Costa Rica Travel Revealed

Things To Do In Costa Rica

admin — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:07:00 +0000

If you’re looking for things to do in Costa Rica the good news is it’s likely going to be harder working out what *not* to do as Costa Rica is built for tourism in all it;s different styles and so there is so much waiting to be done it can be hard to squeeze it all into a holiday.

Here, then is a list of just 14 possible things to do in Costa Rica:

1) Zip Line

In the forest areas of Costa Rica like Monte Verde and Arenal you will find enormous zip lines slung between trees. Take your life in your hands, attach your harness to the line and fly across the tops of the trees with the greatest of ease! It’s amazing fun and a great way to get a unique view of the forest and you actually travel through and over it rather than under it.

2) Rapelling

Like abseiling but down waterfalls this is one thing I actually haven’t done yet because I didn’t want to get too wet. But if you’re up for something extreme, this may be the way to go.

3) See Arenal Volcano

The biggest and most active volcano in Costa Rica, Arenal is amazing at any time of day but really comes into it’s own at night where a lava tour will take you up to the volcano (though a safe distance away) so you can see the red rocks and lava bursting out of the crater, with plumes of smoke and the rumbling sounds to boot.

4) Go Horse Riding

A fantastic way to see the countryside the horses are western style making them easy to ride for any level of experience. I’ve only been on a horse 3 or 4 times before but ended up galloping across the hillsides with my guide! You can let the horse concentrate on the uneven surfaces, and you can watch birds, look at leaf cutter ants and admire the views.

5) Go Surfing

Take your own board or hire one when you get there. Surfing lessons are also available in many of the most popular surfing destinations here where the beaches and waves are second to none.

6) Explore The Cloud Forest

My favourite thing to do in Costa Rica out of all the possibilities - trek your way through the hills and mountains covered in vegetation and moisture and try to see a host of wildlife on the way. Be ready to get hot and sweaty, and bring a thin, waterproof, breathable jacket for the dampest parts.

7) Go Animal Spotting

Coatis, turtles, manatees, monkeys and more all await those with the patience and basic field skills to see them. I bought a new camera with a big zoom lens specially before going so I could try and capture as many of them as possible. Many of those photos can be seen here on this site.

Visit An Orchid Garden

Doesn’t sound too exciting to me, I admit, but then I actually went there I had an amazing time. See the smallest orchid in the world (you won’t believe the size of it!), the worlds only orchid used for culinary purposes (do you know what it is?!) and dozens of other stunning flowers. A guided tour will help teach you about these amazing flowers.

9) Go On A Night Tour

Take a guife and a torch and make your way through the forests late at night, in almost total darkness, looking for creatures. It’s likely they’ll be mainly insects though you may see the odd roosting bird or nocturnal mammal. I was taken with how different the forest feels at night as the diurnal creatures try to get some sleep and the night watch comes out!

10) Drive An ATV

Possibly not the most environmentally sensitive passtime, for under $100 you can hire a quad bike or all terrain vehicle and go for a drive across the mountains.

11) Lie On A Beach

Lie on the Caribbean coast to your heart’s content enjoying warm blue waters, cloudless skies and white sandy beaches. A good book and a cold drink - what more could you possibly need?!

12) Try A Cocktail

Visit on the of beachfront cocktail bars to try out some of the local cocktails. Sit curled up on a comfy sofa such as at Shake Joes on the Pacific coast and watch the world go by.

13) Take A Boat Ride

Whether it’s on lake Arenal, a short sightseeing trip in Tortugeura or the wetland area of Cano Negro, take to the waters with an experienced captain and let the boat do all the hard work while you enjoy the scenery and the wildlife around you.

14) Bunjee Jump

In Arenal or Monte Verde, jump from the top of a tower and (hopefully) bounce right back up again!

Note that these 14 things I’ve listed here are just a sampling of the possibilities - and are just the first things to spring to my mind - you will find there are plenty more things to do in Costa Rica if go looking for them…

Why Visit Costa Rica?

admin — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:03:57 +0000

With the wealth of travel destinations available to us all now, the question is why consider Costa Rica over anywhere else for your vacation this year?

Costa Rica is just a few hours flight from the United States yet offers a varied range of possibilities for a vacation spot.

For the adventurous traveller Costa Rica offers rainforests, mountains and wilderness in great magnitude. You can go rapelling, flying down zip lines, running across bridges slung between treetops and atv driving easily, safeky and cost effectively.

For the nature lover Costa Rica probably has more wildlife than virtually anywhere else on the planet. Coati, sloths, jaguar, tapir, four species of monkey and more butterflies than anywhere else in the world make this a nature lovers mecca. For the avid bird watcher there are toucans, macaws, vultures and a host of others.

