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Questions for guests traveling to Costa Rica)

Dates:

How long would you like to be in Costa Rica, plus the 2 travel days?

How many days:

• Relaxing and retreating:

• Service projects in the community:

• Touristing:

• Sabbatical:

Airports

We recommend you “watch” fares from nearby cities to Costa Rica to learn what the average flight costs. You can find flights for $200 if you bring only a personal item (backpack). $300 is good otherwise, and between $300-600 is average if you’re pickier about flight times. Over $600 is…probably too much.

When you find a time that looks good and offers a fair price, don’t hesitate to buy them. The two international airports in Costa Rica are:

• SJO (Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaría, San José) 45 minutes from us

• LIR (Aeropuerto Internacional Daniel Oduber Quirós, Liberia, Guanacaste) 4 hours from us

Rental Car

These are the 3 car rental companies my tour guide friend recommends. https://maps.app.goo.gl/LSxmUVMauHaZyePH7?g_st=iw

https://www.vamosrentacar.com/

http://www.toyotarent.com/

https://mapache.com/en-US/

Do you need 4x4 (four-wheel drive)? Not usually. If you plan to go to the major tourist destinations, it’s not necessary. It’s almost never necessary between December and May (dry season). Depending on how far into the bush you are going, or if you know there will be lots of dirt roads near your tourist locations, maybe. Just ask us for specifics.

Car seat rules

• Infants up to one year – Rear facing in the middle seat.

• Babies and children ages 1-4 – Front facing in the middle seat.

• Children ages 4-6 – Booster seat with a back.

• Children ages 6-12 – Booster seat without a back.

Driving

You can drive with a valid US driver’s license for as long as your visa is good, which means you should keep your passport with you to prove it is still valid in case you get stopped.

When creating your itinerary, keep this in mind: The first thing to note is this: "driving times" to your chosen locations from San Jose. But it's not "hop on the highway at 70 miles per hour." It's "switchbacks, navigating through towns, averaging 27 miles per hour, occasional highways, often with traffic." Read: more tiring than you're used to. That's NOT to say you shouldn't drive, because it is fun and beautiful, but if you pack TOO much driving into your trip, you'll be exhausted and longing to get back on the plane, which is not what anyone wants. For example, here are some driving times with the top tourist places:

• San Jose to La Fortuna = 2.5 hours

• La Fortuna to Monteverde = 3.5 hours

• La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio = 5 hours

• Monteverde to San Jose = 3.5 hours

• Monteverde to Manuel Antonio = 4 hours

• Manuel Antonio to San Jose = 3.5 hours

Money

What is the best way to pay for things in Costa Rica? Should we bring mostly cash and exchange the money there? OR just rely on debit or credit cards? It is very common to use a card anywhere for any amount, even one dollar! Before coming, you want to investigate what your bank charges for international transactions. Generally, if your bank doesn’t charge per transaction, the exchange rate they give you will be fine, and simpler than exchanging and carrying around cash.

There are a few places that only take cash. For example, farmers markets, small restaurants outside of the Central Valley, beach parking, etc. There are ATMs where you can get cash out with your debit card. If you want to exchange a small amount, you can do that at any bank.

Costa Rica uses the Colon, which currently exchanges for about 520 CRC to 1 USD. This comes in handy when knowing if 8,000 is a good price for something. To ballpark the cost in dollars, simply double the “thousands” - meaning 8,000₡ is about $16. (as of this publishing, https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=8000&From=CRC&To=USD says it’s $15.75)

Electrical Outlets

If you’re coming from the US, all plugs are the same. You can use any standard plugs.

OPTIONS FOR TOURISM (travel time listed is from San Jose, barring major traffic jams)

Volcanoes (best viewed in the mornings)

• Poás (1 hr, $15 adults, $5 kids 2-12) Poas has a huge crater with green water in the bottom, with a paved road to walk right up to the crater.

• Irazu (2.5 hr, $15 adults, $5 kids 2-12) Irazu “doesn’t really look like a volcano,” but the drive up is beautiful. A sidewalk, then gravel, takes you to the crater.

• Barva (1 hr, $12 adults, $5 kids 2-12) This dormant volcano offers excellent, easy hiking with a crater lake and a view of the central valley. It’s the volcano we live on and is best visited during the dry season (December-April) due to the rugged last 30 minutes of road.”

• Arenal, along with hot springs (3 hr, $15 adults, $5 kids 2-12) Arenal “looks like a volcano,” but you can’t hike up to see the crater. There are hot springs

• Turrialba (3 hr, $12 adults, $5 kids 2-12)

• Rincón de la Vieja (5 hr, $15 adults, $5 kids 2-12)

Beaches

 ONE-DAY TRIPS (about a 2-hour drive)

• Playa Blanca (Sea life, details about how to get there…it’s a bit tricky, but worth it: https://www.twoweeksincostarica.com/playa-blanca-near-jaco/ You can park in the parking area just before the official lot at Playa Mantas for a donation (maybe $10) and walk to Playa Blanca. There are bathrooms and open-air showers in the parking lot next door.)

