Issues of Interest

National Park and OTS Access - Most national parks open at 8:00 am. and close at either 4 or 5 pm. and cost 5-10 dollars (usually dollar currency is fine). Many are closed on Mondays. However, Palo Verde and La Selva are official OTS designations and were open on Monday last time I checked. Carara National Park was also open on a Monday on my last visit.

Wildlife refuges and local parks are a bit less predictable in their hours. You may be able to get in a park before or after hours, but there are no hard rules about that. I've gone into to several national parks and refuges before anyone arrived to take my money as an admission fee, then paid on the way out. It's never been a problem yet. When in doubt, play it safe and only stay within the appropriate 8-4 time frame. Check ahead if possible.

There's a more peculiar price structure for touring La Selva OTS. Entrance fee structures can be found here.

Concerning Canopy Tours and Span Bridges: Canopy tours and "zip lines" are breeding like rabbits now in Costa Rica. In a nutshell, you should not expect to be able to bird watch at all at anything in Costa Rica that advertises with the word "zipline". Most advertised canopy tours are not span bridges where one can walk at a slow pace and stand periodically for a few minutes. Good birding span bridges do exist, however, in Costa Rica. These bridges are designed with wildlife viewing in mind - not for access from one place to another. There are birdwatching span bridges at the Heliconias Lodge near Bijuagua, "Hanging Bridges" near Arenal, the Skywalk at Monteverde and the Selvatura Bridges also near Monteverde. Hanging bridges are boom or bust in terms of birding, and I've had both experiences at the ones I've visited in Costa Rica. Just remember, the most productive times are early in the morning.

Money Exchange - Currency goes from dollars to colones. We always get colones at the hotels when we can, but we also pay with a Visa Card whenever possible (it's generally a low exchange rate). For whatever reason, Costa Rica is less attracted to MasterCard. More places take Visa.

I wouldn't worry much or quibble about slightly higher exchange rates here or there. It's better to have colones and not worry, than to be figuring out how you can save a buck on the exchange rate while wandering around with no colones in your pocket.

Paying with colones is not a major problem. In a pinch, many people take dollars. Nevertheless, I would never be out without colones. It helps to have colones for specific situations (like tolls). If you have trouble with the exchange, someone will usually help.

I never take traveler's checks. Most people aren't thrilled to see them, especially in small towns or in small stores. This, however, is a personal choice. If you do take them, I suggest cashing them at banks or in hotels before you go out driving.

Insects - You're in the tropics for crying out loud. Get over it. "I found a bug in my room, I found a bug in my room!" You big baby. If you pull this, you don't deserve to bear witness one of the greatest shows of bio-diversity north of the equator.

As for mosquitoes, they are generally a constant, but low-density insect throughout the tropics. There are mosquitoes all year, but not usually in the mass quantities one might find on the Texas coast in spring or the Rocky Mountain valleys in mid-summer. I've gone entire days in Costa Rica without ever seeing a mosquito. Mosquito repellent (the lightweight stuff is fine) should be used every time you go out for extended periods, but I've seen much worse in the temperate zones of North America. The worst mosquitoes I've found in Costa Rica were at Palo Verde and Carara - both parks are in the vicinity of large lagoons.

Mosquitoes, however, can be the carrier of two diseases in Costa Rica, Malaria and Dengue Fever. Neither of these is common ("extremely rare" is more appropriate here), but I recommend looking over the section below on "diseases."

Chiggers can be found in the dry season in grassy areas. They are a troublesome itch but not much more.

Diseases in Costa Rica - There's no critical reason yet (2011) to get any kind of shots before going to Costa Rica. A person can get the rare Dengue fever (flu-like symptoms) from certain types of mosquitoes in Costa Rica, but there is no prevention for this at this time. Malaria is even less common and isolated to specific rural areas usually on the Caribbean side.

A list of diseases in Costa Rica from the Real Costa Rica web site is worth a look.

Food - For the record, I've never been sick in Costa Rica because of food or water. I've been sick in Venezuela, Mexico, Belize and Peru, but never Costa Rica. I know two people who have gotten ill in CR out of about 150 touristos. Take that for what it's worth. I make no promises, but I know it's a vast improvement over most countries - particularly the water supply.

Food is consistently good in Costa Rica in my opinion except when they try to "Americanize" the dishes. If you like rice and beans, I recommend getting the traditional "casado" at the local restaurants. Casado is the Costa Rican "blue plate special" - a meat of your choice (I get the fish every time), rice and beans, and plantain. Sometimes it's not on the the menu and you have to ask for it. It's the traditional Costa Rican dish, but most tourists don't know about it. It's familiar food for the American palate, plus it's cheap, filling, and generally quite good. Especially with anything on the table that looks like "Lizano Sauce" which is excellent on rice and beans.

When driving, we find grocery stores in most cities and towns. We find an ice chest and we buy food for lunches - crackers, cheese, and water. We always grab some corn tortillas and bean dip. Most big grocery stores will take dollars and convert back to colones if you wish. The last time I was in a big grocery store, they had new cash registers that handled both currencies. Small grocery stores will usually take dollars, but it's not a sure bet.

Tipping - Most bills in Costa Rica related to wait-services often include a 10% gratuity in the price of your meal. Check your bills for this. Nevertheless, I always tip, sometimes generously. I make sure I'm tipping at least 10% on top of the established 10% already taken out. One place you might not know to tip is when you park your car temporarily to bird somewhere or to walk into a crowded restaurant. There are frequently guys standing around in restaurant parking lots or elsewhere who do nothing but watch your car while you're away from it. You will eventually run across these guys as they will usually have some kind of orange or off-color jacket on. This is not really a scam. They actually do you a service. Remember, you are likely to be leaving valuables in your car - binoculars, passports, luggage, etc. So not only do I tip these guys, but I tip them BEFORE I walk to my destination. I want them to see me and my car, and I want them to know I'll be generous if they protect my car from a break-in.

