I'm gonna be staying in the Northwest part. What are the do's and don't-s?

 

costa rica is awesome. surfing is good in that area- tamarindo and a less know spot called playa avallanos. Costa rica is a tourist friendly country. just use common sense like anywhere else abroad. The only thing we got hasled for was rear passengers not wearing their seatbelts. have a good trip.

 

I love windsurfing but the resort where I'm staying supposely has no equipment. Is it safe enough to rent a car there and head out exploring on your own?

 

Costa Rica is the safest country you can go in central america, lots of nice things to do, make sure you get a tour in the rain forest and go to the thermal water, well worth spending the day there, nice resort.

 

One day in my life I would love to do some real Big Game sportfishing down there, I heard it's intense!

-Alex

 

Guess it depends on what you want to do. Wouldn't advise renting a car, easier to fly or take a bus/jeep if you need to go very far. I'd definately recommend getting up to the Arenal Observatory Lodge and checking out the live volcano. Amazing stuff. Also check out the Tabacon Hot Springs. Love to go back to Costa Rica again.

 

I've never been but have always heard good things about it.

 

Costa Rica is wonderful. The natural beauty is unprecidented. The locals treat tourists with high regard. The population is educated...95% literacy rate. When you get to the rainforest, it is well worth hiring a guide (and it is cheap to do so). The guide will point out animals and plants you would never see on your own. All tour guides are nationally certified even though they may look unofficial. Pack light and prepare to hike. A smallish camera with good wide and telephoto capability is a must. IMO Canon SX200 IS if you want pocket size, Canon SX1 IS if you want better quality and are willing to carry it...SLR with lenses would be a burden unless you are a pro. You are in for a mind blowing treat!

 

If you are going with wife/significant other, it's well worth visiting the Volcan Arenal area, and stay at least a night at the Tabacon Resort.

Really nice thermal baths plus swimming pools filled with various temps of thermal water. Seeing the volcano at night if it has some lava coming off is also a real site.

Manuel Antonio nature park area is also a real nice place to visit, hike, and lots of the places have seaside accomodations that are nice. whenever you see modeling shots or photos with infinity pools set against the backdrop of an ocean they do a lot of that along the coastline resorts near there.

 

The Northwest area is beautiful and very tourist friendly. We did some amazing sport fishing out of there. Renting a car???? We toured all over the country and we called the roads "OH MY GOD" roads. They are a very poor condition and some of the bridges we crossed were nothing but the rails left with hundreds of crocidiles below. Enjoy the rain forests, a little zip line fun and if you get really adventurous we did canyoning which is repelling down waterfalls. You will love it there.

 

I am actually headed there with the GF in a couple weeks. I will have to put this on my list! Thanks for the suggestion.

 

I'm leaving tonight for a week. Got a sweet all inclusive deal through apple vacations to Occidental Grand Papagayo in Guanacaste.

If you havent booked yet, compare www.applevacations.com and www.funjet.com as both have good deals. I booked through apple and althou price was the same I was able to get a Deluxe Oceanview room for the same price as SuperSaver room on funjet.

 

BTW. Thanks Everyone for all the suggestions. I'll take lot's of pics in return

 

Here are the basic warnings you will get when traveling in Costa Rica. The car rental place down there were actually the first people to tell me this upon our arrival.


1. Don't ever leave personal items in your locked, parked car. Theft from tourists rental cars is a pretty common occurence.

2. Also, some of the cops in Costa Rica are known to be crooked. It is a fairly common scam to be pulled over for a trivial reason and then asked to pay $40 or $60 dollars on the spot to "take care of the matter".

3. Make sure you know how to convert between Costa Rican dollars and US dollars and count back your own change when using large US bills such as $100's.

That's about all the bad stuff I can think of. The remaining 97% of that country is beautiful, friendly and safe. I caught an approx. 400lb. Black Marlin when I was there as well as 6 pacific sailfish that were over 100lbs. each.

We would definitely go back.


Dan

 

All the things that Dan mentioned.

In the last 5 years, the petty theft in and around San Jose has increased dramatically. Tourists and pensionados are targeted mainly because they are known to carry larger amounts of cash, and I am inclined to believe there is a racket between the airport workers, taxi drivers, and thieves.

Don't flash large amounts of cash there, and I would suggest exchanging your $$$ long before you ever get on the plane to Costa Rica.

Bad stuff over, the people are great. Very friendly and down to earth. If you get off the beaten path, you can see the real Costa Rica. Tourism has turned it into a carnival, of sorts.

To me, the rainforest was the coolest, although I had a "private guide"(a friend), so we got to explore some non touristy places, and it definitely makes you in touch with nature. Zip lines are a must do.

There is a race track(circuit) about 15 minutes from the SJ airport, if you have any layover time, it's kinda neat. Look for Valverde Racing(they work out of the track) and tell them Justin from Tuning Concepts says Hi. It's a really well laid out track and they will show you around, I am sure.

I go there a few times a year, and have never had an issue. Just don't be too flashy and try to blend in... you'll be fine.

Justin