For the family vacation there are sunny, safe beaches and resorts on the Pacific coast where you can experience 5 star service, swimming pools and world class cuisine.

For the surfer, sandy beaches covered in palm trees and excellent waves can be found on both coasts. Many if them offer a social aspect too as they are so relaxed and chilled out that you may never want to leave.

So Costa Rica might of interest? Great. Getting to Costa Rica is easy enough with regular flights into the capital - San Jose - from the United States. From here you can catch standard buses to anywhere you like in the country (if you have the time) for just a few dollars. Alternatively order one of the tourist shuttle buses that will take you direct to your hotel or anywhere else in the country you desire. Taxis can also be found everywhere though are most abundant in San Jose.

Lastly, if you’re feeling a little richer, you can use one of the two small internal airlines to take you to one of the small runways across the country. It is, as you might imagine, the fastest but most expensive way to travel around the country.

Hotels range from the cheapest hostels in shared dorms for just a few dollars a night up to 5 star resorts like Tabacon Hot Springs in Arenal that charges several hundred dollars a night - but provides unlimited access to the hot springs along with your hotel room.

Food tends to be down to earth apart from the posh hotels and resorts but is still perfectly acceptable in nature and standard. From the Costa Rican dish Casado, a combination of vegetables, rice, beans and meat (which is very tasty indeed) to burgers, pasta and pizza most tates are suitably accounted for. Luckily the food doesn’t tend to be overly spicy and is generally reasonably priced. Drinks can consist of fantastic, locally grown coffee or fresh fruit smoothies at a tiny percentage of what you’d pay back home.

So choose your activities, buy your ticket and pack your bags. We’ll see you down here soon!

Costa Rica Money / Currency

admin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:59:33 +0000

In terms of Costa Rica money there are really two currencies in use - the US Dollar and the local Costa Rican Colones. Being of Spanish origin you should pronounce the ‘e’ as well as the ’s’ of the ending so that you say every letter in the word.

The best idea we found was to ensure you have US Dollars before you go - I have never had a situation where Dollars (Dollares in Spanish - again pronounce every letter) weren’t accepted.

Just appreciate that you may get charged slightly more for using dollars than colones but both should be accepted nationwide. Change is almost always given in colones.

The currency must have become devalued at some point because the pocketfull of coins I always seemed to end up with was virtually worthless. I would find myself almost unable to walk with so much change, yet I could barely buy a Coke with it when it came to paying so it kep piling up and eventually I left a stack of it for the maid at our hotel.

Due to the value of colones you’re likely to be dealing in minimum values of 10, and several thousand is likely. I.e. a $5 meal at the time of writing will cost you around 2,500 colones so keep the exchange rate in mind at all times just so you can see what is a bargain and what isn’t.

Where is Costa Rica?

admin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:58:55 +0000

Costa Rica is based in Central America between Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. Being part of Cnetral America Costa Rica has both a coast on the Caribbean sea and one on the Pacific.

The actual country itself experiences a wide range of different environments from the hot, dry areas of Guanacaste to the cool, moist cloud forest of Monte Verde. Whilst the country isn’t huge, this means that there are plenty of different areas to see with weather to suit just about anyone and a variety of different wildlife living in different areas of the country.

National Flower Of Costa Rica

admin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:57:55 +0000

The national flower of Costa Rica is the beautiful purple orchid. There are several orchid gardens in Costa Rica such as the excellent one which is in Monte Verde where these flowers are seen most easily.

National Bird Of Costa Rica

admin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:56:46 +0000

The national bird of Costa Rica is the “resplendant quetzal”. The quetzal (pronounced “ket-zal”) gorws to just over 30cm in body length and is an amazing bird to see in the wild. In shade, just a small brown bird, but when the sunlight hits it’s feathers the quetzal becomes the most dazzling green with a bright red belly. The male has a long tail making it easy to tell the two sexes apart.

They also have a very characteristic call so once you have heard it once, you can often hear quetzals from quite some distance away.

They next in holes in trees just like this one:

The best place to spot the national bird of Costa Rica is in the Monte Verde cloud forest reserve. We visited in April, arriving at the park as it opened around 7am and went out with a guide (which must be prebooked). Luckily our guide was both incredibly talented and knowledgeable and we ended up seeing plenty of quetzals - though he assured us it’s not always that way!

Best Time To Visit Costa Rica For Travel

admin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:52:55 +0000

It is generally that the best time to visit Costa Rica for travel is between January and April which is the “dry” season in Costa Rica. There may still be the odd downpour, so come prepared, but the weather tends to be most stable now.

Also, a drier environment can make it easier to see animals, and to also hear them rustling around in the leaves.

