Cool Fun Stuff | Full Annotated List | Simple Checklist | Unpacking List | 25lb Carry-On List Packing is a personal process. I've seen people arrive with nothing but baggy shorts, flip flops, a t-shirt and sunglasses. I've also seen travelers with two huge roller suitcases bulging with who knows … [Read more...]
Practical Information & Logistics
Once you know when and where you want to go and what you want to see and do it's time to get down to the nitty-gritty, make sure your budget can handle the trip, get your documents in order, find out if your phone will work (if you want it to), pack your bags, buy travel insurance and stash away the $29 bucks you may or may not need for the departure tax. This section includes all the logistical information we've accumulated over the decades.
Currency Exchange Credit Card Rip-Off Scheme
It’s called convenience exchange, dynamic currency conversion or many other names and defended by businesses as a “practice instituted for the convenience of our valued customers.” We call it a rip-off. The concept is that travelers are most comfortable paying for purchases in their home … [Read more...]
Costa Rica Questions People Also Ask
In recent years Google has been attempting to shortcut the world wide web by posting "People also ask" lists of frequently asked questions with their "machine learning omniscient artificial intelligence selected best answers" directly on search results pages so you don't have to waste time visiting … [Read more...]
First Things First – as soon as you get off the plane
There are a few things we always do upon arrival. We're usually traveling for a couple of months so some of these may not apply to you. Everyone's first stop is immigration for the required document inspection and passport stamp. Next Stop Duty Free You are allowed to purchase duty free … [Read more...]
Camera Tips & Packing List
You'll never see tougher lighting or composition challenges than those you'll face in Costa Rica. skip down to the photography packing list The interior of the rain forest is about as bright as a big room with one forty watt bulb hanging from a high ceiling. In the age of digital cameras the … [Read more...]
What Should I Do With My Stuff When I Go Swimming at the Beach?
Everyone will tell you it's a bad idea to leave your stuff unattended on the beach (the warnings also apply when swimming under a waterfall or rope swinging into a river etc.) but what they don't tell you is how precisely to accomplish that. Bad Ideas (Skip down to Good Ideas) "Oh, there are … [Read more...]
Finding (Usable) Public Restrooms
It used to be very difficult indeed to find a public restroom in Costa Rica. 25 years ago your best bet was a bar where you'd likely find only a gent's and it was often nothing more than an outside wall with a drain hole at one end. The advent of fast food restaurants, modern supermarkets and … [Read more...]
Volunteer Opportunities in Costa Rica
Expectations of volunteers and the organizations needing help are sometimes quite different and high quality gratifying volunteer opportunities can be difficult to find. Below are some projects we recommend based on personal visits, previous volunteer's experiences, and established history of … [Read more...]
The Costa Rica Bathroom Experience
No we don't have some kind of weird fetish but Costa Rican restrooms have enough unique attributes that it's worth a word or two of warning for first time visitors. No, Your Other Left - Hot Water There’s a universal standard in plumbing that the hot water is on the left…except in Costa Rica. … [Read more...]
Passports & Visas
Proper documentation is the sole responsibility of each traveler. The information below was accurate at the time of writing, but Costa Rican immigration is the only authoritative source for passport, visa and other entry requirements (their website migracion.go.cr has pdf documents with specifics … [Read more...]
“Good” & “Bad” Exchange Rates
Essentially everything in the Costa Rica Costa Rican tourism sector is for all practical purposes priced in U.S. Dollars. The Colón to Dollar exchange rate has very little impact on costs for visitors. Unless travelers get quite a ways off the beaten path the cost of most hotels, lodges, … [Read more...]
Travel Insurance
No Refunds, No Exchanges & No Credits Use it or lose it. It's a standard policy for airfare, cruise reservations, and tickets to events like concerts. For international travel "use it or lose it" frequently extends to ground transportation, activities, tours and lodging which is why … [Read more...]
How to Find an Address
Addresses, directions and navigation in Costa Rica are simultaneously methodically logical and maddeningly chaotic. The Method The method is a rectilinear roadway grid with north south calles (streets) and east west avenidas (avenues). Calles count up by odd numbers from the east of Calle … [Read more...]
Sixaola Panama Border Run
Costa Rica Departure Tax The $7 departure tax when leaving Costa Rica by land is considerably less than the $29 exit tax charged if you are departing by air. It can be just as painful however. Theoretically paying the departure tax should be a breeze at machines similar to ATMs … [Read more...]
Isn’t That Free?
There are a number of things that travelers incorrectly assume are going to be free. An unexpected $50 - $100 expense or two can mess with your plans so read on and budget accordingly. Trails It's easy to understand where people from the U.S. get the notion that hiking, mountain biking and … [Read more...]
Rent-a-Car Cost Comparisons
As you can see from the rate quote comparisons below from the three top recommended companies on TripAdvisor the cost for a full size SUV rental can vary from $52.58 per day from Alamo to almost three times as much $149.95 per day from Adobe. We've rented 35 cars in Costa Rica for a total of … [Read more...]
Biggest Mistakes Travelers Make
Mistakes seem to take on a life of their own pile up, snowball and propagate while traveling. Reading through this list can help you avoid the most common mistakes... Day Trip Delusions. Travelers frequently ask us to help them book day trips to Arenal volcano, Monteverde cloud forest, … [Read more...]
How Much Does Food Cost?
Obviously at popular vacation destinations you expect restaurants to have high prices just as they do at tourist beaches, ski areas and amusement parks all over the world, but food prices have gotten crazy in Costa Rica even in supermarkets in backwater ranching towns. One question that we … [Read more...]
Tipping Guidelines
Tipping was not the cultural norm in Costa Rica until it was introduced from the U.S. a couple of decades ago. A service "tax" of 10% was added to restaurant bills but it was not dependent on the quality of the service and was not considered a tip. More like when you go to your automobile … [Read more...]
The Ant Dance
There's wildlife everywhere in Costa Rica and not all of it is your friend If you're standing watching a pair of toucans hopping though the treetops and suddenly you feel a sharp burning pain on your feet, ankles or calves you're probably standing in an ant hill. Tip to Avoid Multiple Painful … [Read more...]