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TRAVELING TIPS/FAQ:

If this is your first or your 14th trip to Costa Rica, there are a number of things to do to get organized. Here are a few things you may find find helpful. We hope this page will assist anyone with an interest in spending some time in the paradise we are fortunate enough to call home.

PASSPORT ALERT: Please check your passport expiration date. All foreign citizens entering Costa Rica must have a passport that is valid for at least six months after the date they enter the country. Citizens of the United States, Canada, the EEC and many other countries do not need visas to enter Costa Rica. If you do not have a passport that is valid for at least six months after your date of travel, it is highly probable that you will not be allowed to board the plane.

PACKING: Costa Rica Guide Packing Tips Pack light - everywhere except the Volcanoes, you can wear a light short sleeved shirt and shorts. You need two types of shoes - Tevas (or knock offs) and hiking boots. They'll tell you you don't need boots for the jungle tours and that is entirely true if you just love the feel of squishing mud through your toes. For the Volcanoes, bring jeans and a jacket - one of those nice rubberized yellow rain jackets will keep you dry, wind proof and make it easy to find you when you get lost.

FLYING: Learn How The Astronauts Used to do it! The easy part and no worries - most of the flights take off on time and land in the right place. What often doesn't happen in between times is something called feeding. You may want to consider bringing your own food on airlines these days. Arrivals in Costa Rica occur in two places - Alajuela (20km west of the capital San Jose) and Liberia (about a 3 to 4 hour drive north west of the capital). InsightCostaRica can do pickups and drop offs at both locations at any time - however we are based in Alajuela near the main international airport.

FIRST NIGHT: All the localhotels are rated here. Most people flying to Costa Rica arrive at Juan Santamaria International Airport. This is a nice new and clean airport situated about 20 kilometers from San Jose central. Airport acccess is one of the best. Easy and convenient but as you exit customs you will be met with a seething mass of people waving signs and taxi drivers. On arrival in Costa Rica, you may want to be picked up at the airport - many flights arrive in the evening and we do not advise renting a car or trying to find your own way to the local hotels at night. The airport taxi service is reputable and reliable (Taxis Unidos) and can be found 20 feet to the left of the airport exit (main International airport). InsightCostaRica would also be happy to pick you up. EMAIL us at: InsightCostaRica for a quote or additional airport area information.

MONEY: Best reads are here Some guests arrive and ask "do they take dollars here?" and we respond yes and no. Costa Ricans are proud people, proud to be Costa Rican and the many things that being Costa Rican means - currency is a small part of what it is to be in Costa Rica. However, the dollar is welcomed in many places, as are all tourists who tread gently on this beautiful landscape. You do need some colones, the local currency, too. Grabbing a local cab or a "comida typica" lunch are good reasons to carry colones. DO NOT bother changing your euros, dollars or drachma INTO colones before you arrive. You will loose 10% or more on the conversion. There is an official exchange rate which is in effect EVERYWHERE in the country. You can exchange travellers checks or drop by the many ATMs for cash anywhere in the country. Cash gets you better deals on things pretty much everywhere. If you are buying something ask if there is a "descuento" for cash ("en efectivo"). Cash discounts can net you 5% to 10% on many purchases.

SPECIAL NOTE ON TRAVELLERS CHECKS: Another place that doesn't take them is here. This year we have had to stop taking traveller's checks. They now take us at least 20 days to clear and in some cases have taken 2 months. You will find you will need to take your traveller's checks to local banks to get them cashed.

TIPPING: Learn More About Costa Rica Here If you get good service give a nice tip. With the exception of public restaurants (where you will see the tip and taxes "IVI" included in the prices) you will find tips are NOT an expectation in Costa Rica. If you get good service give a nice tip. If you get bad service give nothing and let them know why. Tipping is not a god given right for surly taxi drivers, bad waiters and rude tour guides - fortunately. The daily wage here is very low and a nice tip, for excellent service will go a long way in a Costa Rican household. Learn a little more about this wonderful country through its' people.

TRANSPORTATION: Another Way to Get Around This table shows a comparison of the transportation methods and some idea of costs and benefits of each: click here for . . . a comparison of transporation in Costa Rica. The common ways of getting from place to place in Costa Rica include rentacar, private bus (like InsightCostaRica or Interbus),private van service (with driver), taxi (split 4 ways can be cheaper than the private bus), local bus (can be slow, but very inexpensive) and internal airlines (SANSA, near the international airport or Nature Air at Pavas airport).

