Costa Rica shows no signs of slowing down as a popular destination for Americans. And for a certain reason. It’s a fun flat-out place, with beautiful rainforests, wildlife and wildlife
really wonderful people (even those who don’t work in the tourism industry). It’s been a few years since my visit, but I still have some tips to help.
1. Do not sell. If you are from the United States, the driving state is a lot like a hole 10 minutes of Revenge of the Sith. Except this – while driving sparks road rage incidents in America, Costa Rican drivers sound and wave and people who cut them off or in the right course they cast three inches of clearance.
2. Plan ahead by shuttle bus or bus service. It is quite inexpensive – and you can enjoy the countryside without fearing for your life.
3. Go to La Fortuna. This is a large town north of San Jose near the Arenal Volcano. Take a walk in the rain forest with one of the many services. Their guides know the flora and fauna, and their knowledge will add to the hike. Many of the hikes also include a visit to the Tabacon Grand Spa Thermal Resort. If you hike in the late afternoon, you will relax in the naturally heated chocolate lake and watch the burning ashes belching Arenal.
4. I don’t need Monteverde. It is a very relaxed place in the mountains west of La Fortuna. You will have a car, a boat and then get there. I will warn you about the last leg of that journey: it is a brutal road. He rose and fell, perhaps ad nauseam. But you can walk in Monteverde. You can see wild coats, huge fans and huge spiders. There are tons of hiking trails, including Cloud Forest. A few steps from La Colina, a great bed and breakfast, we found the best open air restaurant ever serving veggie burger . Still incomparable today! Bring rain gear – it often alternates between light and overnight rain. During the day, you can often feel a light rain like a cat’s fur. Oh, and let’s not forget the Original Canopy Tour. TOO FUN!
5. Fly where you can.NatureAir is reasonably priced (and claims to be the world’s first carbon-neutral airline), and will get you to many places in 30 minutes instead of four hours. Distance doesn’t mean much in Costa Rica – traffic moves a lot slower there overall due to road conditions.
6. San Jose is really pretty cool. A lot of travelers are bad-mouthed for some reason. . Yeah, I’ll admit there’s a layer of crime and diesel exhaust. But it is also charming, lively, friendly. Perhaps we took it best during the holidays. At 7 p.m. We arrived, and I had enough time to grab a taxi to our hotel before exploring the night market and a pile of fresh and delicious pupusa. Bring a GPS receiver to help you navigate.
7. Some travelers say that Costa Rica is “Americanized.” This trip is like music fans who roar their noses and insist that they only like the “old stuff” of any band. Yes, you will find ATMs and McDonald’s (which are a great source of clean and free bathrooms in cities). But America is still not this friendly. It has no monkeys, tropical mountains, coffee bushes, friendly dogs and an air of barely controlled mayhem. But in the past time I’ve been calmed down, I’ve never gone on a shopping spree guarded by guys with shotguns. If you find Costa Rica “Americanized”, you’re either not going to the right places or simply trying to be hipper-than-you. Talk. This reminds me of the time this couple patronizingly mentions that they are not going anywhere where English is the official language. Is there a case in point? Thailand. “Oh, did you learn Thai?” No way! So what is the future of the non-English speaking village, if you do not meet them from the side?
8. I think the Caribbean side is nice. But I have nothing to say about it that we wouldn’t do there. Try it and report back to me, won’t you?
9. Costa Rica has a lot of fresh food. Dairy products, in particular, are of terrible quality. And don’t be afraid to load up on pinto gallo, the national staple of beans and rice. It won’t make you puffy like you think. I would give it a freshly made bean instead of a cane. Otherwise, I’d eat anything, anywhere in Costa Rica besides Chinese food, whatever the place I think. I think that is the full burden of CPUL. You will find amazing fruits everywhere. By the way, if you want eat cheap, touch soda. This is what they call their locals, semi-fast places.
