Photos: Santa Teresa, Costa Rica by Christopher Crouzet, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Taipei by Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
Santa Teresa, Costa Rica or Taipei?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Santa Teresa, Costa Rica for
- beaches
What lies behind each score is written up on Santa Teresa, Costa Rica’s own page.
Choose Taipei for
- getting around
- culture and sights
- day trips
What lies behind each score is written up on Taipei’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Santa Teresa, Costa Rica and Taipei.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on beaches with your weighting.
Wins on getting around and culture and sights with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Santa Teresa, Costa Rica in July
Taipei in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Santa Teresa, Costa Rica's temperatures are measured 52 km from the centre, at Puntarenas.
Santa Teresa, Costa Rica has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Taipei has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Santa Teresa, Costa Rica: 1961-1990 (rainfall 1991-2020) normals, Puntarenas (51.5 km from centre). Taipei: 1992-2020 (rainfall 1991-2020) normals, Sungshan / Taipei (3.5 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Santa Teresa, Costa Rica | Taipei |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Spanish | Taiwanese Sign Language, Amis, Taiwanese Hokkien, Rukai, Bunun, Kanakanavu, Standard Taiwanese Mandarin, Paiwan, Yami, Atayal, Saaroa, Kavalan, Tsou, Seediq, Puyuma, Saisiyat, Sakizaya, Taiwanese Hakka, Truku, Matsu dialect, Kinmen dialect, Wuqiu dialect |
| Currency | Costa Rican Colon (CRC) | New Taiwan Dollar (TWD) |
| Sockets | AB120 V, 60 Hz | AB110 V, 60 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC-6 | UTC+8 |
| Emergency number | 911 | 110 or 112 or 119 |
| Elevation | 19 m | 10 m |
| Main airport | Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR)113 km from centre30 non-stop destinations | Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE)33 km from centre |
| Public holidays this year | 11 days | - |
By the numbers
| Measure | Santa Teresa, Costa Rica | Taipei |
|---|---|---|
| City population | - | 2,429,429 |
| People per km² | - | 8,938 |
| Museums within 10 km | 0 | 69 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 0 | 0 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | 12 months | 8 months |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Santa Teresa, Costa Rica or Taipei somewhere new.