DRIVING/SECURITY: You may have heard or noticed a problem with petty theft in Costa Rica. If you want, you can leave your bags piled up in your car while you park and go to the beach. If it seems fitting to the occasion, you can wear dingle dangles of gold and diamonds all over you while walking the streets of San Jose. If you feel the need, you can flash the bus driver with wads of Dollar Bills. If you get a flat in a dark dank neighborhood, you can accept help from three friendly teenagers. If you do any of these you will likely be ripped off by some sharp and fast characters and have a bummer of a day. This can happen anywhere in the world and it does happen here too. When travelling keep your car in your sight. Get to your destination early and unload your bags at your hotel, THEN go to the beach/the forest/the bar. Leave heavy jewelry in some other country. All hotels have a safe of some kind - keep valuables in the safe. Have a safe trip! "Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them." --Frederick Douglass

SECURE PARKING: If you don't go with InsightCostaRica and rent a car instead make sure your stuff is safe. Where you park in Costa Rica is important during the day too - always remove anything of value. The thieves may have the keys to your car so locking or putting stuff in the trunk/boot is not a deterrent.

TAXIS: Nothing to do with Costa Rican Taxi drivers There are three kinds of Taxis - orange airport taxis, red taxis with taxi signs on them and Piratas. All CAN cost you more than you want, but often they are cheaper than you expect. We recommend the red taxis - they are local, they know the area, they are relatively cheap. When getting in the taxi, you should ask the driver to tell you how much SHE/HE thinks the ride will be - he will argue for about 1 minute that the ride will be on the meter (the "maria") and then he may put the ride on the meter or he may not. In Costa Rica things like this are not important. Save the time for the Morphos. At the other end, if his estimate was wildly wrong (to your disadvantage), you at least have a point of reference. NOTE: Red taxis are hard to find at the airport as the orange taxis have the airport monopoly.

WATER: A Guests View of their trip to Costa Rica The water in MOST of Costa Rica is safe to drink. If you are not sure or want to be even safer than safe, buy bottled water and contribute to the economy. If you go to remote parts of the country with no roads, no electricity etc the water is probably a problem - bring water on hikes.

ABOUT THE GREEN/RAINY SEASON: An Alternative Link For Gay Travellers The Green Season lasts from May 1st to November sometime. Around here it is also called the "temporada baja". This time of year is actually reserved by the local residents who spread rumors about this and that and suggest not coming to Costa Rica during that time. The reality is that this is probably the best time to come. Costa Rica is beautiful in June (and we do like July, of course August is our indian summer and quite beautiful, and there is a particular fondness for September as we get a bit of a break, and October is similarly nice, of course not to forget November which is when we prepare the hotel for the high season and the air is filled with anticipation, which leads to the best month of the year December due to all the locals getting paid their alguinado and having money to spend for the first time in 11 months, and we'd hate to miss a January here with its beautifully perfect weather in the Central Valley, well that kind of leads into February and the begining of the mango season, and March where the mangos are even better and so on . . . ). If one had to vote for a perfect month, it might be August (though last November was beau . . . etc etc).

LEAVING (SO SOON?): Read All About It This link is to our local english speaking newspaper - if you have to leave you can keep in touch with the country here. Thanks to the various global initiatives on this and that you are requested to be at the airport 2 1/2 ahead of your flight. This is called progress - the average time to get to the gate is about 40 minutes - go figure. We'd compromise - be at the airport about 2 hours before your departure. For previous travellers to Costa Rica, there was a problem with getting exit taxes paid. This is NO LONGER a problem, the airport has become efficient and speedy - pay your taxes as you enter the airport, get in line for some paperwork verification from some smiling Ticas and wizz off to the counter for baggage inspection and your seat assignments. Come on back soon, there is so much MORE to explore.

OUR GUIDE TO COSTA RICAN GUIDE BOOKS The best way to learn about a new country is through the excellent Travel Guides and Costa Rica has a few. If you need personal opinions of where to go we'd be happy to offer them. Each traveller will find something new in any one of these. We are proud of the entries in the guide books (we include some below) and we welcome your opinions in our guest book online.

NEW KEY TO COSTA RICA
Beatrice Blake's eco-travel tome.

An excellent work and check out her eco-tours. Travel with your own expert on Costa Rica. Beatrice is an expert on the "roads less traveled" in Costa Rica. If you are interested in rural tourism, her guide book is a must. The new edition has been much revised and the focus on rural tourism makes her work unique. She also helps support the efforts of the rural tourism association (ACTUAR). The Pura Vida Hotel is proud to be on her green rated hotels list From the current Guide Book, "About a kilometer down the road to Tuetal is Hotel Pura Vida(private bath, hot water) a friendly B&B with bungalows in a hillside garden. Two bungalows have two bedrooms. Owners Berni and Nhi are welcoming hosts; Nhi makes delicious dinners for guests, using her Chinese grandmother's recipes, having fun with local fruit (homemade pineapple ginger sorbet), and decorating everything with flowers. Their website has a wealth of information. Airport pick up included. Recommended."

MOON HANDBOOK COSTA RICA
The Moon Guide book by Christopher Baker does a very thorough job indeed.

