Costa Rica

[R-Audi]

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Tourist Mexico is the worst place I've ever been in my life so hopefully this is better. I'm not real worried about hotels at the best of time, I hate going anywhere that the hotel is a focus. We're going to Airbnb it because there's 6 of us and rent a car for the duration.
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Make sure to do some research on the rental car insurance... as the price you pay online doesnt include it and its supposed to be a sticker shock for the extras when you arrive to pick up. I think you need an additonal package, or have your local credit card and or insurance provider give you a letter confirming additional coverage before you go down. Lots online about it!

[g-m]

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I'm also a fan of Argentina and BA. The food is a highlight.

I've also heard that BA has gone way downhill with current economic conditions.

I'll let you know in a few weeks! I was there 10+ years ago too though when things were bad. It's still a South American hub and there'll always be rich people and the infrastructure to support them.

[dubhead]

We went in spring 2023. Traveled with the 2 year old as well as as the wife's mom, sister and SOL.

Flew to Iberia and spent the majority of our trip in a little beach town called Samarra then did a a 5 days in La Fortuna to check out the jungle and valcano.
-Highly recommend hiring a van shuttle to get from place to place. Simplifies a lot of things and rentals as stated seem to come with catches down there. Also on the trip from Samara to La Fortuna the driver planned out some pit stops with some great scenery and bird viewing.
- We really enjoyed Samara super safe beach in a protected half moon bay. Super fun easy to surf break right on the main beach too.
- People are incredibly nice and laid back.
- Safety wise Samara felt very safe, there was a bit of riff raff near the beach but it seemed clear that they were not to fuck with tourists and kept to them selves. Driving through some of there bigger places and taking a short cut to the grocery store in La Fortuna made it apparent that it's best to stick to touristy areas.
-Food can be cheap or expensive like most places, fruit is readably available and far cheaper than here.
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[Ben]

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pura vida dude @Ben is the costa expert

Sorry I didn't see your tag Sam my bad!

If it's not too late, I can offer some advice.

Costa Rica is not a place you go to have a hotel experience with kids like you would Mexico or similar.

It's an exploration destination. It's a grab a rental car and a list of VRBOs and set out on journey to see the country.

I always tell people that want advice on traveling here that if they're looking for an all inclusive experience, save yourselves a ton of cash and headache and just go to Mexico. This just are not as efficient down here.

I've only stayed at one resort there and it was out of need as we had 3 days to burn in that region before coming home. Occidental Grand Papagayo, adults only, pretty decent, great staff, nice pool, good beach down the cliffs, but we went to town most days because we like the local life more.

95% of people go to Costa Rica, and land in Liberia, go to Tamarindo, fuck around, never go south of the Nicoya Peninsula, go to Samara or maybe the waterfalls and Arenal, do a bunch of cookie cutter pre planned overpriced tours, realize it's a blown out tourist trap at NYC prices, and come back with that as their impression of it.

As someone who's been down here on the regular since 2011, you really need to do your homework on what you want to do.

If you want to go to an All inclusive, I will tell every person to save their money and go to Mexico. It's the same food, the same resort, the same BS tours, at 3 times the cost.

Prices are out of control and always have been in the northwest of the country. As you move further south it gets better and better.

Direct flight Calgary to Liberia via Westjet. It's like 6 hours, decent.

Sometimes I'll route through FLL or ATL, for a flight into San Jose since I'm just off the border of Panama on the Caribbean side. Also decent options. If you're not a flight snob, Jetblue and Delta have great offerings to San Jose if you don't want to go into Liberia. Having a direct flight from YYC to LIR however is a decent no-brainer.

I highly recommend getting your own vehicle and exploring that way. Leave a lot of room on your CC for a deductible. I had my amex info with me showing they cover all the insured perils etc so it ended up being ultra cheap. If you have a shitty card they may not cover all the requirements. Triple check.

Just take money out down there. There's a Scotiabank ATM at both airports, use local money (Colones) not USD. You get hosed on the exchange rate otherwise. Only a few places do the actual exchange rate which is Pricemart (Costco) some chain hotels, some, and Some Walmarts, some.. Be prepared to have a backpack full of coins after your journey, so take the time to spend them, people will wait, they're so not impatient when it comes to payment since debit and credit are still not the go to for most people down there.

Driving down there is a rodeo. I love it, others wouldn't. It's aggressive, but respectful. A wave and a double quick horn honk gets you through 99% of everything. The other 1% is some patience. If you've driven in developing nations before, you've got it covered. The highway between Liberia and Puntarenas is new and awesome. Most of the major highways are fine. The secondary roads however can be potholes for days. Stay alert.

Since it's like a 12 hour drive to get home when we land in LIR, there's some awesome VRBOs in Coco Beach, like 30 min from the Airport and it's a decent little town to get acclimated.

