One of the main reasons travelers are traveling is for that unique experience. Sure you can buy mangoes at your local supermarket anywhere in the U.S. but they don't come with cross-cut inside-out opening demonstrations as they might from a roadside stand in Costa Rica. Many unique … [Read more...]
Gouge the Gringo
The Myth of the Costa Rican Credit Card Swindle There is a misconception among expatriates and travelers that Ticos are out to take advantage of Gringos. The myth has diverse origins but one of the most persistent is the extra charges at hotels, restaurants and tours for using a credit card. Other … [Read more...]
Patience Mañana
I'll be Patient Tomorrow but I Want My Rental Car Today... In a country where the national slogan is mañana, mañana… mañana it’s not surprising that sometimes service is not the same as in northern climes where not collecting the firewood in time for winter once meant freezing to death. As a … [Read more...]
Shell Game
Beachcombers beware, pretty mementos picked up on the beach may not make it home It is prohibited to remove anything (rocks, wood, plants, animals etc.) from inside national parks or wildlife refuges and there is a Costa Rican law requiring a permit for collecting sea shells on other public … [Read more...]
Our 1996 Top Ten
The ten best places to go in Costa Rica in no particular order from our 1996 website. ...this is a page we wrote almost 20 years ago and we've found some new spots since 1999 so take a look around and see what you think and maybe we'll make a new list for 2016 on the Platinum Anniversary... This … [Read more...]
Group Tour Plus & Minus
To tour group, or not to tour group Advantages of group tours Organization and efficiency: If you decide to travel with a tour group you will almost certainly find that you pack a lot into your days. If you want to see and do the most possible things in the least possible time, then an organized … [Read more...]
Our 1996 Best Secrets
The Best Kept Secrets in Costa Rica - circa 1996 Some of these have been discovered but many are just as pristine and applicable almost twenty years later. Wildlife Cruise If you're on a tight budget and can't shell out the $US 35-50 for a nature cruise in Tortuguero or Caño Negro, or you just … [Read more...]
Energy Keycards
As new hotels are built and others in Costa Rica begin to modernize a number have added a system that theoretically helps save energy. In fact it's complicated pain in the neck that doesn't accomplish anything. The assumption driving the system is that guests are too irresponsible and … [Read more...]
What’s in a Name?
Costa Rican hotel owners started using keyword naming conventions long before SEO or the industry it represents existed. If you don't make your living in advertizing then SEO may be the most important acronym you've never heard. SEO is Search Engine Optimization which at the time the term was … [Read more...]
Do You Know the Way to San José?
Getting from the airport (SJO, Juan Santamaría) to downtown San José Public Bus: Public buses on the Alajuela to San José route stop in front of the airport (after you exit go around the parking garage that is directly in front of you and catch the bus on the side opposite the terminal) … [Read more...]
Document Backup
Be Prepared with Instantly Accessible Copies of Your Travel Documents You can easily lose three or four days of your vacation trying to replace lost or stolen travel documents. Much of this time will be dedicated to simply waiting for copies to arrive at the local embassy or consulate, and some of … [Read more...]
Airport Hotels – Skip ’em
The Top Hotels at SJO and LIR International Airports, Costa Rica ...reprinted from CostaRicaTop10 with permission of the author and publishers... Ninety nine percent of the time the right answer to the question “What’s the best airport hotel in Costa Rica?” is “none of them.” It’s quite … [Read more...]
Costa Rica Guidebook Reviews
We've been told that books are dead and you can find anything you want on the internet for free. Not true. Don’t have time to read all the insightful reviews below? See the executive summary. Selecting the best guidebook We’ve been traveling in Costa Rica mapping the country for over two … [Read more...]
Secret Beaches of Costa Rica
Semi-Secret Beaches Semi-secret beaches are our favorites. They aren’t totally deserted – some of them even have a few little houses, some residents and maybe a bar, soda, or restaurant but if you ever see more than ten people per mile of sand on any of these playas that would be considered a … [Read more...]
Gambling on Arenal Volcano
It's really a long shot now. The article below is one we used to maintain when you used to be able to see lava flows on Arenal Volcano. It's not impossible that it will come back to life any day but it quieted down to an occasional puff in 2009 and hasn't made so much as a peep for six … [Read more...]
Driver’s License Renewal
This is going to be interesting. I went in to the Colorado DMV to renew my driver's license ahead of a trip to Costa Rica this weekend and now I'm doomed. I blocked out a hour figuring that's about how long a five minute process would take when government bureaucracy was involved and was … [Read more...]
Books for Costa Rica
Current guidebook reviews are available on this link All Books Alphabetical by Title A Adventures in Nature: Costa Rica by Ree Strange Sheck, Paperback, 320 pages, Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing; 2nd edition (February 2001), ISBN: 1566912423 A guidebook to Costa Rica built from … [Read more...]
Bird & Wildlife Books
General Interest Wildlife Field Guide to the Wildlife of Costa Rica Color photos, species accounts, and distribution maps, for almost three hundred species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, moths, and other invertebrates are complimented by general introductions to … [Read more...]
Leisure Reading
Some good books while hanging out in a hammock on the beach Costa Rica: A Traveler's Literary Companion Superb collection of short stories (English). These stories will give a different feel to your travels in Costa Rica as you begin to understand the cultural basis for some of the things … [Read more...]
English Costa Rican Spanish Dictionary
PHRASES The ATM ate my card!¡El cajero automático se comió mi tarjeta! When does it open?¿A qué hora abre? When does it close?¿A qué hora cierra? What is the exchange rate?¿Cómo es el tipo de cambio? What is the commission?¿Cuál es la comisión? How much do you charge?¿Cuánto cobra? How much … [Read more...]