If you mention Costa Rica to friends or acquaintances who have never been there, visions of forever stretching sandy beaches, volcanoes and exotic wildlife will come to mind. Yes, they would be right. “Is the country in South America?” a friend asked. “No, but it’s closed.” I replied. “It’s in Central America. Panama, the southernmost Central American country, borders Costa Rica to the south and is adjacent to the South American country of Colombia.”
Like most Central American countries, Costa Rica has coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Our family visited Playa Bejuco on the Pacific Ocean side, which is the longest coastline and the beaches there have that beautiful black volcanic sand.
Travelers who want to escape the cold winters of the north often fly to San José, the capital city, located in the central part of the country. Liberia, a much smaller and more remote city to the north, is the alternative city where visitors arrive. If you decide to book your flight to land in Liberia, many of the roads in this area are unpaved and a four-wheel drive vehicle is the recommended mode of travel.
The best time of year to visit Costa Rica is from January to March. Locals will tell you that it never rains in Costa Rica during these months, but we did experience several downpours during our stay here. The good thing though is that it rained overnight giving us a respite from the 85 per cent humidity and freshening the air when we got up the next morning. For those of you who can’t tolerate the high humidity combined with temperatures of 85 to 95 degrees F (30 to 37 degrees C), you may want to vacation in the higher elevations, near San José in the interior of the country, in place in the resorts and beaches at sea level. Most visitors generally want to stay close to the ocean and enjoy the beautiful beaches, right?
The monetary unit here is the Colon. There are approximately 500 colones per US dollar. US money is accepted in most tourist cities, in shops, restaurants, hotels, and in taxi and bus services. Be prepared, if you pay in US dollars, companies will round up the amounts you owe in your favor.
My advice is to have a few US dollars on hand, but when
stops by a bank in the community you are in, exchanges the US dollars you plan to spend during your stay in Costa Rica, into colones. Note that several stores and restaurants do not accept credit cards; Cash only. Signs that say ‘cash only’ will be posted at such establishments.
A large number of Canadians and Americans own homes, land, and are involved in condominium developments in Costa Rica, so English is widely spoken. You will meet some shopkeeper, bus driver or taxi driver in the tourist cities, who only speak Spanish, so it is a good precaution to learn some relevant phrases to help you get ahead. I recommend purchasing a Spanish phrase book or pocket dictionary or downloading an application program for your cell phone from the Internet.
To get around Costa Rica, decide if you plan to explore the country in a vehicle or spend your vacation at a resort and take day trips from there. If your group is going on an extensive trip to various parts of the country, then it is recommended that you rent an SUV that suits your needs. As mentioned above, many of the roads are not paved and some are quite rough. It is common here during the rainy season for several roads and highways to be washed out and repair work can take months to complete. There are good roads here, one of them from San Jose to the west coast, is navigable by car. If you decide to rent a vehicle, be prepared to pay a premium price. There are taxes and other fees added after you return the vehicle, so be sure to request the total fees and get them in writing before you leave the lot.
If you decide to stay in a destination while you’re in the country and plan to take day trips to various nearby attractions, I recommend that you use a transportation service. We found these transportation services to be an easy way to get around. Drivers were friendly, made extra stops for us like a roadside fruit vendor to pick up papayas and pineapples, or stopping at a grocery store for some groceries, etc.
Taking these transfers is much less stressful than renting your own vehicle, as you don’t have to worry about getting lost, your rental car getting damaged or broken, and paying those exorbitant costs. They also cost less than taking similar taxi services. Our group used Costa Rica transportation services to take our group from San Jose to our destination on the Pacific coast and back to the airport.
While staying at our destination in Playa Bejuco, we used a one-man shuttle operated by owner Fernan Valverde, who spoke good English. He provided exemplary service, often beyond the call of duty. Shuttle and taxi drivers, we were told, are the only people you need to tip in Costa Rica. Tips are automatically added to bills for restaurants and other services.
Visitors to Costa Rica should be aware that petty theft is a common occurrence here. Ladies, keep your bags on your lap and gentlemen put your wallets in your front pocket as you take public transportation, eat at restaurants, and relax on local beaches. It is sad and traumatic when your valuables, money or passport are stolen while you are on vacation and can end your vacation prematurely. It is common sense to make sure you protect your valuables. A wise precaution, whenever possible, would be to store your money, other than what you will spend that day, along with your passport and other valuables in your hotel or home safe.
Costa Rica has an abundance of exotic wildlife and there are a number of interesting tours available. Boat tours can take you into the habitat of white-faced monkeys that will eat from your hand, or see firsthand where hundreds of crocodiles reside along with blue and white herons, hawks, ibises, alligators, and other interesting wildlife. Before you book a tour, check the reviews the tour company has received online through Trip Advisor. This is a valuable tool to help you decide which tour companies to book with.
Whether you like to surf or want to learn to surf, the Pacific Ocean beaches from Jaco south to Dominico offer some of the best surfing on the continent. Although the waters are relatively safe, compared to other places in the world, first-time surfers should be careful when entering the ocean. Rip currents, especially strong during tidal change, can prevent surfers from swimming to shore, especially if they are quite far from shore. Experienced surfers and swimmers will advise you not to swim against the current, but to swim parallel to the shore and at a slight angle towards the beach. Eventually, you’ll be back on the beach, maybe a little tired, but safe.
Families with young children should watch closely to ensure their children do not enter the water above their knees. For adults who are not particularly strong swimmers, they should not enter the water above their waist. Following these simple rules will result in a safe and enjoyable time at the beach for you and your family members.
Leaving Costa Rica, upon entering the airport terminal, you will be directed to line up at a counter to pay the departure tax of $26.00 USD per person and an additional inspection tax of $2.00, for a total of $ 28.00. Again, it is best to pay this fee in cash. If you choose to pay the tax through your credit card, an additional fee will be charged to your credit card.
One last important note, after you clear customs and security at the airport and decide to buy, say, a bottle of wine from the duty-free store to take with you on the plane. We came across another hand luggage checkpoint, just before boarding our plane. The inspectors confiscated the wine of several passengers. We were puzzled and shocked by this, which we considered to be an unorthodox procedure.
Consequently, my advice to the traveler is not to shop, especially wine or spirits, at the airport duty free shops here. It would be best to buy your wine or spirits and pack them in your checked luggage, then have them removed when you board your flight home.
Here are some tips for you, the first-time visitor, to help make your visit to beautiful Costa Rica as enjoyable and memorable an experience as it was for our family. Pure Life!
