Costa Rica is a beautiful country. People are friendly and coffee, bought at the right places is delicious. Is indeed more developed than other Central American countries. Depends on where you are going. Pacific Coast is gorgeous- Samara down to Montezuma- beautiful, not very crowded beaches. Manuel Antonio area is very nice if a little too touristy. The National Park there is worth going to if you enjoy a nice hike- but perhaps a little overrated. Traveling on some roads can be rough as many of the routes are not really roads but dirt and stone highways- I would recommend a renting a small 4 wheel drive vehicle if your planning on doing that- they rent out models that are still very fuel efficient. The upside is you get to see more remote, less traveled areas. Overall, very safe country as well. Disfruta!