Subscribe: Costa Rica Travel Tips
31 Travel Tips You Must Read Before Planning Your Trip to Costa Rica
Costa Rica is as close to paradise as it gets: the weather is perfect and the diversity of flora and fauna is astounding. No wonder it’s becoming the top destination in the world for eco-tourism.
Please take into consideration some of the advice given below and you will have the time of your life. Enjoy your trip!
1) Avoid staying in San Jose. Especially avoid driving there. Many tourists have been targeted. Most of the “horror stories” you hear about happened in San Jose. Why take the risk? A taxi to SJ will cost you the same as to Grecia. Note: official airport taxis are fairly expensive. It can be as much as $50. If you decide to go this way, make sure that the quoted price is per trip, not per person.
If you want to visit San Jose center (the only part of San Jose that might be worth visiting), go by bus! Stay in the center (around the “pedestrian-only” street). Take only a small sum of money and a camera (umbrella during rain season is a must). There are many policemen in the center, so it’s safe during the day time.
As you get further from San Jose, crime rates drop dramatically. Even at the touristy beach towns the crime rate is not as bad. In our area violent crime is virtually non-existent.
2) Unless you have some experience driving in Central America, we strongly recommend avoiding the drive from the airport, especially if it’s dark or raining.
3) If you’re coming later in the day, let us meet you at the airport and rent a car the next day. This trick can save you anywhere between $35 and $70.
4) If your hotel is in the city center, bring your earplugs! Costa Ricans have a much higher tolerance for noise. What that means is that if you are staying in the city center there is a good chance that the nearest bar will have loud music all night long. On Saturdays it seems that everyone is having a party. Also avoid hotels that are too close to roads/highways (think motorcycles and huge trucks using engine breaks day and night).
If noise is a big concern for you, email the hotel and ask before you book.
5) Be careful when booking a smaller hotel or B and B. “Private room” almost always means “shared bathroom”. If private bathroom is important for you, confirm with the B&B that you’re getting one.
6) Some hotels will give you a discount if you pay cash and don’t need a receipt. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
7) You can buy some tours (Poas volcano, zip-line, waterfalls, coffee plantation, sugar factory, etc) OR you can rent a car and drive there yourself. You can save lots of money if you have a group of 4, for example.
We’ll provide you with driving directions and entry prices. Note: all national parks now have entry fees (typically $10-15).
Driving around our area is not hard, especially once you get away from the center of town. The drive is very picturesque and you can stop any time you want to take a picture.
Buying a tour has it’s advantages, too. You can relax and not think about driving. A tour usually includes a meal in a typical cafe or a small restaurant. You can get some very interesting insights from your tour guide. You will definitely feel more relaxed and learn more if you buy a tour.
Ultimately the choice is yours!
8) Do NOT drive at night. Some roads are very narrow and are poorly marked. There are more drunk drivers on the road at night. In the rain season there is a possibility of a land-slide, fallen rock or tree (happened to us once). Don’t take your chances!
9) If you plan to drive around a lot and eat in small cafes (called “soda”), you should always have some local cash (aka colones). Same goes for gas stations (called “la bomba”). Please note: most hotels prefer dollars, so don’t exchange all the money you brought. Check with your hotels beforehand what they accept. Most smaller hotels (and B&Bs) have a “cash-only” policy.
10) ATMs are a very convenient way to withdraw smaller sums of money. Look for the “Plus” logo at the back of your card. If you have it, you should be able to use your card in virtually any ATM.
Notify your card issuer that you’re going to travel to Costa Rica, so that they don’t block your card at the worst time possible.
If you are going to use ATMs, remember that if you enter your password incorrectly 3 times, the machine will “eat” the card. You should be able to recover it, but it will take some time (2-4 days). You might not have that time. Be careful, especially if this is the only card you brought.
11) Although violent crime is practically non-existent outside of San Jose (and some beach areas), petty theft is wide-spread. Just take the same precautions as you would if you were visiting Seattle or Los Angeles: don’t leave anything in your car that someone might consider valuable; don’t waive $100 bills, keep an eye on your belongings, and so on. If you’re at the beach, don’t leave your camera/clothes/hand bag unattended when you decide to go swimming: you wouldn’t do that in San Diego, for example, would you?
12) Don’t bring $100 bills. No one accepts them. You might even have troubles changing those in a bank. 20s are widely accepted. Note: the change will be in colones.
13) If you plan to head to the beaches (who wouldn’t?!), bring 2 bathing suits. It’s very humid at both coasts, so if you were swimming in the morning, your suit is still going to be wet in the afternoon. To avoid the unpleasant feeling when putting on a wet suit, it’s nice to have a dry spare.
14) Bring your favorite sun block (at least 45 SPF/FPC, preferably waterproof). They are more expensive here. In fact, anything with a brand name is more expensive here, so if you have some space in your bag, throw in your shampoo, conditioner, etc. Remember to put it in the bag that you’re going to check in.
Don’t worry if you forgot something: you can buy almost anything here.
15) If you’re going to stay in the Central Valley, bring some warm clothing as well, especially if you’re coming in Dec-Feb. It gets cold at night (for a week or 2 the thermometer deeps to as low as 60F/16ºC around 4-5 am).
You will probably do this scenario: Airport-central valley (Grecia, Sarchi, Atenas, San Ramon, etc) – Pacific beaches – Monte Verde – Arenal – central valley – airport.
If you stay in our hotel when you first come, you can leave some of your bags with us. You can pick them up on your way back.
16) Don’t expect too much from the local cuisine. The only exception is the Caribbean side. You can try some pretty exotic food there.
