Practical Travel Information

Plain travel information about Costa Rica. Monthly revised.

Last update: 23 juni 2008

What to bring
Crossing the Border
Safety
Transportation
Communication
Climate
Health
Money & Spending
‘Scary’ animals
Miscellany

Bring these things with you if you are going to Costa Rica:  light (cotton) cloth, a rain cap, shower proof clothing, sweaters, sandals, hiking shoes with grip soles, a cap, water shoes (if you want to go white water rafting), money belt, (good!) binoculars (minimum 7x24), flashlight, universal adapters, sun block, insect repellent.

It is a good idea before you travel to Costa Rica to send an email to your own e-mail direction with key information about passport numbers, insurance, important telephone numbers etcetera. It is possible to check your email in most places of the country. You’ll find Internet cafes in all tourist places.

Your passport must be valid for six months more if you enter Costa Rica. You need a return ticket or otherwise be able to prove that you are going to leave the country. You can stay for 90 days in Costa Rica. After this period you’ll have to leave the country for at least 72 hours before entering it again (for a maximum period of 90 days).
Please, notice that if you fly via the United States, your passport must be machine legible. Maybe you’ll need a visa. Check with the US-embassy in your country. In case you need a visa for the US, check possibilities to fly via other countries to Costa Roca.
 
The Airport in Alajuela is within a half hour distance of the capital San José. If you leave the airport to the left you can buy tickets for airport caps (± $15 to San José centre). Leave the airport to the right if anyone is waiting for you. Hundred meters in front of the exit is a bus stop. From there you can take buses to San José, Alajuela or Heredia. You have to pay the fee in colones (± 250 to the capital); dollars aren’t accepted in public buses.

Leaving Costa Rica. Take into account that you’ll have to pay a departure tax when leaving the country ($26, to be paid in dollars, colones or with visacard). Please be aware that it is not allowed to take liquids and lighters etc. in your hand luggage, due to severe safety measures.

Costa Rica isn’t a country where special safety observations need to be considered. The quiet, relaxed atmosphere and kindness of the local people makes Costa Rica a very pleasant country to travel through. The danger may be: too much confidence. So I like to stress here to be very alert during your trip. Also in Costa Rica there are people who aim at innocent tourists.
Especially in local buses to the most visited areas it is recommended to take valuable stuff on your lap or otherwise to look after them very carefully.
There are also more reports of robbery in downtown San José. It is wise to carry your valuable stuff in a money belt on your body.
If you are victim of criminal behaviour you have to make a report at a local office of the OIJ (organisation for judicial investigation, say: oh, ie, ghottah). 911 is the number to dial in case of an emergency.

Swimming in one of the warm shore waters of Costa Rica is delicious. But you have to be very alert on strong currents. Dangerous coastal waters sometimes are marked by a red flag (a green flag means that it’s safe to swim). If there are no flags and nobody is swimming it makes sense to ask locally if it’s safe to swim. Always stay close to the beach.

The most important and cheap way of public transportation is the bus. San José is a transportation hub from where buses leave to all parts of the country. You can find a timetable for buses leaving to the most important tourist destinations in ‘Hop on the Bus’ (click on the logo on the homepage). It is a wise thing to buy your tickets one day before you leave. You can buy them at the bus terminal from where your bus leaves (see also ‘Hop on the Bus’).
There are private bus companies (Interbus, Greyline). They maintain a network between the different tourist destinations. Of course they are more expensive than the public buses. But they are also more comfortable and travel time in general is shorter.
For those travelling with a wider budget but with less time exists the possibility to take a domestic flight. The big destinations lay within 1 hour and a quarter flying time from San José. Sansa and Nature Air are companies offering flights within the country.
In the cities taxis abound. They are easy to identify by their red colour and yellow triangle on the front doors. You pay 365 colones for the first kilometre ($0.70). The legal cabs all have taxi-meters. You stop them at the street by just lifting your arm. Most time there are taxi ranks at the central square in the cities.

You have to check with your provider if you will be able to use your cellular phone in Costa Rica. The market for telephony in Costa Rica is still monopolized. In any case: the signal is not available everywhere. This is the case especially in the mountain ranges. There are alternatives. You can buy ‘Kolibri’-telephone cards that you can use from every phone. A $10 card is sufficient for a 15 minutes call to Europe. Scratch away a code on the backside of the card. Tip 199 and follow the instructions! These telephone cards are available in stores with the sign: ‘tarjetas telefónicas’.
By dialling 116 you can ask for a collect call.

