Comparison

Explore Costa Rica vs Juniper Sands

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Explore Costa Rica

Discover tours, accommodations, food, and transportation for your Costa Rican adventure. Find national parks, beaches, waterfalls, and unique activities like camping and surfing. Filter by category and province to plan your perfect trip.

Highlights
  • Find tours and experiences
  • Discover lodging and food options
  • Search for transportation
  • Explore national parks and natural attractions
  • Filter by activity type
  • Filter by province and services
Read full description

In Explore App, the PURA VIDA app, you will find excellent tours, experiences, lodging, food, transportation and souvenirs in Costa Rica. In our app will find everything from national parks, volcanoes, beaches, surprising waterfalls, to beautiful tourist destinations to enjoy a picnic, camping under the stars, and many more activities. Through our search filters you can easily and quickly find the destination you want to visit according to its category (Tours, Accommodation, Food, Transportation, Souvenirs) and that adapts to your needs in the 7 provinces of our country: Cartago, Alajuela, San José, Limón, Guanacaste, Heredia and Puntarenas. Search for places according to the activities you want to do, we put at your disposal more than 50 different types: picnic, viewpoints, camping, waterfalls, glamping, horseback riding tours, cycling, quad bike tours, canopy, surfing, paddle board, beaches, scuba diving, fishing, rivers, skydiving, rappelling, rafting, 4x4 tours, tubing, kayaking, snorkeling, hanging bridges, canyoning, bird watching, caves, historical tours, coffee tours, safaris and more. In addition, you can find destinations that have the services you need: places appropriate for people with disabilities, places appropriate for seniors, places that allow pets, and more. Let's enjoy the wonders of Costa Rica's nature and support the tourism sector of our country.

About

Juniper Sands

Features
Read full description

The Juniper Sands app is designed to be used by guests and residents to explore our many offerings. Access all information you need to enjoy your stay.

Screenshots

Explore Costa Rica4 screens
Juniper Sands2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Juniper Sands at 3 against Explore Costa Rica's 1. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Explore Costa Rica versus Juniper Sands: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExplore Costa RicaJuniper Sands
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size110 MB68 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDaniel Sanchez BrenesArmstrong Software, LLC.

In-app purchases

None

Explore Costa Rica

No in-app purchases

None

Juniper Sands

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Explore Costa Rica free?
Explore Costa Rica is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Juniper Sands free?
Juniper Sands is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Explore Costa Rica or Juniper Sands have ads?
Neither Explore Costa Rica nor Juniper Sands shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Explore Costa Rica or Juniper Sands?
Explore Costa Rica ships an update every 2 months, and Juniper Sands every 2 months. Most recently, Explore Costa Rica was updated on November 3, 2026 and Juniper Sands on November 4, 2026.

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