The wet (”green”) season starts in late April or early May though locals we spoke to said that this does seem to be moving earlier each year and El Nino can cause changes to the standard weather patterns. In the wet season some roads become totally impassable and travel in general becomes far more difficult.

Stay Cheap In Costa Rica When Travelling

admin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:50:45 +0000

If you’re looking to stay cheap in Costa Rica when travelling I have both good news and bad. Firstly the bad. Costa Rica is a lot more expensive than many other Central American countries such as Guatamala and Panama because of the generally higher standards of living and major industry being tourism. However the good news is, if you know where to look or are willing to do some research, there are still many places that you can stay cheap in Costa Rica when travelling.

Whilst the more “tourist” driven areas like Tamarindo and Flamingo have “western-style” resorts at western prices, it’s still more than possible to find dorms and basic hostels in many areas such as Manuel Antonio and Monte Verde.

As an example I stayed at one very basic hostel in Monte Verde that was just $22 a night for a double room. Appreciate that things we often think of as essential - hot water, doors that lock, a mirror in the bathroom, air con and so on are considered luxuries in many of the lower cost places to stay so check what you’re getting for your money and ideally see the room before making a final decision.

Beware that touts are often out in the more popular areas and may try to steer you toward deals in which they get a commission. These seem worst at the public bus ranks as the touts try to pick off the new and inexperienced individuals as they arrive in the cheapest way possible. In Monte Verde we would watch the bus arrive each evening from our favourite restaurant and the touts would decend on them like flies. They’d always get a few people.

Ideally use the hotel listings on this site or in the Lonely Planet guide to research hotels before you get somewhere. Choose someone where you don’t have to give a credit card number for a deposit and then if it’s too bad you can always move on. If in doubt, find a bar or restaurant and ask some other tourists where they’re staying and what seems to be working well for them.

As for food, your other main expense in Costa Rica, again, it isn’t as cheap as you might think but $5 will get you a decent meal and drink in a basic restauarant or soda, whilst there are supermarkets (or “minisupers”) in many towns where you can buy a decent range of foods.

Typical Foods In Costa Rica

admin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:48:37 +0000

Costa Rican’s tend to refer to their traditional dishes as “typical” or “tipical” foodsm whilst many eateries will also do more western-style foods.

The classic Costa Rican dish is called “casado” (which also means a married man - so be careful!) which consists of beans, rice, vegetables of the day and some meat. The vegetables are quite westernized - brocolli, carrots, cauliflower etc. and are all nicely cooked in my experience. The meat is where you make your choice. I enjoyed the beef (carne) and the chicken (pollo) best but there are often other choices available too.

I personally enjoyed the casado - it was tasty, satisfying and reasonably priced. Other typical foods are fish with vegetables or pancakes.

In the more touristy areas you may well find sandwiches, pizzas, burgers, fries and all the other “junk” foods we westerners enjoy. There are even a few Denny’s and Burger Kings around if you look hard enough!

For me, the drinks were the nicest surprise. Typical drinks are fruit smoothies - sometimes with milk added - that are reasonably priced, ice cold and simply the most delicious thing ever! Try the strawberry or the melon for ultimate refreshment!

If you’re not the most adventurous with your food then, I would suggest stcking to the more touristy areas (Arenal, the major resorts on the Pacific coast etc.) and you’ll barely notice a culinary difference from being at home. If you’re a little more willing to try new things - Costa Rica is a great place to try some delicious and exciting foods!

All food and water seems safe in Costa Rica and I never got an upset stomach there.

Costa Rica La Fortuna

admin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:47:33 +0000

La Fortuna, the town closest to Arenal volcano in Costa Rica had me worried. I’d met people who had already been there and they said they had problems dealing with how “in your face” the touts are. The Lonely Planet guide also stressed how touristy and unpleasant La Fortuna in Costa Rica was. Unfortunately when I worked all this out, I’d already arranged to spend a week there - and paid for a hotel. So I went anyway.

Well, I have to admit I don’t know what all the fuss was about. Sure, La Fortuna isn’t the most attractive or clean-feeling of towns, but the touts were fine, the town felt reasonably safe, there’s a beautful church in the park and you have views of the volcano. All the facilities you could need are here - launder-o-mat, supermarkets, restaurants and well, yes, lots of offices selling tours and souvenirs.

As always, we booked all our tours through our hotel for safety but quite enjoyed browsing through the gift shops for momentos to take home.

Buses run to and from La Fortuna on a regular basis so getting here from, say, San Jose is quite simple and accommodation is plentiful.

We stayed in La Colinas hotel which was basic but acceptable and had good views of Arenal volcano.

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