Bird guides almost always get a good tip. I'm usually at my happiest after a day with a bird guide.

Weather can be a problem any time of year, so I wouldn't let the summer wet season deter me if I really wanted to bird on my own in summer. The months of May through early August are wetter months but not dramatically wet. We're not talking monsoon season. Usually you get afternoon or evening rains at that time. Only September-October would be truly difficult months for birding. Some lodges even close at that time. December through April is generally the dry season everywhere with February-mid April as the driest period. Outside of these two generalities, the picture is less clear.

Rainfall on the Caribbean Coast near Limon

Rainfall in the Central Highlands

Rainfall around the Guanacaste Region

Internet Access - WiFi Internet access in much of Costa Rica is generally available in most hotel lobbies or resort restaurants. It's not blazingly fast and is not perfectly reliable every day, but most people with laptops use it successfully and are happy it's available. Some of it, however, is on a wireless grid system that is prone to periodic failures - and it can fail anywhere along the grid system.

I do know bad weather can make Internet access slow and very difficult. Their Internet went down while I was at Selva Verde Lodge because of inclement weather. Internet access is something that probably changes from year-to-year, so you may need to ask before-hand. They are improving it every year with direct lines.

Some Caribbean slope lodges, like Rancho Naturalista and Arenal Observatory Lodge, had no broadband Internet access as of 2009, and using a wireless card may not be an option in these remote locations. However, I did have cell phone access at Rancho.... something I didn't always have around the more populated areas of Manuel Antonio. Cell phone access is really another matter entirely - and should be viewed much differently than Internet access even if you have a smart phone (see paragraph below). At San Gerardo, I had to take my phone to one particular window in the building where I routinely got one bar's worth of call bandwidth.

Cell Phone Service - Trying to explain cell phone service in Costa Rica hurts my brain just thinking about it. However, the Real Costa Rica - cell phones web site has a very good summary of the current issues - but even then it's still confusing. All the U.S. providers like ATT and Sprint handle international calling a little differently if your bringing your cell phone.

For the record, a phone with texting capability can be handy. ATT in the United States, for example, can arrange an inexpensive international texting plan if ATT is your provider. As iPhone users, my wife and I pay a small fee to ATT for 50 outgoing text messages. Incoming text messages are free. I use my smart-phone email system only when there is WiFi access at a hotel or restaurant (tons of places have free WiFi). I turn off "data roaming" on my phone and I turn my phone completely off much of the time - which can cut down on random incoming phone calls. Then I can turn my phone on once or twice a day and get messages. If someone needs to talk to me by phone instead of by email or text, they can email or text me first about the subject so I can see if it's critical. International texting is more forgiving in this system and much cheaper. But all cell phone provider services are not the same. Talk to your cell phone provider about your phone\email\Internet options. And be sure and tell close friends NOT to call you for the time you're gone.

If you really feel it would be helpful having a local number, you can actually rent a phone card at the San Jose airport which gives you a local Costa Rican phone number (and prevents anyone from accidentally calling you in Costa Rica from the U.S.). That way you can dial inside Costa Rica at little expense. Many business people use this option. However, this usually sort of defeats the purpose for vacationers who want or need to stay in touch with the states.

Perhaps the greatest solution is to leave your phone at home and rely on email.

Crime - Yes, there is some. Violent crime is significantly less than the U.S., but theft happens a lot. Be sure to lock up everything. Also, if you have a flat tire in a metropolitan area, I would not allow any eager passers-by to help you. This is a well known scam that includes theft. Make sure your car is empty even if you leave it for a few minutes. Try to eat at places with parking lot security or where you can see your car (even a lot of rural eating places now have at least some security). Be vigilant about your belongings. I mean how complicated is this? Isn't everything you take with you on a trip important?

Land Rush in Guanacaste, Nicoya, and the Central Pacific Region - The opening of the Liberia Airport to international travel has created something of a land rush in northern Guanacaste and some central Pacific communities. While dwellings seem to be going up exponentially every year, the infrastructure of roads, power, and services has also improved. While I cringe at the development, most all the parks mentioned here have been safely tucked away and protected for well over two decades and do not seem to be at risk yet. It's a bit of a mixed blessing, but unlike the U.S., Costa Rica is well aware that their natural resources are a big asset. I'm hoping their government has the good sense to maintain some equilibrium while they go through this period of growth. Costa Ricans, like Americans, argue regional politics all the time, and the tourist industry is a bigger lobbying force in Costa Rica than in many other countries.

Unlike these tourist areas, there are also growing American and European communities in the central highlands. These communities are frequently made of retirees and have little impact (other than adding diversity) to the natural surroundings within Costa Rica in my humble opinion.

Traveling Across the Gulf Of Nicoya - If you stay near Samara or anywhere in central or south Nicoya Peninsula, you might consider the bridge across the Gulf of Nicoya (Hwy 18) in order to get to the Pan American Highway (rather than driving north and then back down south on the Pan American Highway). It will save you some time for birding places like Carara NP. I don't recommend the car ferry in southern Nicoya. It simply takes too long unless you catch it just at the right time.

Living There - Finally, there is one web site for Americans who are planning to live in Costa Rica. While you are probably not planning to do that, let me just go on record as saying that this is the most complete website on Costa Rica for the traveler. This is everything from cell phones, to driving, to retiring. If you want to know everything about Costa Rica for the traveler.... this is the site. The Real Costa Rica

For birders, I also recommend the "Costa Rica Living and Birding" blog. This is frequently updated, and is good bird reading.