Safety
Although Costa Rica is mostly safe during the day, always exercise caution like you would do at home as if you’re visiting a place for the first time. Please do not wander around by yourself at night.
Riptides at the beach and river current may be unexpectedly strong. Please use caution and stay safe.
Majority of people in Costa Rica speak basic English. However, you can always prep some lines in Spanish :).
When booking tours please go with the trusted and established agencies. There are people that may approach you offering tours at a lower cost, but please go with the official agencies. *It is normal that the entrance cost to tourist destinations will vary for nationals and foreigners (reasonable prices).
Phone apps
If data connection is needed at all times, we recommend purchasing a SIM card. Here is a link that shows how to get one.
If planning to travel around with airplane mode on, note that GPS will still work on your phone which you can use Google Maps to track your location. Navigation will work just as well for driving minus the traffic data which can be useful in the busy streets of San Jose. Just be sure to download offline maps of the area you’re visiting before heading out. Most restaurants offer complimentary wi-fi where you can upload your Instagram photos and contact folks at home.
For GPS, we recommend Waze, which is the one used in Costa Rica. Using GPS while driving without mobile works for the most part except in rural areas with dirt roads.
Accommodations for the wedding dates
If you’re planning to stay on your own, there are plenty of options to stay including hotels and Airbnbs. We are arranging a hotel for anyone interested in staying close to the wedding venue.
Other good sites to visit:
https://www.visitcostarica.com/en/costa-rica/planning-your-trip/accommodations
Have other tips? Let us know!
Transportation
Although there are taxis in Costa Rica, San Jose does have Uber service. Keep in mind these vehicles will not have the typical Uber dressings found on Uber vehicles in US. Just be sure make/model, license plate matches the car in the app.
Bus service is available in most areas and my opinion an easy, cheap way to get around the city. The buses go to all over the city and much better than the average transit system in US. One thing that may be difficult to find are bus routes and timetables. Unlike in US where you can look this info on a transit site, my recommendation to travel by bus is to download Moovit app on your phone and enter your source and destination in the app. Last time I was there on September 2021, Google Maps doesn’t have any bus info last time I was there. Also when traveling by bus, keep in mind you’ll probably need to ask the locals as where to catch the bus or the route the bus is taking as it is not always clear. Buses only take colones and the cost is posted on front of the bus. Bus drivers do give change unlike buses in US which I find this unusually convenient.
San Jose recently has opened up passenger train service. At this moment, it only serves certain neighborhoods but they’ll probably expand the service to more areas. Trains are modern and fast. When I last rode the train, it felt unusual being in this new train cars compared to riding on manual transmission buses on the streets.
Renting a car is always an option especially If traveling outside of San Jose and into the countryside out on your own. Streets often get very congested in San Jose which they are usually two lanes with no sidewalks. Also lots of bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorcycles share the road. The amount of congestion and aggressive drivers is similar to driving in LA during rush hour. Making a left turn on a non-signaled intersection can be very difficult and drivers will often force their way to get through traffic. Keep in mind drivers are generally more understanding when they’re “cut off” unlike drivers in US where drivers often get in road rage. Although the driving can get pretty crazy, collisions and such aren’t very common. Light honking is common and drivers use it to communicate.
There are some differences in signage and design of streets in Costa Rica. Some intersections with signal lights may have stop “Alto” signs but the stop sign doesn’t apply when the light is green except when the signal is out of order. When there is a merge from two lanes into or one, there is typically a yield sign “Ceda” marked before the merge instead of a left arrow on the road.
Travel with a passport when driving in addition to carrying a drivers license. There may be a police checkpoint if traveling to different regions.
Here are some additional resources. Tip: Use credit card for the rental.
Currency Exchange
Currency in C.R. is called colones. A few places may accept USD, but just to be sure, always use colones to avoid fees and discrepancies with exchange rates.
Banks offer better exchange rates than at most other places, especially the airport.
1 USD = around ₡581. A simple way to calculate USD to colones is to multiply a dollar by 1000 and divide it by 2. So 10 dollars would roughly equal 5000 colones.
Most restaurants and stores accept Visa credit cards. I suggest using a credit card with no foreign transaction fee. You may not even have a need to exchange USD to Costa Rican Colones if you decide to use this option. A few establishments may accept Mastercard or American Express, but Visa is mainly accepted.
Tours
We highly recommend Klaus from Armotours to give tours of Costa Rica after our wedding. Here is their site
There are plenty of travel blogs and resources on the Internet that have suggestions for tourist destinations.
Our recommended locations to visit:
Tabacon https://www.tabacon.com/
Baldi Hot Springs https://www.baldihotsprings.cr/
Termales los Laureles http://www.termalesloslaureles.com/
Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio http://www.sinac.go.cr/ES/ac/acopac/pnma/Paginas/default.aspx
Check back for more recommended places
Food
Costa Rica has great local food with meals loaded with rice and black beans. Can’t go wrong with ordering gallo pinto (rice and beans) or casado (a full meal with gallo pinto, salad, meat). There wasn’t one time I was there and wanted something different that wasn’t Costa Rican. Plenty of options if you’re pescatarian like me (Richard).
