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Trip to Costa Rica
- Thread starter Jasonhg
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2002
- Messages
- 39
Went 4 years ago for 3 weeks....nice place. Buy a book for things to do and see..
1) The local police is not your friend.
2) Watch for cars in San Jose...Pedestrian don't rule...
3) Plan more time for the west coast than east..
4) Try to avoid Lima at east coast...
5) It rains a lot during nights....
6) You will be doing beach also so don't pack for a ''survival'' trip only...
7) Don't hesitate to pay high $ for good walking boots...
8) You will probably bring too much clothes..Don't forget the weight of your bag.
9) Traveling by bus is cheap and easy....but not very fast. The country is small so it is not too bad...
10) Bring a lot of water tablets, a swiss army knife or multi-tool, sun glasses, a stuff for insects etc.
Fred
1) The local police is not your friend.
2) Watch for cars in San Jose...Pedestrian don't rule...
3) Plan more time for the west coast than east..
4) Try to avoid Lima at east coast...
5) It rains a lot during nights....
6) You will be doing beach also so don't pack for a ''survival'' trip only...
7) Don't hesitate to pay high $ for good walking boots...
8) You will probably bring too much clothes..Don't forget the weight of your bag.
9) Traveling by bus is cheap and easy....but not very fast. The country is small so it is not too bad...
10) Bring a lot of water tablets, a swiss army knife or multi-tool, sun glasses, a stuff for insects etc.
Fred
your welcome.you'll be quiet busy checking all the Link's
Additional,get Jeff's book it pack's lot's of info on third world travel: http://www.jungletraining.com/ and go to http://refdesk.com to search for Newspaper's on line and Doc's who do travel Medicine. Additonal: http://www.istm.org/
Additional,get Jeff's book it pack's lot's of info on third world travel: http://www.jungletraining.com/ and go to http://refdesk.com to search for Newspaper's on line and Doc's who do travel Medicine. Additonal: http://www.istm.org/- Joined
- Jan 20, 2001
- Messages
- 1,190
Just moved from Costa Rica. (I lived there for a year.) It is not "AS MUCH" of a third world country as some others in Central America and you can get most anything you need. Buses are cheap but the roads are lousy and it is quite mountainous so if you are prone to motion sickness bring your dramamine or buy Gravol in country.
West Coast is nicest. Try Tamarindo, do go to los lagos at Arenal and if you can swing it go deep sea fishing in Quepos. Manuel Antonio is the nicest national park on the beach but stick to the third beach there since the undertow is HUGE at the other two. LIMON is NOT a great place and many of the Atlantic areas such as cahuita have a heavy drug presence. Jaco, on the West coast, has great surf but is not a great place.
While you are in San Jose DO go eat at "La Casa de Dona Lela" which is just outside of town on the road to Limon. They have the best typical food in town . . . get one of everything!
Or at least "Trocitos de Lomo al Sarten"!
IMHO, DO NOT drink the tap water! CR has recently become famous for allowing their sewage lines to mix with water lines and last year even the locals stayed sick pretty often. I drank it for the first five months I was there and then got Giardia, Ecoli, Bacterial Infections, Amoebas, and Parasites traced to the water within the next two months. They have begun changing the tanks an water lines and most of the American groups there now do not recommend it.
Nicest american stle hotel, for me, is the Marriot courtyard in Escazu right outside of town. Downtown hotels tend to be loud, surrounded by significant crime and prostitutes galore.
CR is an eco-sensitive country so unless you are down with a guide on the osa peninsula, you won't need a machete or large knife. Take a multi-tool, and a swiss army knife. The local laws only allow for a 9cm blade on a folder but it can be an auto. Do take raingear and a good umbrella as well as plenty of bug spray. Right now is the heart of rainy season so expect rain to begin at 1p.m. daily! Mosquitos are only REALLY bad at the beginning and end of rainy season and Dengue fever is not common there.
There are TONS of english speakers so language will not be as big of a barrier as you may expect. Have fun!
EDITED TO QUALIFY SOME STATEMENTS and correct my poor spelling!
West Coast is nicest. Try Tamarindo, do go to los lagos at Arenal and if you can swing it go deep sea fishing in Quepos. Manuel Antonio is the nicest national park on the beach but stick to the third beach there since the undertow is HUGE at the other two. LIMON is NOT a great place and many of the Atlantic areas such as cahuita have a heavy drug presence. Jaco, on the West coast, has great surf but is not a great place.
