Things to know for your Costa Rica Trip

I spent six weeks in Costa Rica from December 2021 to January 2022. The first 3 weeks I traveled - partly by car - with my boyfriend. The other 3 weeks I traveled by myself with public transportation. In this article I have collected all the information that can be helpful when traveling to Costa Rica. As always, I tried to travel on a budget - so this article also includes tips on saving money. More details about the places I visited can be found in my other Costa Rica blogs.

General: Population, Size, Biodiversity
Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordering Nicaragua and Panama. The country has two coasts, the Atlantic Ocean to the east (Caribbean side) and the Pacific Ocean to the west (Pacific side). Costa Rica is home to about 5.1 million people and best known for its biodiversity and nature reserves. Although Costa Rica is a small country, 6 % of the world's species are found there – so, there is a lot to discover!

Locals: The locals who call themselves "Ticos" are very friendly, open-minded and helpful, but never pushy or trying to sell you something. The local language is Spanish, but most of them also understand (at least a little) English.

Local Food:

Sodas: typical local restaurants where the locals eat. They offer mostly local food and are run by families. I ate there very often, as the food is really good
Cascado/ Pinto: rice dishes with beans, chips, salad and optional meat/fish/vegetables
Local beer: Imperial (local beer is much cheaper than the imported ones!

In the restaurants the tax of 13 % is usually included, but there is always an additional service charge of 10 %. This should be taken into account so that you are not surprised by the amount of the bill at the end.

Drinking water: I did not dare to drink the tap water. However, I have seen some tourists who have done so and had no stomach problems. I would check with the hosts and then decide for yourself if you want to drink it or not.

Weather: The dry and rainy seasons can be different on the coasts in this country! Therefore, at the same time it can be dry season on the Caribbean side and rainy season on the Pacific side. Check in advance which side is best for your travel time. It is usually warmer on the coasts, while it is cooler in the mountainous regions and San Jose.

Plan and book in advance! When I was in Costa Rica, the country was very popular for travelers because it was relatively easy to enter despite the pandemic. Unfortunately, I was generally there during the peak season at Christmas. It was extremely difficult for me to find free accommodations. Even the hostels were completely booked in some places. I usually love the freedom to book the day before I leave a place, see if I like the new place and travel on when I feel like seeing the next place. But that was impossible at that time in Costa Rica and also took away some of the joy or serenity of traveling for me. Depending on when you go, check in advance the accommodation and booking situation (especially in the tourist hotspots).

Packing List: For Costa Rica you don't need any special equipment, I packed as usual and got along with it. I personally only travel with hand luggage to tropical countries where it is very warm. I pack clothes for about 1 week (no matter how long I am on the road) and give the dirty laundry once a week to the Laundry.

Money: The exchange rate is approximately: 1 USD = 540 CRC / 1 EUR = 580 CRC You can pay in the local currency CRC (Costa Rica Colones) or in USD. The prices in CRC are usually a little cheaper. If you have USD left over from another trip or if you are coming from America, take USD with you to Costa Rica, since cash withdrawals will of course cost a bit. In most restaurants and stores you can pay with credit card. Pay as much as possible with the credit card, of course, this also saves fees for cash withdrawals. I saw ATMs in almost all places, but there is none in the town of Montezuma. Sometimes the ATMs didn't work because they didn't accept my card or there was no money left inside. Therefore, if it works, I always recommend to withdraw a little bit more for security (I do that in every country).

Prices: Costa Rica is very expensive compared to the other Latin American countries. I was surprised that it is actually more expensive than my home country Austria. I was told by a local that most hotel operators have raised prices again because there is such a rush of tourists right now and of course they lost money during the pandemic.

If you want to save money, you don't have to visit every national park. Since there are so many natural, untreated places in Costa Rica, there are also many animals around. For example, in all the accommodations I stayed I always saw monkeys and iguanas in the trees. If you keep your eyes open while walking around or lying on the beach, you will always see exotic animals.

