connect with the places you visit, and experience the rhythms of life that make Costa Rica so unique.

The real Costa Rica lies between the points ; in our homes and conversations; in enormous sea turtles emerging from the Caribbean to lay their eggs on remote beaches; in the raucous calls of howler monkeys and scarlet macaws; and in the soothing sound of waves rolling over coastal stones.

The majesty of the landscape and the warmth and gentleness of its people are among Costa Rica’s greatest treasures.

Our Philosophy

Gil created Tropic Advisors Costa Rica to share his country, its people, its culture, and its natural heritage ,closely, authentically, and safely with our guests.

A journey with Tropic Advisors is about more than discovering the natural treasures of Costa Rica and Meso-America. It is also about creating meaningful connections, exchanging ideas, and giving something back to the communities and environments that make these experiences possible.

Our reforestation program is one of the ways we give back to nature. To date, we have planted more than 2000 trees in schoolyards and restoration areas throughout Costa Rica. Our student groups, adventure travelers, families, and professional birding groups have all participated in these efforts.

Experience & Professionalism

With more than 30 years of experience as a Costa Rican tour guide, Gil Calvo has developed strong relationships with some of the finest professionals and service providers throughout the country.

Our guests benefit from carefully selected hotels, restaurants, transportation providers, and professional naturalist guides, combined with a high level of personal attention and expert nature interpretation.

Your Trip. Your Way.

Costa Rica is our office. Your experience is our guide. A positive attitude and enjoyment are our philosophy. Friendship is our business partner, and your safety is our rule. Creating memories that last a lifetime is our mission.

We specialize in custom-designed trips, making you a partner in creating your own Costa Rican adventure. There are no cookie-cutter itineraries or one-size-fits-all experiences. Your interests, travel style, priorities, and budget become the foundation of your journey.

Our goal is not to be the biggest tour company in Costa Rica.

Our goal is to be the best by providing exceptional professional and personal service and creating extraordinary experiences that you will remember for a lifetime.

Let us help turn your Costa Rican dream into reality.

Gil Calvo

About Costa Rica

Geography

Area is: 51,100 sq. km (19,730 sq. mi.) about the size of the states of Vermont and New Hampshire combined.
Provinces: Capital:  San Jose (greater metropolitan area pop. 2.2 million), this area also includes the cities and provinces of Alajuela, Cartago, and Heredia. The other provinces outside the Central Valley Area or The Greater Metropolitan area are: Cartago, Puntarenas and Limon. 
Terrain: A rugged, central range separates the eastern and western coastal plains.
Climate: Mild in the central highlands, tropical and subtropical in coastal areas.

People

 Nationality: Costa Rican(s).
Population (2016): 4.857 million.
Annual population growth rate (2016 est.): 1%. 
Ethnic groups: European and some mestizo 94%, Afro-Caribbean origin 3%, Chinese 1%, Amerindian 1%.
Religion: Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical Protestant 13.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%.
Languages: Spanish, with a southwestern Caribbean Creole dialect of English spoken on the Caribbean area of Limon.
Education: Years compulsory–9. Attendance–99% grades 1-6; 71% grades 7-9. Literacy   96%.
Health: Infant mortality rate–8.5/1,000. Life expectancy–men 77.5 yrs., women 82.2 yrs. (2016)
Work force (2009 est.): 2.05 million.

Unlike many of their Central American neighbors, present-day Costa Ricans are largely of European rather than mestizo descent; Spain was the primary country of Origen. Other descendants of 19th-century came from Jamaica as immigrant workers and nowadays constitute an English-speaking minority and–at 3% of the population but in recent year and do to the teaching of English as a second language starting in kinder garden Costa Rica is close to be consider a bilingual country. Few of the native Indians survived European contact; the indigenous population today numbers about 29,000 or less than 1% of the population.

Government

 Type Democratic republic.
Independence: September 15, 1821.
Constitution: November 7, 1949.
Government Branches: Executive–president (head of government and chief of state) elected for one 4-year term, two vice presidents, Cabinet (22 ministers, two of whom are also vice presidents). Legislative–57-deputy unicameral Legislative Assembly elected at 4-year intervals. Judicial–Supreme Court of Justice (22 magistrates elected by Legislative Assembly for renewable 8-year terms). 
Subdivisions: Seven provinces, divided into 81 cantons, subdivided into 421 districts.
Political parties: National Liberation Party (PLN), Citizen’s Action Party (PAC), Libertarian Movement Party (PML), Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), and other smaller parties.
Suffrage: At 18 years’ old

History

 In 1502, on his fourth and last voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus made the first European landfall in the area. Settlement of Costa Rica began in 1522. For nearly three centuries, Spain administered the region as part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala under a military governor.