While you are in San Jose DO go eat at "La Casa de Dona Lela" which is just outside of town on the road to Limon. They have the best typical food in town . . . get one of everything!
Or at least "Trocitos de Lomo al Sarten"!IMHO, DO NOT drink the tap water! CR has recently become famous for allowing their sewage lines to mix with water lines and last year even the locals stayed sick pretty often. I drank it for the first five months I was there and then got Giardia, Ecoli, Bacterial Infections, Amoebas, and Parasites traced to the water within the next two months. They have begun changing the tanks an water lines and most of the American groups there now do not recommend it.
Nicest american stle hotel, for me, is the Marriot courtyard in Escazu right outside of town. Downtown hotels tend to be loud, surrounded by significant crime and prostitutes galore.
CR is an eco-sensitive country so unless you are down with a guide on the osa peninsula, you won't need a machete or large knife. Take a multi-tool, and a swiss army knife. The local laws only allow for a 9cm blade on a folder but it can be an auto. Do take raingear and a good umbrella as well as plenty of bug spray. Right now is the heart of rainy season so expect rain to begin at 1p.m. daily! Mosquitos are only REALLY bad at the beginning and end of rainy season and Dengue fever is not common there.
There are TONS of english speakers so language will not be as big of a barrier as you may expect. Have fun!
EDITED TO QUALIFY SOME STATEMENTS and correct my poor spelling!
My wife is from Costa Rica. I met her there So I've been there many times. Bring a multi-tool with a file. Then when you get there go to the Marcado Central (central market), or any good Ferreteria (hardware store) in San Jose, and get yourself a short (~12" blade) machette with a sheath. There (used to be anyway) a stall in the Marcado Central that sold (sells) all kinds of machettes with handmade leather scabbards (real cheap). You will need this because you will find coconuts everywhere and it's real hard to open a coconut without a machette. Do you know how to open a coconut? Everyone has machettes. Costa Ricans mow their lawns with machettes. No kidding. Even in the 'burbs Costa Ricas carry machettes on their belt. Their machettes are thin and pretty soft steel, but they're cheap, easy to resharpen (with the file) and work great. Get a short one so its more packable.
Oddly, it's good to bring some nice clothes. Costa Ricans really like to dress better than Americans and they will think you look cooler if you're a litte more dressed up (in the City). It also is cool at night in San Jose, so I bring a light leather jacket for nights on the town. Also, it's real hot and humid in the lowlands, so I like those nylon (like ExOficio) clothes that dry fast don't absorb moisture, and can be washed in the sink (there's not a lot of places to wash clothes). I wish I was going this year. I was just shapening my (coconut) machette. I carry my money, passport and credit card (which works well there) in a wallet that hangs around my neck, tucked inside my shirt and another wallet in my back pocket with just a few colones (Costa Rican money). There's pickpockets and petty crime so keep your stuff close to you.
So I've been there many times. Bring a multi-tool with a file. Then when you get there go to the Marcado Central (central market), or any good Ferreteria (hardware store) in San Jose, and get yourself a short (~12" blade) machette with a sheath. There (used to be anyway) a stall in the Marcado Central that sold (sells) all kinds of machettes with handmade leather scabbards (real cheap). You will need this because you will find coconuts everywhere and it's real hard to open a coconut without a machette. Do you know how to open a coconut? Everyone has machettes. Costa Ricans mow their lawns with machettes. No kidding. Even in the 'burbs Costa Ricas carry machettes on their belt. Their machettes are thin and pretty soft steel, but they're cheap, easy to resharpen (with the file) and work great. Get a short one so its more packable. Oddly, it's good to bring some nice clothes. Costa Ricans really like to dress better than Americans and they will think you look cooler if you're a litte more dressed up (in the City). It also is cool at night in San Jose, so I bring a light leather jacket for nights on the town. Also, it's real hot and humid in the lowlands, so I like those nylon (like ExOficio) clothes that dry fast don't absorb moisture, and can be washed in the sink (there's not a lot of places to wash clothes). I wish I was going this year. I was just shapening my (coconut) machette. I carry my money, passport and credit card (which works well there) in a wallet that hangs around my neck, tucked inside my shirt and another wallet in my back pocket with just a few colones (Costa Rican money). There's pickpockets and petty crime so keep your stuff close to you.