New: Costa Rica Blog
Cost of Living
Investments
Residency
Health Care |
Basic Costa Rica FAQ's:
What is the climate like in Costa Rica?
Like many tropical countries, Costa Rica
experiences two seasons: The rainy season
and the dry season. The dry season (Summer)
is generally from about late December through
April. May and June represent a transition
period as we move from summer to winter.
July through October are the rainiest months
of the year. What does this mean? It means
that usually there are beautiful sun shiny
mornings followed by heavy rains in the afternoon.
This does not mean that we don't experience
periodic days where it rains from sunrise
to sunset, and/or several days of continuous
rain, on the other side of the coin, it is
not uncommon for us to experience days of
sun with no rain. Traditionally in July we
have the Costa Rican equivalent to an "Indian
summer" in Costa Rica we can it the
"veranillo de San Juan" means Saint
Johns little summer. This generally takes
place around the second or third week of
July. Guanacaste is the hottest area.
When is the best time of year
to visit Costa
Rica?
The best time of year to come
to Costa Rica
depends a lot of what you want
to do while
you're here. Our busiest time
of year is
the dry season which is late
December through
April. The advantage to travel
during this
time of year is that the weather
is usually
at its best. The disadvantage
is that there
are a lot of people traveling
at that time,
therefore, it is necessary to
be sure to
have previous reservations at
the hotels
you are interested in visiting.Travel
in
the rainy season, means that
you must bring
your rain gear and be prepared
to use it
with a smile. The advantage is
that prices
are normally lower, crowds are
usually greatly
reduced, professional naturalist
guides are
more readily available, and the
opportunity
to take advantage of some very
special natural
occurrences that take place such
as the Atlantic
Green Sea Turtle nesting season
June through
September in Tortuguero National
Park.
What should we bring for a general
natural
history trip to Costa Rica?
Sunscreen and insect repellent
Casual clothing for traveling
in cities
Shirts-cotton, long and short
sleeved Sweater
or jacket
Trousers-cotton hiking pants
or lightweight
hiking boots, thongs or sandals,
river sandals
or any kind of shoes that can
get wet and
straps onto your feet.
Shorts for hiking and relaxing
Socks-bring extra in case feet
get wet
Rain gear-poncho, raincoat, and/or
umbrella
Hat(s)-with visor for rain and
sun protection
Plastic water bottle-especially
for hikes
Flashlight with spare batteries
and bulb
Binoculars, field guides
Swimsuit
Plastic bags for wet cloths
Towel
Sunglasses and croakies
TIPPING. When and how much?
Restaurants are required by law
to add 10%
tax and 10% tip to the bill.
As a general
rule, Costa Ricans do not tip.
Taxi cab drivers are not usually
tipped unless
extra service is provided.
Bellboys are often tipped a minimum
of US
$1.00 up to US $1.00 per bag,
at check in
and check out. Remember that
the people that
carry luggage at out-of-town
places are bellboys
too, even if they are not sporting
the normal
bellboy attire.
Chamber maids are so often overlooked.
We
think they are among the most
important people
to tip. You may want to consider
US $0.50-1.00
per night.
Are credit cards widely accepted
in Costa
Rica?
Visa and MasterCard are widely
accepted.
AMEX and Diners Club are accepted
in select
locations. When using your credit
card you
are charged with the official
exchange rate
in Costa Rican colones.
Should we take our travel insurance?
YES !!!
However fit and healthy you are,
do take
out medical insurance, preferably
one with
provisions for flying you home
in an air
ambulance in the event of an
emergency. Here
in Costa Rica we have excellent
medical care
and if you were to get sick or
have some
kind of an accident while traveling.
Nevertheless,
while much more reasonable than
in the US,
medicine and treatment here can
be expensive
therefore we highly recommend
insurance..
Should I bring my own bottled water?