• Playa Herradura (Parking right along the beach, trees, bathrooms/showers, and restaurants)

• Playa Fantasia (plus boat ride)

• Playa Jaco

MULTIPLE DAYS TRIPS (about 3-5 hour drives)

• Playa Manuel Antonio (monkeys) (3.5 hr, $18 adults, $5.65 kids 2-12 for the National Park)

• Playa Conchal (5 hr)

• Playa Tamarindo (4.5 hr) We recommend staying at our friend Spencer’s place: https://condopaz.com/

• Playa Samara (4.5 hr)

• Playa Bahia Ballena (4 hr, whales)

• Playa Tortuguero (3 hr, turtles at the national park, $16.95 adult, $5.65 kids 2-12)

• Others

Hiking

• Tres Cruces de Alajuelita (1 hr) This is an epic hike up to several crosses overlooking the Central Valley. You can drive here and walk up by dirt road or park here and go the more scenic route.

• Barva Volcano (1 hr, $12 adults, $5 kids 2-12)

• Finca Koki (1 hr, $10 adults, $4 kids 10-12, kids 9 and under and seniors free) It’s a lake with paddleboards, kayaks, tubing, fishing, swimming, hayrides, hiking, camping, and waterfalls.

• Braulio Carrillo Park (1 hr, $12 adults, $5 kids 2-12)

• Bikepark Senderos ALESTE (30 min, $8, with discounts for groups and kids) https://www.instagram.com/senderosaleste/

Cloud Forest

• Monteverde (3.5 hr, $25 adults, $12 kids 6-12)

Waterfalls

• La Paz Waterfalls, Butterfly Gardens, and Zoo  (1.5 hr, $50 adults, $34 kids 3-12) This is a beautiful tourist must-see.

• Verde Malakita (1.5 hr, $8 per person) This is a local favorite, where, especially in the dry season, you’ll experience swimming in clear water at the base of a waterfall. There’s also a cafe to buy lunch on site.

White Water Rafting

• Sarapiqui River (2.5 hr, from $75 per person)

• Pacuare River (3 hr, from $75 per person)

Coffee Tour

• Starbucks Hacienda Alsacia (30 minutes, $30 adults, $25 students, under 6 free) not super-recommended, and pretty corporate feeling, but…if you’re a Sbux junkie…

• Café Britt (30 minutes, $28 adults, $22 children, other tours are available)

Chocolate Tour

• 2-hour Don Olivo Chocolate Tour (2.75 hr, $25 adults, $15 kids 6-12)

• 2-hour Tour del chocolate Sarapiqui (2 hr, $30 adults, $20 kids 6-14)

Zoo

• Zoo Ave (1 hr, $30 adults, $15 kids 2-12)

• La Paz Waterfall Gardens (1.5 hr, $50 adults, $34 kids 3-12)

Fishing

Historical Sites and Ruins

• National Theater, San Jose (30 min, downtown San Jose, $6 adults and kids above 12, under 12 free)

• Ujarras Ruins, Cartago (1.5 hr, free)

• Ruins of the Iglesia de Santiago Apóstol, Cartago (1.5 hr, free)

Museums

• Pre-Columbian Gold Museum (1 hr, $16 adults, $12 kids)

• Jade Museum (1 hr, $12 adults, $2 students, $2 kids 6-12)

• National Museum of Costa Rica (1 hr, $11 adults, $6 students, free under 12)

• Museum of Costa Rican Art (1 hr, free)

• Children’s Museum (1 hr, $6 adult, $5 children)

• Juan Santamaria Historical Cultural Museum (1 hr, free)

Shopping

• Mercado Central de Heredia (30 minutes, in downtown Heredia)

• Mercado Central de San Jose (1 hr, in downtown San Jose)

• Vilchez Souvenir shop (30 minutes, in downtown Heredia)

• Ox Cart factory in Sarchi (Fabrica de Carretas Eloy Alfaro) (1 hr, a lovely drive out near Grecia)

• Souvenir Shops in Sarchi (Mercado de Artesanía, Sarchi) (1 hr, a nice drive out near Grecia)

• Municipal Crafts Market (Mercado Municipal de Artesanías) (1 hr, a “central market” of dozens of souvenir vendors in downtown San Jose)

• Arteria T-shirts and more (30 minutes, in downtown Heredia or 1 hr in downtown San Jose, unique T-shirts!)

• Café Britt Outlet (30 minutes)

Other

• Windmill Farm overlooking San Jose (Parque Eólico Valle Central) (1 hr, free)

• Zarcero Park, a topiary park (photos and directions) (2 hr, free)

• Hotel Bougainvillea Gardens (30 minutes, free to walk through the botanical gardens)

Search on your own

• https://quebuenlugar.com/ These ticos have been all over the place, trying things out, taking videos and pictures, and leaving all the details you’ll need.

• https://www.twoweeksincostarica.com These americans have lots of information that is helpful