Originally Posted by SJOGuy

I would never use the provinces as a basis for planning my trip to Costa Rica because the boundaries are so artificial. The provinces exist only to provide legislative apportionment. There aren't even provincial governments. Checking off Costa Rican provinces is not like checking off U.S. states you've visited.

The only province that welcomes you with a sign is Guanacaste. Otherwise, you barely know where one ends and the next one begins. You pass through three provinces just driving from SJO airport to San Jose itself. Alajuela and Heredia provinces extend from the San Jose suburbs to the Nicaraguan border. Puntarenas province strings along most of the Pacific coast and includes both Monteverde and the Osa peninsula.