Email: All larger towns and the tourist areas have Internet café’s. The costs for being connected vary between 500 and 1000 colones per hour.
Post: Post offices are called: ‘Correos’. A stamp for a postcard to Europe costs 165 colones. Mail services are quite reliable. Normally it takes a week for a postcard to cross the ocean. In most hotels you can leave your mail. The surest way is to bring it to the local post office.
There is philatelic museum established in the main post office in San José centre (Calle 2, Avenidas 2&3). You can buy special stamps there. Opening hours 7.30-18.00 Monday-Friday, 7.30-12.00 Saturdays.

Costa Rica has a tropical climate. Maximum temperatures in San José vary between 22 °C and 30 °C, at the Pacific and Caribbean coasts around 30 °C. It may be very humid. Rainfall varies between 1500 and 7000 mm.
Seasons
The idea of Costa Rica having two seasons isn’t entirely correct. There is a difference between the climate in the Pacific (west) coast and Atlantic (east) coast. The weather in the Pacific is better predictable: it is dry between December and April/May. In the dry season there is no rainfall whatsoever. In the rainy season (May/November) you must be prepared for a heavy shower in the afternoons.
On the Caribbean side of the country the weather is less predictable and less stable. Through the year rainy days follow days with clear blue skies. Months with low probability of rain are: September, October and November.
Besides this Costa Rica is known for its ‘micro-climates’. Climate depends on height. And heights vary heavily in the country. It means that you can encounter changing weather conditions while travelling through Costa Rica. One day you can leave in hot sunshiny weather, encounter fog and rain halfway and arriving at your destination under a blue sky (the order may change!). And maybe you just travelled for a hundred kilometres! So always be prepared for drastic changing weather conditions: take sun block, a cap, a poncho and a sweater with you!

For questions about vaccinations it is wise to ask your medical doctor for advice before you are going to travel.
Healthcare in Costa Rica stands on a high level. In the private hospitals the service is quick and very professional in general. In case of health problems it is always possible to contact a Dutch medical doctor in San José.
Dr. Kristin Holthuis
Telephone: 225-9484 (08.00-18.00)
Email: casademadera@gmail.com

On request she can come to your hotel in San José.

The Costa Rican national currency is the colon. Besides colones, American Dollars are accepted almost everywhere. Bring small notes ($1, $5, $10 or $20). Euros or English pounds are accepted very uncommonly. You can change them (Banco Nacional, BCR). But it may take quiet a lot of time. A better idea is to leave them at home.
Rate of the colon against one dollar: $1 = ± 520 colones
Rate of the colon against one euro:  €1 = ± 700 colones

It is NOT recommended to change money inside the airport. The exchange rats are much lower than normal.

Cash dispensers: In almost all bigger places it is possible to withdraw money from cash dispensers. Most of the times you’ll get Costa Rican colones, at some banks it is possible to withdraw dollars (BAC San José, for example).
Credit card: Paying with credit cards is possible in almost every place. VISA and Master card are widely accepted.
Traveller Cheques: Since the possibilities for using credit cards are increased it makes no sense to bring large amounts of Traveller Cheques. Changing them at banks may take quite some time. They still are accepted in most hotels.

Costa Rica is not a very cheap country. Expect to spend an average of $30-$35 daily per person for eating and drinking if you are not a budget traveller nor looking for a luxury vacation.

Restaurants include 13% taxes and 10% service costs in their prices. Please note that these additional costs are not always included in the prices in the menu: they are charged when paying the bill.
Tips are most of the times included in the bill you pay in restaurants. Extra tipping is always appreciated.  Tipping is usual in hotels for maids, bellboys, drivers and guides (in short: people offering service in the tourist sector).

Tipping is not usual for people offering service in the non-tourist sector (supermarkets, taxi drivers, public buses). Bargaining for better prices is not a nationwide phenomenon. Please, just limit this behaviour to the souvenir shops. It is very easy to offend a Tico if you try to do it elsewhere!

This is a topic you can write about shortly or very extendedly. I’ll be short. Costa Rica is a tropical country where live insects, reptiles and other animals, who are considered ‘scary’ by some people.  There is no way avoiding them in Costa Rica, but in general the experiences are not that bad as expected by some. Be prepared. Take insect repellent with you (always) and start using if you notice mosquitoes or other insects. There is no product that gives 100% protection. A good natural Costa Rican product is ‘GreenScreen’. No doubt you’ll find little ‘pets’ in your hotel room (gecko’s for example). Impossible to avoid them in tropical Costa Rica!

Electricity: Voltage in Costa Rica is 110. ‘American’ plugs with flat pins are in use. Bring adapters with you if you are from Europe! Black outs are quite common, especially in the countryside. Don’t forget where you packed your flashlight.

Time in Costa Rica is Greenwich - 6