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Stay Cheap In Costa Rica When Travelling
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.
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Topics: Costa Rica Hotels, Costa Rica Travel Tips |
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