No it is not necessary to bring
water from
your home.Water is usually safe
in San Jose
and the highlands. Where you
have to be the
most careful is on the coasts.
Bottled water
is also readily available at
most hotels
as well as corner stores, and
super markets.
Is it safe to rent a car? Is
it safe to drive
at night?
In the past there have been repeated
incidents
of rented cars being broken into
and a few
cases of bandits flagging down
cars and assaulting
the occupants. Rented vehicles
are identifies
by special license plates and
a sticker therefore
becoming an easy target. So to
answer the
question, no it is not safe,
but preventive
measures can insure your safety
and the vehicles.
When in San Jose always park
the car in a
parking lot and never leave suitcases,
camera
equipment, jackets or anything
interesting
in the car. When out of town
be sure to ask
at the hotels if their parking
lot has a
guard and if not where the safest
place to
leave it is. As far as driving
at night goes,
the Caribbean side is the place
where there
have been the most problems.
These have taken
place on the road which goes
through Braulio
Carillo National Park and on
the road that
goes from Limon to Cahuita. To
date we have
not heard of this happening anywhere
else.
If you apply the same rules as
you would
in an area of questionable security
in the
United State you shouldn't have
any trouble.
Get off the road and to your
next overnight
station as early as possible.
Don't stop for anyone flagging
you down on
the road
If a traffic cop wants to give
you a ticket,take
the ticket, don't offer a bribe
or hand out
any cash as "payment"
for the ticket.
What are road conditions like?
In Town
San José is notorious for its
narrow streets,
complicated one way grid system,
heavy traffic
and crater like pot holes. Familiarity
with
a San Jose road map ahead of
time can be
quite helpful. Be sure to talk
to your hotel
receptionist or car rental agent
before you
go so that you are as oriented
as possible
before you venture out. Also
be aware that
here in San Jose we give directions
by using
land marks such as "From
the Strangler
Fig (we all know which strangler
fig they're
talking about)100 meters north
and 200 meters
east" When this happens
ask the person
if they can give you the address
by streets
"calles" and avenues
"avenidas".
Most of the time they will be
able to tell
you, but sometimes people just
don't know
what the street address is. We
really didn't
start to learn how to give addresses
this
way until we started giving addresses
to
foreigners who had no way of
knowing where
the Strangler Fig is, where Matute
Gomez'
house is, what Pulperia La Luz
is and which
one of the 100 churches in San
Jose they
are talking about. Also sometimes
when they
say 100 meters or 100 varas they
mean one
block, 200 meters or varas is
two blocks
and so forth.
Outside of San Jose
While on the panamerican highway,
the road
is in generally good condition
by Costa Rican
standards. For the most part
the highways
are two lane highways. There
are the inevitable
pot holes, and the lanes are
narrow. For
the most part roads have many
curves, be
prepared for big buses and trucks
passing
on blind curves. Fog is also
quite common
on some of the mountain passes.
During the
rainy season landslides are often
seen both
on the highway and off. The roads
that branch
off of the highway to go to Monteverde
or
the beaches for instance vary
in quality.
There is everything from gravel
and dirt
roads that are passable to really
difficult
to negotiate back country roads.
It is best
to ask your car rental agent,
the hotel you
are going to, or your travel
consultant about
the conditions of the road before
you head
out. Always be prepared for cyclists,
pedestrians,
a broken-down vehicle or even
an ox-cart
around the next bend. Many foreign
drivers
complain that the roads are inadequately
signposted. This is often true,
so try to
get hold of a decent road map
and ask locals
if you are not sure. Costa Ricans
are nearly
always able and willing to help.
What documents are required to
enter Costa
Rica?
Citizens of all nations require
at least
a passport to enter Costa Rica.
Passport-carrying
nationals of the following countries
are
allowed 90 day stay with no visa:
Most western
European countries, Argentina,
Canada, Colombia,
Israel, Japan/ Panama, Romania,
South Korea,
UK, USA, Uruguay.
