Tips and Tricks for Costa Rica (As Of 2012)

Playa del Coco:

Getting There – (From Ometepe, Nicaragua) Get an early start and take the bus back to Allegracia for 20C and then one to Mologapa for 17C each. The boat back to San Jorge will run you 60C, possibly less depending on the boat running at the time. A cab to Rivas will cost you 40C (find friends to share) and the bus to Sapoa 20C each. After crossing the border and paying 45C to leave, 22C “bridge tax” and you might have you pay for your forms (stupid we know!) you can grab a bus to Liberia for 1400 Colones (CR). The next bus finally gets you to Playa del Coco for 750 CR each. Whew, what a day! You can catch a bus from Liberia anywhere in CR, it’s a main hub.

Staying – Smeralda for 10,000CR for a private room with shared bath…run by a really nice Italian couple.

Eating – We’re not going to be the biggest help in Costa Rica other than to say it’s much cheaper to cook your own food than to go out for anything.

Getting Around – The beaches in Costa Rica are definitely easy to walk around.

Samara:

Getting There – (from Playa del Coco) A bus to the corner just outside of town is 300CR where you can hop a bus to Liberia for 650CR. The bus to Nicoya costs 1125CR and the last one to Samara is 1100CR. You will have to back track inorder to go South.

Staying – Matilori was the place with the amazing kitchen and was run by some really nice people as well. A dorm will cost you 7,500CR.

Eating – We’re not going to be the biggest help in Costa Rica other than to say it’s much cheaper to cook your own food than to go out for anything.

Getting Around – The beaches in Costa Rica are definitely easy to walk around.

Santa Teresa:

Getting There – The EASY way is to just grab a shuttle for 40 USD. However, if you want to do it the cheap way…you’re in for a hell of a long day. Here goes…bus to Nicoya 12500CR, bus to Barranca 3445CR (get off at the Puente to go to Puntarenas), bus into Puntarenas 325CR, taxi to ferry terminal 1200CR, ferry to Paquera 810CR, bus to Cobano 1075C, bus to ST 1000CR. Yeah, wow. Time for a cerveza.

Staying – Casa del Mar isn’t a bad option and dorm will run you 7,000CR. Casa Zen has a great vibe and an amazing owner…dorms are 7,140CR.

Eating – We’re not going to be the biggest help in Costa Rica other than to say it’s much cheaper to cook your own food than to go out for anything.

Getting Around – The beaches in Costa Rica are definitely easy to walk around.

San Jose:

Getting There – (From Santa Theresa) bus to Cobano 1,000CR, bus to San Jose 6,750CR direct.

Staying – Tanquilo backpackers isn’t a bad place to crash for a night but not longer in our opinion. Dorms are 5,000CR.

Eating – We’re not going to be the biggest help in Costa Rica other than to say it’s much cheaper to cook your own food than to go out for anything.

Getting Around – The beaches in Costa Rica are definitely easy to walk around.