Someone else mentioned Samara, also a great place, spent some time there before and have friends in the next cove down in Carillo.

These are all expat towns along the coast in the NW, so dont expect much for crime other than petty theft (like everywhere) and don't expect much for culture either.


Places I would check off the list in the NW, you can do all of these without paying people. You can also find shuttles that will take you there for a fraction of the resort cost. If you have your own wheels you can explore.

- Arenal / La Fortuna its a bad ass picturesque Cinder Cone Volcano and La Fortuna is a great Jungle Waterfall.
Rio Celeste (it's a bit of a hike, and not stroller friendly, if it's raining, pay the guy the 5 bucks for rubber boots lol) but the waterfalls and river are Nat Geo shit. Gorgeous.
- Monteverde/Cloud Forests. Awesome to see, neat hanging walkways and ziplines if that's your thing.

Samara and area, great place to stay, pricier but not Tamarindo insane. Good local places to eat, grocery stores are exceptionally reasonable if you cook yourself.


If you head further south, Towns like Jaco, Quepos are nice stops to look around. If you need a quintessential visit to a Centro american hooker bar, where people are literally doing blow off the bar, the Hotel Cocal is where you want to go. My Bro IN Law took me there with my wife and we were so innocent, Brother said "Go grab some beers at the bar" while he hung out with My Mrs/His Sis, me not knowing it was a setup, they watched me just get swarmed by Latina ass like a hornets nest. It was a good laugh. Never seen anything like it.


Dominical is a chill surfer hippy town full of lost travelers and hostels, its great, lots of markets and prices are decent.

Manuel Antoino is a great National Park. It's a fee to get in, something like 15usd up, but it's super well maintained and absolutely stunning. Monkeys everywhere, birds everywhere, beach is amazing, great time. Worth the drive if you have the time..

Inland destinations are basically if it interests you. I personally loved wandering downtown Old San Jose. They have some awesome buildings and great markets. Awesome place to people watch. They also have amazing concerts that roll through, got to see Roger Waters and Metallica.

I would also Highly recommend the Rio Paquare rafting tour. Best 60 bucks you'll ever spend. All day adventure rafting through some epic canyons and incredible jungle.

Starts just east of Cartago and ends up close to the Caribbean coast. They cover your return bus ride and lunches. Loved it.

Food wise, I'm allllll about the Sodas.

Local holes in the wall, family run joints that serve up typical food (Casado), often to be had for a few bucks. Not uncommon to get a typical breakfast with rice and beans, eggs, some sort of sausage and fresh soft ripened cheese for 1500 to 3000 Colones (4-6 bucks) often less, and it'll have coffee with it. Lunches and dinners can be had for a little more. All the chain restaurants are big bucks, must be a sign of status or something. You want a big Mac meal and you're in the 20usd range, same with pizza hut. It's super expensive to eat unhealthy there, and super cheap to eat healthy. It's wonderful. Lots of good fried chicken there too, if you want a nice gluttonous pig out on the cheap.

Mostly, I love it here because of how laid back and eco-focused it is. There is sooooo much that you can see and do that doesn't cost a dime. The beaches are spectacular, the flora and fauna is incredible. I spend days doing absolutely nothing and it feels like I had a fun filled action packed day. The locals love to have us, and they're so excited to share their ways and traditions, slang words and greetings. It's definitely PURA VIDA if you venture away from the tourism hotspots and go out to explore.


English is spoken throughout but not as much as you'd perhaps expect. Tourism areas obviously but the gas station or grocery store or mini super on the corner, you could very well be out of luck. If you do find yourself in a pickle, most of the kids there have English figured out thanks to school so they may be able to help as a translator. They speak faster than Mexico, and have some unique slang as well so if you been doing your Duo Lingo it'll give you a good run for your money on how well you actually learned lol.

Let me know if you have any particular questions.

Twanis mae

[Buster]

I'm trying to tell if that post is trying to sell the country or stop people from going.

I have no desire to go back to Costa Rica.

[max_boost]

I don't think Costa Rica is for me lol

[Buster]

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I don't think Costa Rica is for me lol

"Hey, let's go visit a third world country and pretend we're third world people!"

ya, no.

[killramos]

“Ya but it’s cheap…”

On the next episode - Thailand - but this one has a twist ending!

[JRSC00LUDE]

You guys are so fancy

[BerserkerCatSplat]

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Sorry I didn't see your tag Sam my bad!

If it's not too late, I can offer some advice.

Costa Rica is not a place you go to have a hotel experience with kids like you would Mexico or similar.

It's an exploration destination. It's a grab a rental car and a list of VRBOs and set out on journey to see the country.

Hot damn a wild Ben post appears after... four years? Hope all's good wherever you are these days.