Advice
for other travelers to Costa Rica
Kurt
Friehauf and the Kutztown University Geology Club
Contents
Planning
budgets
Costa Rica is not a cheap
vacation, but definitely a worthwhile one.
The country makes a lot of its GDP from tourism, so they tax it
heavily. Expect a 16% general tax, and commonly an additional 7% or 8% "service tax."
We shopped at several supers
(small supermarkets) and little tiendas
(small shops).
Bottled water was as cheap as $3 and as expensive as $5 for 6 liter bottle in
stores.
Water prices can be much more expensive when buying from street vendors
at tourist sites or at
the airport ($3 for half liter).
Fruit is amazingly good and cheap!
Restaurant prices, of course, vary.
We liked to eat at "sodas"
- small, locally-owned restaurants that specialize in casado (typical Costa Rican
dishes). This is where most locals go to eat out, as well.
Casado plates typically cost
around $3-4 and consist of Pico de
Gallo (a very nice rice and black beans dish), a piece of meat,
a piece of fried yuka, and
sometimes a little salad. A refresco
(soda pop) will add another dollar to the bill. It's
healthy, tasty, and fills you up.
Costa Ricans take either
their own currency (colones)
or U.S. dollars. The exchange rate was unfavorable to us due to
the recent decline of the dollar, but many places still gave us 500
colones to the dollar instead of 490 so they didn't have to deal with
small change.
Travel agencies
AnywhereCostaRica.com
They arranged both our hotels
and bus contracts.
Their agents speak English very well.
The bus contract was great.
The hotel choices were inappropriately expensive for our group of
student travelers,
but fine for family traveling with small children and/or people not on
a student budget.
TouristCostaRica.com
The family who own and
operate the Santa María Inn in Alajuela also work with this
travel agency. They pride themselves on repeatedly touring and
inspecting all the hotels in the country (at least twice each year) and
on trying to build itineraries that are specifically tailored to the
special needs of each customer/group. Arturo correctly predicted
our satisfaction with our other hotels, etc. and was very anxious to
help us plan the rest of our trip even though he had no possibility of
financial gain for his efforts. In retrospect, I wish I'd have
worked with him in planning our trip.
Transuca bus company
Coaster Mini-Bus was perfect
for our group of 14.
We kept luggage in back row, or else could have seated 17
comfortably. The bus pictured to the left is the same model that
we
Driver (named Ademan) very friendly and helpful, spoke no
English, but
very patient with my broken Spanish - we communicated fine
Perfect for a group - a personal chauffeur with a vehicle large enough
to transport the group (much better than trying to flag down 5 taxis or
risking getting split up on public buses)
other comments
recommendation
-
absolutely perfect for group travel!
Hotels
Plan on a 16% tourist tax
when budgeting.
Typical hotel - nothing fancy
- nothing bad
other comments
recommendation
- it's fine,
but nothing special
Very clean, tasteful,
brilliantly friendly family owns the place
They shuttle you to nearby restaurants if you ask
2 km from the airport,
but you cannot hear the planes
other comments
recommendation
- highly
recommended
Very expensive and a real
dump
Rates posted on websites lower than actual rates - be careful!
other comments
recommendation
- not
recommended
Very European in style and
attitude
Clean, modern place
other comments
recommendation
- recommend
for European and Russian travelers, but Americans might be less happy
Incredibly expensive
Happy Hour = free drinks
Denny's Restaurant = by far the most expensive I've ever encountered.
other comments
recommendation
- recommend only
if you're a wealthy traveler, but
much too expensive for student travelers
