Planning a trip to Costa Rica can be overwhelming especially for first-timers
so in this video, I'm going to be sharing with you, all of our know before you go
tips including the best places to visit what to pack
and an answer to the question... is it safe?
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A lush jungle paradise with an abundance of wildlife, adventure activities and
nature experiences, Costa Rica is a truly unique and diverse destination
Hey you guys, Phoebe here from Little Grey Box with Matt behind the camera and on this
channel we share with you all of our travel experiences and tips to help you
travel well. So if you don't already be sure to subscribe and say hello in the
comments below now if you want to see more about Costa Rica adventures go back
and watch our three on the road travel videos they are going to be linked below
for you but for now, let's dive right in
Costa Rica has a population of around
five million people and the capital city San Jose is home to around 2 million of
those in the metropolitan area and when you visit you might notice the locals
referring to themselves as Tico's
The official language is Spanish though you will find that
English is spoken in some of the places, but maybe not all
I would recommend that you download something like Google Translate and have that
Spanish language downloaded to the app so you are ready to go offline that way
if you need to communicate on the fly you can and I found it was a really
great way to start to learn a little bit of Spanish as well but of course it
always pays to learn a few key phrases before you leave now one phrase you are
going to hear a lot is Pura Vida and that is kind of like the slogan or the
phrase of Costa Rica and Pura Vida means pure life but it is so much more than
that it has a life of it's own it really is about living a great life and in
terms of a language it can mean things like hello, I'm ok, that sounds great
so if you're ordering at a restaurant they might say you know 'Would you like fries
with that?' and you can say... Pura Vida'
The local currency is the Costa Rican colones
though we did find that US Dollars were pretty widely accepted and
when we would go to pay for things the vendors would ask us 'Would you prefer to
pay in US dollars or Costa Rican colones?' Now I would recommend that you have a
currency conversion app downloaded to your phone just so you know
exactly how much you're paying for things as you go. We use XE currency because
it's free reliable and it works offline and one other thing is that we did
find ATMs we're a little scarce once we got out of San Jose so when we did
see an ATM we did just use that opportunity to take out some money so we
had cash on us and keep in mind cards won't always be accepted so cash is a great idea
We visited in November and found the weather to be hot and humid
experiencing a mix of sunny days and torrential downpours but it by no means
ruined our trip it's just part of visiting a tropical climate like Costa Rica's
now you guys Costa Rica has two seasons
Summer and winter
The summer or dry season is December to April and the winter or wet season is November to May
During our visit, we experienced pretty much daily downpours and there were entire days
where it just rained all day that was something Matt and I weren't
prepared for and I wish I had done differently so make sure you are packing
wet weather gear that's things like a poncho or rain jacket waterproof clothes
waterproof backpacks shoes that won't get totally soaked and ruined you guys and
make sure you have plenty of clothes that are quick dry because we found that
things were quite soggy and wet for a couple of days after they got rained on
In San Jose and places with a bigger population like La Fortuna for example
we used Uber to get around when our Intrepid tour guide wasn't organizing our
transport for us. Matt was always asked to sit in the front so if that does happen
don't be alarmed that's pretty normal practice just make sure that you have
Uber downloaded to your phone and an account registered before you leave home
and make sure you always set your payment type to go through the app not
cash that way you avoid getting potentially ripped off by anybody who's
feeling a bit opportunistic
Another thing you guys is in San Jose
and the rest of Costa Rica there are no addresses... let that sink in for a second
no addresses but that's okay just make sure that you have the name of the hotel
or the places you're planning on visiting as well as their contact
information just in case and I would recommend getting an app that has maps
that work offline that you can star and favorite all the places that you want to
visit just in case you do get lost or the person who's driving you doesn't
know where you're going you can show them we always use maps.me
It's free, reliable and works offline
I think it's like anywhere in the world you have to
exercise caution as a traveler because there are a lot of opportunistic people
out there who look to take advantage of tourists
In San Jose Matt and I were
extremely diligent just as we were in places like public bus stations and all
kinds of public transport we kept our bags to the front of us made sure that
everything that was very important to us was safely put away we used our
hotel safe for passports and cash and that kind of thing and we watched each
other's back and never left our luggage unattended especially at bus stations
and the like and we had no issues whatsoever when we got out of San Jose
in those more built-up areas we were able to relax a little bit more so you
guys yes in my opinion and based on my experience I think it's safe for
travellers as long as you are diligent and don't give anybody any kind of opportunity to target you
We spent 15 days on an incredible Classic Costa Rica Tour with the guys
at Intrepid Travel and I just have to say a huge thank you to
them for hosting us we had the best time 15 days was a great amount of time we
got to go to all different corners of Costa Rica and we saw so many different
spots it gave us a great sense of what the country is all about and the places
we'd like to go back and visit more now if you're not sure the best way to see
Costa Rica we had a great time with Intrepid, our tour leader Edgar was so
knowledgeable and having access to his knowledge was just invaluable there were
so many things we wouldn't have heard, seen, noticed or learned without him and
so many experiences that we probably wouldn't have been able to
organize without him either
On our tour, we visited a great range of spots and each
one offered something a little bit different so I want to share with you