Examples for prices:

Basic double room: 40 to 60 USD
Shared room in hostel from 8 USD, in the famous & fancy Selina Hostel about 25 USD
Food: in a soda about 3.500 CRC (5 USD), in restaurants starting from 6.000 CRC (8 USD) without drinks (tip: if you want to save 10% service charge, you can order the food for takeaway)
Beer (local): in the supermarket 1.000 CRC (1.50 USD), in restaurants from 1.500 CRC (2.30 USD)
National parks: 20 to 35 USD (with a guide the price increases)
Surf lesson with instructor: 50 USD/ hour
Bike Rental: 10 USD/ day
Scooter Rental: 25 to 30 USD/ day (cheaper if you take it for a few days)
Car (4×4 wheel): 60 USD/ day (fee return to other location: 60 USD)

When quoting prices, it is best to ask if the tax is already included. With higher amounts, it is unpleasant if you are surprised by a higher final price.

Internet: works everywhere without problems and is even available in the small sodas. Costa Rica became a hotspot for digital nomads, in some places there are co-working places with very fast internet.

Laundry: can be found in all places, but you should compare a little bit the prices, because some charge 10 USD for one bag (regardless of the weight). If you don’t have that much laundry, be sure to look for a laundry that weighs per kilo (approx. 1.200 to 2.000 CRC).

Books: Definitely take enough reading material or a Kindle with you. I saw one bookstore (with new books) in San Jose and one in Tamarindo, the one in Tamarindo was extremely expensive. I found a bookstore with used books in Santa Teresa, but it only had very old and already broken books. Also in the hostels there were hardly any books to exchange/buy. I was very surprised that it was that hard to find reading material.

How to get around Costa Rica: Transportation

The public transportation network is basically set up so that all routes go through San Jose. If you make a change of location, you always have to go back to the capital and change to the next bus to get to your destination. In Costa Rica there are the following transportation options:

Public buses: are the cheapest way to get around. Buses always leave on time and are well organized. There is not one central bus station, the different bus companies always have their own bus stations. On their homepage you can usually find the timetable and prices. Take in mind: I was once "only" 30 minutes before departure at the station and the bus was already sold out. I had to wait 3 hours for the next one. If possible, it is best to book the tickets online, the day before you want to leave or be at the station early. I am very sensitive to heat and for me the bus rides were extremely exhausting. There was no air conditioning, so it was hotter in the bus than outside and you have to wear the masks all the time because of Covid, so you get even less air in the stuffy environment. If you want to avoid that (e.g. when traveling with little kids or pregnant), it is best to use shared shuttles.

Car: We had a car for 10 days and I found it very comfortable. Generally, it is no problem to get to main destinations with buses and tourist shuttles. However, without the car we would not have been able to see many (hidden) places because they are not on the public routes or the buses leave only every few hours. Therefore, we would have had to pay for private shuttles/taxis. If you want to see a lot and also avoid the main arrival times of the tourist buses, it is definitely an advantage to take a car. If traveling with another person, the car will probably cost similar to using shuttles and cabs. Driving a car in Costa Rica was in general no problem. The roads are sometimes a bit bumpy, there are many potholes and surprisingly high/hard speed bumps (conductores), so you have to drive very concentrated. We had a 4x4 wheel car and were able to master all the roads with it. We downloaded the maps on Googlemaps in advance and always got to our destination easily. More information about the roads on our route can be found in the blog "Planning a 3 Weeks Route through Costa Rica".

Shared Shuttles: for poorly or even not connected places, I booked shared shuttles with Tropical Shuttles Company. I used this service 2 times and paid about 50 to 70 USD for a trip. Pick-up and drop-off takes place at a previously agreed location (e.g. your hotel) and worked perfectly. Private Shuttles/ Taxis: You can rent shuttles/ taxis with a driver just for yourself. This is probably the most expensive way to travel for longer distances. Taxis/ Uber: In San Jose I used Uber, which was quite cheap.

Tip: often roads are only one lane and there are many road works. We were once stuck in traffic for hours. I would therefore take this into account if you have to catch a plane on the same day of a long car or bus ride.

I hope with these tips you are well prepared for your Costa Rica trip!

Things to know for your Costa Rica Trip

How to get around Costa Rica: Transportation

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