GENERAL INFORMATION AND TRAVEL TIPS
● travelers cheques are useless! Almost no one in Costa Rica will take them.
● American dollars are your best choice when carrying cash to Costa Rica. It is difficult if not impossible to cash a $100 bill except in banks (and even then difficult). Bring 50s, 20s, 10s and a bunch of small. Having at least two credit cards is a good idea. Make sure that you have sufficient credit on those cards to draw down on. Ensure that you call your credit card company before leaving North America or Europe to tell them that you are coming to Central America. Otherwise, they may stop your cards to protect against possible frauds.
● Don’t forget to get good travel medical insurance. Breaking a leg or something like that is nasty anywhere. Here, it could also be quite expensive if you had to, for example, be transported by air.
● Try to make sure that for at least the first night after you arrive you have confirmed hotel accommodations. Often, travelers arrive here quite tired from a long trip. The sudden change to a hot climate is a shock to the system. If you want, we will be pleased to help you with booking that first night.
● Take a photocopy of your passport (the information page and also the page showing the date of your entry to Costa Rica) and keep that with you at all times. If at all possible, leave your passport in a safe at your hotel during the days and evenings that you are not traveling, unless you have to go to the bank. YOU WILL NEED YOUR PASSPORT FOR ANY BANK TRANSACTIONS.
● If you are in doubt, ask us. For example, if you wonder whether it is safe to wander in a specific area, it is wise to ask us first. Certainly you would not wander around in certain areas of certain cities in North America. Likewise, it is smart to know where you are here before you find out the hard way.
● If you do feel like wandering around somewhat in an area where we suggest that it is not the safest, you might ask us if we would accompany you. If the answer is “no”, you might well figure that if we are not happy going there, you should not be happy going.
● WHEN PLANNING YOUR ITINERARY - REMEMBER: places may look close to each other on the map but it may take a LONG time to travel from Point A to Point B!! A distance that may comfortably be traveled in North America in an hour or so may take the better part of a day here because of the roads. Check with us about what time we think a trip will take!!