all the places we visited and our favourite experiences and highlight moments from each one
San Jose was a major city with lots of places to eat
and plenty of history we absolutely loved our Urban Adventures Walking Tour
which gave us a great sense of what San Jose is all about
in Tortuguero, we got to experience the Carribean influence
and the cool local town
We loved spotting wildlife on our boat ride in the afternoon including monkeys sloths and birds
In Santa Rosa de Pocosol we had the best homestay experience it
was a chance to try local food and really get a feel for local life and the culture
We absolutely loved our homestay family and it was really a chance to
immerse ourselves in Costa Rican life
The lush jungle, waterfalls and stunning
the bright blue water of Rio Celeste blew us away and our highlight moments were
the tubing experience which had me laughing the whole way and spotting wildlife on our treks
La Fortuna is a hub of adventure activities
we absolutely loved the hot springs checking out the hanging bridges
and the most amazing nature walk we really enjoyed the waterfall
and of course, seeing the volcano
Monteverde was a mountainous spot with loads of adventure activities too
We had the best horse trek I have ever done and really really enjoyed the ziplining
And Manuel Antonio is a beachside location renowned for its abundant wildlife
We absolutely loved seeing sloths and monkeys
checking out the beautiful beach and of course, Matt really enjoyed the surf
The food in Costa Rica has a wide range of influences
including Spanish and Caribbean now we ate a lot of Gallo Pinto
which is rice and beans as well as heaps of tropical fruit and we got to
try things we had never tried before we ate loads of empanadas and tamales
Matt had lots of seafood and as a plant-eater I had no trouble getting
something to eat so if you are a vegan or a vegetarian or you simply don't like
meat you guys you will have no trouble finding some delicious food
now we ate some street food and had no problems with our tummies although I
have heard that you can get a bad case of Montezuma's Revenge in Costa Rica so
I would just recommend that you pack some imodium or similar just in case you
do get struck down in your prime and it is of course a tipping culture in Costa
Rica so just be prepared to tip as you go and when you're looking at menus just
take note at the bottom because there are often taxes applied and sometimes
your gratuity is already included
This was our first time in Central America
and I had kind of just assumed that Costa Rica was going to be an extremely
cheap budget friendly destination but it turns out the prices there for food and
activities and alcohol for example were the same as they are here in Australia
so I would just say that when you're budgeting for your trip allow a little
bit more than you think you will need especially because there are so many
adventure activities that you absolutely must take advantage of
Costa Rica accounts for nearly 6 per cent of the world's biodiversity, it is a pioneer of
ecotourism and around a quarter of its jungle is protected area so if you love
wildlife you are going to be so spoiled We saw a coati's, white-faced capuchin
monkeys and howler monkeys, scarlet macaws, three and two-toed sloths some very
thick iguanas, Jesus Christ lizards, caymen, bats, some of the guys saw a tapier
there were dolphins, turtles, otters frogs and a huge range of birds
including toucans and some very beautiful hummingbirds
I made a huge mistake with packing I packed what I would usually wear which is dresses
skirts t-shirts and the like and I only packed a small amount of active or
adventure wear and I really regret that. Make sure you are prepared
for that wet weather, reusable ponchos or really good rain jackets that cover your
backpacks are a great start it rains things get wet and you want
clothes that are quick-dry and suitable for jungle treks and high energy activities
I would also recommend you pack some good water-resistant hiking
boots or similar as well as an extra pair of sneakers and I also had my
sandals just for those walking out to dinner kind of situations. You also want
to make sure that you pack some bug spray a really high-quality one with DEET
Be sure to pack your swimmers so you can jump into those waterfalls and
you will definitely need a hat, sunscreen and any additional sun smart gear you
feel is necessary. If you have camera gear or stuff that you don't want to get
wet while you're out and about during the day a wet bag is a great idea
We didn't pack out crocs or water shoes but we really wish we had because when
we were doing the tubing in Rio Celeste we really needed them and they were
great for just getting around at the end of the day when we couldn't be bothered
to put proper shoes on. If you're visiting for a long time you're going to
need to do laundry and we were able to do that easily at most of the hotels we
visited but just make sure you have a laundry bag so you can keep all of your
goodies in one spot. A suitcase is fine of course if you have one of those
really cool backpacker backpacks that's fine too but I did it with a suitcase
and I had no troubles. A few of the guys in our group brought their own
binoculars and they had zoom lenses for their cameras and I was so jealous when
you're off doing those jungle treks you are going to want to get in really
close to that wildlife so packing both of those things is going to make life a lot easier
If you have one, a water purifying bottle is a great idea and if not
a refillable water bottle is a great second option now I've read conflicting
things some people say you can drink the water some people say you can't
our tour guide just said 'Hey, let's not risk it' there's filtered water in all of the hotel
lobbies so just bring a refillable waddle... So just bring a refillable bottle
and fill up at the start of the day so you are all covered and you guys hot and humid
so make sure you drink plenty of water so you don't get heatstroke
And lastly and most importantly
please make sure that you have travel insurance and that you are
covered for all of those great adventure activities you're going to want to do
All right you guys and that is all of our essential know before you go tips
for Costa Rica now if you're feeling inspired and you want to see a little
bit more of everything I've just mentioned be sure to watch our three Costa Rica
Travel Guide videos they are linked below, now if you don't already be
sure to subscribe and say hola in the comments below
Have a great weekend and I will see you with a brand new episode next week love
Love ya!
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