In the central valley or on the Pacific coast your typical food will be “casado”. It’s a dish that has a little of everything +rice+beans+ one type of meat (beef, chicken, pork chop) or fish. Don’t take a beefsteak (besteak [be-sték]), it’s very disappointing. Pork chop (chuleta, [chew-lé-ta]), chicken (pollo [pó-yo]) or fish (pescado [pes-ká-do] always in a crust) are all decent choices.
A typical breakfast with some meat (like beacon or sausage) and coffee will run you $2.5-4 (1,300-2,000 colones) A typical lunch (casado with a soft drink) should cost $3,5-5 (1,700- 2,500 colones). If you are on a budget, always ask beforehand what it’s going to cost. There are lots of sodas around, so you should find the right one in no time. If you see a soda packed with locals, go for it. It’s probably cheap and good.
Please note: the prices above are for Central Valley and Central Pacific for April of 2009). The prices in the touristy towns (like Jaco, Manuel Antonio, etc.) will be higher, especially during the high season. If you’re driving and you’re on a budget, stop to eat an hour/half-hour before you arrive. The food will be cheaper, and might be better at the same time.
If you’re not on a budget, there are some very good restaurants in both Jaco and Manuel Antonio. Sea food is probably the best choice.
17) Don’t speed. It’s dangerous and a head-ache if you get caught.
18) Don’t worry if you’re stopped by police. Be nice and patient. If you don’t speak Spanish, just show them the papers for your car. Typically they’ll let you go even before you do that.
If you showed them the papers and they still won’t let you go, call your rental company. If they couldn’t help you, call us. We should be able to help figure out what the problem is.
Do not try to bribe policemen. It’s a criminal offence here. If they give you a ticket, your rental company will charge you this amount. Then they will pay the ticket themselves. Please re-check this info with your rental company.
19) If you’re going to Jaco/Manuel Antonio/Punta Leona/Carara park, stop at the Tarcoles bridge (you won’t miss it: it’s fairly big and there are myriads of tourists taking pictures). You should be able to take some amazing pictures of huge crocodiles. Remember: don’t leave your valuables unattended: it’s one of the favorite theft spots.
20) You might not be able to see/photograph volcanoes or waterfalls if there is a fog. It’s not that uncommon. Don’t be disappointed if you don’t, it’s nature, unpredictable by definition.
You get a better shot at seeing Poas volcano if you arrange your schedule in such a way that you have time to visit Poas when you first arrive or on your way back. Allow at least 3 hours. The good thing is that from our hotel you can see if the volcano is in a fog, so you can pick your timing and not waste your time and money.
The best chance to see Arenal volcano not covered with clouds is during the rain season. Strange, but true.
21) If you plan to drive to some lesser-known spots (like Laguna Hule), bring your GPS. It’s best if you buy/find a map of Costa Rica beforehand. If you’re staying in our hotel you can rent a GPS with the map of CR for $7 per day.
22) If you plan to swim in the ocean or surf, read about rip tides. People die only because they don’t know what to do. If you know what to do, you’ll be just fine. Actually the chances that you’ll get pulled into one of those are slim to none, but better safe than sorry.
23) You don’t need any vaccination. Water is safe to drink from the tap. The only exceptions are villages close to huge pineapple or banana plantations. There have been reports of water contamination with pesticides and herbicides. If you go to stay in one of those tiny towns, ask locals if they drink the water.
24) If you need to do some dental work, we have several US-trained dentists right here in Grecia. They get raving reviews from Americans, Canadians and Europeans alike. Just to give you an idea. To fill a tooth: $40-45 (about 23,000 colones); full cleaning (ultra-sound): $45-55 (25,000-30,000 colones); root canal: $125 (about 70,000 colones). One of our guests said that the savings from the dental job paid for their 2-week trip to Costa Rica (including air fare).
25) All of Costa Rica, especially the Pacific and Central Valley have high winds in December-February. If you just had your laser eye surgery, I suggest you schedule your visit accordingly. My eyes were very uncomfortable with the wind-dust combination. Big sunglasses helped a lot, so did the eye-drops.
26) Some beach areas, like Mal Pais, have very bad dust/sand air pollution. Do your research and just avoid them. There are lots of beautiful beach areas to choose from.
27) If you’re going to Guanacaste in March-May, expect it to be extremely dusty and dried-out. It’s not going to be lush and green like on the pictures taken during the rain season.
28) Carefully choose your timing when traveling to the Caribbean coast. That area is beautiful and worth visiting, but it was seriously flooded 3 times last year.
29) If you’re from US, Canada or most European countries, you cannot stay in Costa Rica for more than 90 days. You must exit the country for 3 days, then return. There are 2 options: Panama and Nicaragua. In Panama the most popular place is Bocas del Toro. In Nicaragua it is San Juan del Sur. Both are an easy car or bus ride. If you plan to drive, check with your rental company first. The best (and easiest) choice is to travel by bus.
30) Try to schedule your trip in such a way that you avoid going to the beaches during the major holidays such as Christmas, New Year and Easter week. The beaches are literally packed with the locals (and garbage). Away from the beaches, everything is closed, including grocery stores and restaurants.
31) If you’ve been to Central /Latin America and hated to be constantly annoyed by locals trying to sell you everything under the sun, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by Costa Rica. Costa Ricans are very proud people. It’s rare to see a beggar or a bum outside of San Jose area.
If you have any questions/concerns, please email us at info@MangoValley.com
>>Costa Rica Travel: articles and advice
>>Driving times to the closest and the most popular tourist attractions in Costa Rica
June 27, 2009 6:30 pm
News
