CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO AND PHOTOS

You will be able to swim or surf in the warm clean ocean, even at night, enjoy nature, see wildlife, monkeys, birds, and other flowers, butterflies, hummingbirds, coffee plantation, rain forests, cloud forests, volcanoes, lie in the sun, scuba dive, fish in oceans, lakes, or streams, horseback riding, climb a mountain, take a bike tour, zip line, rafting, canoeing, boating on the ocean…. makes no difference! Costa Rica is for you. In August, Jaco hosts an international surfing contest.

Click Here to See a Map of The Hotel and Surrounding Area

Click HERE for information on baggage and prohibited items.

If you have any electrical devices such as chargers, etc, please be sure to bring a converter plug as some devices will not work without it. Some outlets are 110 and will work without, but why take a chance? This will NOT be an issue when inside the Condo. All outlets in the condo are 110

Bring sun screen. You are near the equator and the sun can be intense.

Bring bug repellant for mosquitos in case you go somewhere where they are present.

If you plan to hike in the rain forests, you might want to bring a water repellant jacket with a hood and hiking shoes/boots.

Click Here to See the Current 10 Day Forcast

Click Here for a Celsius to Fahrenheit Converter

The climate is tropical and subtropical; “dry” (less rain)season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in the highlands.
But, even when it rains, it does not mean it rains a long time.

The beaches are tropical. Daytime temperatures are in the high 80’s F to mid 90’s. The rainforests are hot and humid, but the cloud forests are cool and moist. San Jose is 78 – 80 as it is in the central elevated area.
On the other hand, you can visit the mountains where the temperatures may not reach 65 degrees during the day and can be in the high 40’s to low 50’s at night with plenty of fog.

Click Here to See the Current Rates!

There is an ATM at the airport to get colones when you land. Check with your card issuer to see what the charge is. It may be a percentage plus a transaction fee.

American Express in the states may sell you some before you go. But, they discount heavily and then also charge a transaction fee.

Prices are quoted as C (substitute a cent sign) and the amount like our $ 1.00.

Take a calculator if you want to do accurate conversions.

Some say that places that quote prices in dollars are more expensive than others. Or, maybe they just deal a lot with tourists with dollars.

Not everywhere takes dollars or credit cards.

If they do take credit cards, you should get the current exchange rate on your bill. But, check with your card company to see if they have an exchange charge. One has a rate of only 1.0.%

There is an exit tax to pay at the hotel or airport. At the airport, they take dollars, colones or Visa.

Get and review restaurant bills to look for charges for extras.

NEVER EVER use a money exchange window in the San Jose airport! While you will be treated fairly in most other locations, that place will gouge you badly. You can pay for your orange cab outside with a credit card or dollars.

You will know if you know the accepted exchange rate before you land.

Go to : finance.yahoo.com/currency-converter for table and current rate for your currency into and out of the colones.

WARNING: Be very cautious of the money changers you will see in downtown San José.  These people lurk outside the banks waiting for people who do not have the time or the patience to wait in the long banks lines.  They do a money switch thing which is really clever to watch and you end up with less money, the wrong change, or counterfeit bills. 

Always be alert and aware of your surroundings.
 

Never leave valuables in plain site in your car or beach or wherever they are unguarded in plain view, even for a moment. Do not flash a lot of money or wear valuable jewelry. 

At all times be on the lookout for pickpockets or crowds of young people who may wish to relieve you of your possessions. Snatch and run is a technique used by some, so again, be aware.  

It is generally acceptable to just carry with you a copy of the main page and page showing entry date of your passport.

Compared to what you make, you seem rich to many Ticos. Also, things you have that are not that expensive may still seem valuable and worth stealing to someone else. This includes towels, flip flops, and sunglasses. You can probably afford to replace these, but it still seems puzzling and is inconvenient and still a shock.

In an emergency, call 911, but they may not speak English.

There is Grayline and other tours, buses, vans, and cabs for hire that can take you to Jaco. The local bus starts at $ 4.

There are few street signs in Costa Rica and even fewer addresses. Read that as almost none. Just about all addresses are in terms of a well-known building or landmark; often the local Catholic Church, cemetery, or another fixed location. But just to keep things interesting, some addresses are phrased in terms of building that may have burned down 20 years ago! Also, when you see an address that says 200M west of something, that normally means 2 blocks and NOT a true 200 meters.

Bridges in Costa Rica, while generally safe, can be very narrow and many do not have guardrails as in the photo right

Difficult to drive at night when there often is not any lighting.

Be real careful when walking around… especially in San José and especially at street corners.

Local domestic airlines are : SANSA at www.flysansa.com (506)2221-9414 or Nature Air at www.natureair.net (506) 2220-3054. Both have scheduled flights within Costa Rica.

If you are from the USA, you do not need a converter for your appliances as the condo has regular 110/220 outlets. Your laptop should also work in the condo which has free wi-fi.

You may need a converter when traveling to other areas of Costa Rica.

If your Hot Water never seems to get HOT in Costa Rica, try the handle with the  “C”.  Note, this may change from bathroom to bathroom within the same house.