Particularly useful are his local maps and commentaries on what to expect. When you read Chris's work you know that a like minded soul has traveled there before you. How he is able to cover so much ground is remarkable. The book is set up with an excellent index and is overall well organized. He has a excellent suggestions for diferent routes to take - most useful if you are renting a car. This is the book we carried when we were tourists here years ago. About Pura Vida in last year's Moon guide, "The best place and highly recommended is Pura Vida . . ."

RUM & REGGAE'S COSTA RICA 2006
From Jonathen Runge & Adam Carter, the newest book on Costa Rica is surprisingly well detailed.

At 592 pages this is also the largest guide book on Costa Rica to date with a very useful index making things easy to find. We think that is the main purpose of a guide book? They have a section on Costa Rican Superlatives - you could use this as a list of "must sees" and route yourselves around these locations. They think of their book as "travel with an opinion" and it is. We don't even know when they visited us so they are pretty good "secret shoppers". Here's a snippet from their nice review: "It's a pleasure to wake up among the twenty varieties of fruit trees-such as mango, star fruit, avocado, guava, and grape fruit-while being bathed in volcano views. Gracious hosts amid a serene setting-after a night, all we could say was pura vida! "

OPEN ROAD's BEST OF COSTA RICA
Charlie Morris's diferent way of doing a travel guide.

This book makes no pretense at trying to cover ALL the territory. The author, Charlie Morris, has extensive Costa Rican experience and here he ONLY looks at the "best of this" or the "most interesting of that". This actually would make a good second guide book purchase with ANY other guide book. So for example in our area he shows three don't miss items on page 32 - Poas Volcano, the Doka Coffee plantation and the delightful local zoo, Zoo Ave. We agree wholeheartedly! In the Pura Vida Hotel review on page 130 under "Best Sleeps and Eats" he notes "the gardens are filled with an astonishing variety of flowering things. There is a small orchid garden." And concludes his review with . . . "This is one of my favorites. Be sure to get in on one of their fabulous dinners".

EXPLORE COSTA RICA
From Harry Pariser, the travel writer based in the bay area of California. Harry is a frequent visitor to Costa Rica and keeps up to date on the goings on here.

Travel tips, photos, and information on Costa Rica. Explore the nooks and crannies as Harry digs into what makes Costa Rica tick. This book has a good introduction to Costa Rica section with good animal sections as well as potted history to help you understand the people and culture better. His latest edition just out has an excellent 100 page introduction to Costa Rica including a nice concise history you won't find in some guides as well as a detailed "practicalities" section. You can get his book here: EXPLORE COSTA RICA. If you like Harry's writing email him for his daily news emails about life in the real world.

FODORS
Perhaps the most well known and most used of the travel guides due to their global coverage.

Fodor's has a section covering "the sights, restaurants, hotels, and other travel experiences" which are "the best of their type in Costa Rica, not be missed and always worth your time." Last year Fodors writers combed the country in more detail. The 2006 guide is a great advance in detail over the 2005. The 2007 book improves again with better organization and good detail. As you'd expect there is a thorough travel tips section. Each chapter covers a region with "a Top 5 reasons to go". There is a pull out map at the back to help orient you while you plan your routes at home. Recommended. "Pura Vida Hotel, Alajuela. Perched on a ridge in the countryside north of town, this small collection of bungalows and rooms offers views of tropical gardens and distant Poas Volcano, a mere 10 minutes from the international airport." Fodors 2007 went on to note: "Some of these bright and cheery bungalows have separate bedrooms, and most of them have small terraces with chairs. Continental breakfasts and delicious dinners are served in a covered terrace behind the house. The helpful owners and proximity to the airport (15 minutes) make this a good place to begin and end a trip.

FROMMERS
A standard with good Costa Rican coverage.

This one was written by a local and it shows.

LONELY PLANET
& shoestring guides with a reputation for finding you the best deals.

This guide book has a bunch of interesting "facts for visitors" and detailed maps though we'd like more town maps. There is a built in wild life guide that has a good overview of what you can see in many parts of Costa Rica.

FOOTPRINT GUIDE: The Costa Rica Handbook

As they say "Critical listings of the best and most interesting places to stay, eat, drink and party. Costa Rica: mysterious, magical, secretive..."

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER
An overview of the country - not really a guide book per se.

Recommended as a companion to any of the listed guide books. The photography is gorgeous, good history and excellent overviews for each region of Costa Rica,

ROUGH GUIDE
If you have used them before you will be familiar with the style. LET's GO COSTA RICA
One of the budget travel guides.

As they like to claim " For independent travelers on a budget, with an emphasis on whatever's hip, fun or free. Hmmm but they didn't find us on their last update!

TRIPADVISOR.COM
Visit TripAdvsor to read articles and reviews about Alajuela hotels and attractions.

We also like the Discovery Channel INSIGHT POCKET GUIDE to Costa Rica - an excellent overview of the history and evolution of the country.

The information on the culture is excellent and the parks are very well covered. But this is not a guide book per se.