The small landowners’ relative poverty, the lack of a large indigenous labor force, the population’s ethnic and linguistic homogeneity, and Costa Rica’s isolation from the Spanish colonial centers in Mexico and the Andes all contributed to the development of an autonomous and individualistic agrarian society. An egalitarian tradition also arose. This tradition survived the widened class distinctions brought on by the 19th-century introduction of banana and coffee cultivation and consequent accumulations of local wealth.

Costa Rica joined other Central American provinces in 1821 in a joint declaration of independence from Spain. Although the newly independent provinces formed a Federation, border disputes broke out among them. Costa Rica’s northern Guanacaste Province was annexed from Nicaragua in one such regional dispute. In 1838, long after the Central American Federation ceased to function in practice, Costa Rica formally withdrew and proclaimed itself sovereign.

An era of peaceful democracy in Costa Rica began in 1899 with elections considered the first truly free and honest ones in the country’s history. This began a trend that continued until today.

Government

Costa Rica is a democratic republic with a very strong system of constitutional checks and balances. Executive responsibilities are vested in a president, who is the country’s center of power. There also are two vice presidents and a 20-plus member cabinet. The president and 57 Legislative Assembly deputies are elected for 4-year terms. In April 2003, the Costa Rican Constitutional Court annulled a 1969 constitutional reform which had barred presidents from running for reelection. As a result, the law reverted back to the 1949 Constitution, which permits ex-presidents to run for reelection after they have been out of office for two presidential terms, or 8 years. Deputies may run for reelection after sitting out one term, or 4 years. 

The electoral process is supervised by an independent Supreme Electoral Tribunal–a commission of three principal magistrates and six alternates selected by the Supreme Court of Justice. Judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court of Justice, composed of 22 magistrates selected for renewable 8-year terms by the Legislative Assembly, and subsidiary courts. A Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV), established in 1989, reviews the constitutionality of legislation and executive decrees and all habeas corpus warrants. The last national elections took place in February 2022.

President: Rodrigo Chavez 
Costa Rica has no military and maintains only domestic police and security forces. A professional Coast Guard was established in 2000.

Our National Symbols

Flag:

The National flag of Costa Rica was adopted on 27 November, 1906 which consists of five horizontal stripes. The colors of the flag are in the order of blue, white, red, white, and blue. The national flag of Costa Rica was designed by the first Lady, Pacifica Fernandez Oreamuno, in the year 1848.

The width of every stripe on the national flag is 1/6 of the total width, with the exception of the red stripe, which is 2/6 of the total width. The flag flown by the government includes the national coat of arms with a width-to-length ratio of 3:5.

The National flag is one of the leading national symbols of Costa Rica and is flown with much pride and dignity.

Coat of Arms:

It was created in 1848, under the presidency of Jose Maria Castro Madriz. The original seal went through two important changes. In 1906, war symbols were removed as a response to Costa Rican’s tradition for peace. Another change occurred in 1964, when two more stars were added as to represent the newly incorporated provinces. Today, the national seal shows seven stars, one for each province, three volcanoes representing the country’s three mountain ranges, and two merchant ships. There is a rising sun at the horizon between the blue sky and the blue ocean.”

National Bird: Clay-Colored Thrush ( Turdus grayi)

National Mammal: White tail Dear ( Odocoideus virginianus)

National Flower: Guaria Morada ( Guarianthe Skinery)

National Tree: Guanacaste ( Enterolobium cyclocarpum)

National Symbol of Work: The Costa Rican Ox-Cart

The West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus), National Symbol of Our Marine Life and Protection of Marine Ecosystems

Volcano Hummingbird (Selasphorus flammula)  A national insignia representing Costa Rica’s rich biodiversity and natural heritage.

Sloths (Two- and Three-Fingered, Choloepus hoffmanni  and Bradypus variegatus) Represent the peaceful, low-stress Pura Vida lifestyle and the country’s dedication to ecotourism and conservation.