What are the good night life
spots?
Cosmopolitan San José has a wide
variety
of restaurants- something to
satisfy most
tastes and budgets.
Restaurants
Costa Rican Food.
-The best-known one is the La
Cocina de Leña
(tel. 223-3704,255-1360) in the
El Pueblo
Shopping Center. The restaurant's
name literally
means "the wood stove"
and the
atmosphere is that of a cozy
country kitchen.
-Another up market place with
good Costa
Rican food in a rustic setting
is Tiquicia
(tel. 289-5839). Located in a
farm house
up in the hills of Escazu, this
restaurant
gives diners great views and
sometimes has
live local music. Call first
for reservations
and directions.
-Bihaua is owned by a famous
costarican cook.
This restaurant is said to serve
"nouveau
Costa Rican cuisine"
-La Fiesta del Maiz is only open
on weekends,
but serves every variation of
corn you can
imagine, this is a favorite of
Costa Rican
locals
-Chelles is an all night bar,
restaurant
which is quite famous among the
locals as
the "last stop" before
going home.
Sea Food
-Rias Bajas
-Lobster Inn
-El Banco de Los Mariscos
Beef
-La Cascada
-El Chicote
-Los Anonos
-Los Antojitos
Italian
-Pasta Factory
-Il Bagatto
-La Piazetta
Entertainment
Bars & Discotheques Try and
get hold
of the weekly leaflet "Info-Espectaculos"
which comes out on Tuesdays and
gives information
on live music and nightclub acts
for the
next week. The leaflet is available
at some
of the places listed below and
in the ICT
information center.
Local bands and musicians which
are currently
popular and are often found playing
live
at the bars are: (or as current
as we can
be in the fast-moving music business)
include
Liver pool(Rock), Baby Rasta
Band(Afro-carribean),
Abracadabra (rock/blues/reggae);
Marfil(Reggae,Salsa,
Merengue), La Pandylla(Latin),
Los Hicsos,
La Maffia, Jacque Mate (Latin
rhythm); Oveja
Negra, Luis Angel Castro (nueva
trova - Latin
folk music, often with a political,
antiestablishment,
human rights, etc). There are
many others.
- Bar Rockolas, is for people over 25, with
a passion for oldies. You can even check
your mail and surf the web for a while.
-Akelare (Where the Costa Rican
Expeditions
crowd hangs out on Thursday nights)
-El Cuartel de la Boca del Monte
(221-0327),
Avenida 1, Calle 21 & 23,
is a restaurant
by day but at night is transformed
into one
of the capital's busiest and
most popular
nightspots for young people.
-The Akelare (223-0345), Calle
21, Avenida
2 & 6, is in a huge mansion
and has a
variety of live bands playing
two or three
nights a week.
-Babu
-La Esmeralda (221-0530), San
Jose's version
of the Mexican Plaza Garibaldi.
Be careful
when they offer to play a song!
They expect
to be paid. Avenida 2, Calle
5 & 7. It's
open all day and all night (except
Sunday)
and is the center of the city's
mariachi
tradition.
-Casinos most major hotels have
casinos including
the Aurola, Cariari, Corobici,
Gran Hotel
Costa Rica, Herradura, and Hotel
Irazu. Blacjack
is the most popular game, but
there are others,
as well as slot machines.
Do we need to make reservations
in advance?
If you intend on traveling during
the high
season(December through April),
and you want
to stay at very specific hotels
you should
plan do your best to make reservations
as
much as six months in advance.
This is not
to say that if you wait until
two months
prior to your traveling time
you won't be
able to make reservations, you
will be able
to find space, it just may not
be exactly
at the hotels you originally
wanted, and
if a guide is important to you
it may difficult
to get one.
Are the charter planes safe?
Statistically, you are safer
flying in a
single engine charter plane than
you are
riding in a vehicle on the highway.
Check out the listings
|
|
