Costa Rica Guide by Paul Glassman
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On Your Way to Costa Rica
BY AIR
Air traffic to Costa Rica is undergoing a boom, with service available from more and more cities.
Major gateways for non-stop travel from the United States are Miami, New Orleans, and Houston.
Service is also available, usually with intermediate stops, from Los Angeles, New York, and Dallas.
With a change of plane, you can reach San José via Mexico or San Salvador. And direct flights operate between San José and San Juan, Puerto Rico; the Colombian island of San Andrés; and many cities on the South American mainland.
Fares. As any slightly experienced traveller will tell you, what counts is not what the fares are, but what fare your travel agent can get. An unrestricted round-trip ticket between New York and San José can cost well over $1000. Advance-booking and seat sales will cut the price by half or even more. Travel agencies that do a volume business negotiate lower fares.
Stopovers can add to the value of your ticket. The various Central American airlines, in concert, offer itineraries that can include the cays of Belize, the Mayan ruins of Guatemala, the Bay Islands of Honduras—in effect, a continental tour for little more than the price of a direct ticket to San José.
Charter flights from Canada (Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver) are operated mostly in the colder months, often departing at odd hours. Inquire of any travel agency, not at the airline or tour wholesaler. Hotel-and-flight packages from Canada are one of the more inexpensive ways to vacation in Costa Rica. Currently, very few charters operate from the States.
Where are you? Most charter flights land at the international airport near San José. Service is intermittent to the airport at Liberia, not far from the Pacific beaches of northwest Costa Rica.
Buy a round-trip ticket. It's usually cheaper, avoids local taxes, and helps convince local authorities that you intend to go home.
DRIVING
The shortest highway distance from Brownsville, Texas, to San José, Costa Rica, is about 2250 miles. That's not a long way by North American standards, but six borders, mountain roads, political turmoil and road conditions can make it an adventure.
However . . . if you're going south for the winter, if you're planning to spend time elsewhere in Central America as well, if you're camping, if you happen to be continuing onward to South America, or if your vehicle is simply indispensable, driving may be indicated. Rest assured that getting to Costa Rica is eminently possible.
Your major requirement is a vehicle in good shape. Have it checked out, tuned up and greased before you leave home. Replace cracked or withering belts and hoses, bald tires and rusting brake lines. If you're planning extensive travel off the main roads, consider taking a couple of spare tires, a gasoline can, water for you and the radiator, points, plugs, electrical tape, belts, wire, and basic tools. Otherwise, there's no reason to prepare for a safari, and the family sedan will serve you well. Be prepared to disconnect your catalytic converter south of Mexico, where unleaded gasoline is not available.
Avoid extra fees by crossing borders during regular business hours, generally from 8 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. It's prudent to travel during daylight hours only, to avoid stray animals and inebriated humans. Fill your tank whenever you can—gas stations can be few and far between. Plan your route to avoid transiting El Salvador—a direct crossing from Guatemala to Honduras is possible.
Essential documents for entry to any Central American country are your driver's license, vehicle registration, and passport with visa obtained in advance. Liability insurance is available in each country you cross. Coverage for damage to your own vehicle may not be available.
Vehicle permits for Costa Rica are issued at the border, are valid for 30 days, and may not be renewed. Drivers wishing to stay longer must take their vehicles out of the country for two days.
Maps of Mexico and Central America are available from your local automobile club, or at travel bookstores.
BUS
The disadvantages of bus travel all the way to Costa Rica are obvious—long hours in a sitting position, inconvenient connections, border delays, and much else. You can, however, see much along the way, and the price is right. Total fare from the U.S. border to Costa Rica is under $100, and this can be reduced by using less comfortable, slower, second-class local buses. Overland travel will require that you pick up visas in advance for all the countries you'll be transiting.
Some specifics: First-class buses, similar to those used by Greyhound, operate from all U.S. border points to Mexico City, a trip of from 10 hours to two days, depending on your crossing point. Buses of the Cristóbal Colón line depart Mexico City at least twice daily for the Guatemalan border, sixteen hours away, connecting with buses for Guatemala City. Buses for Esquipulas leave you near the Honduran border. From there, travel via San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa to Managua. Direct buses operate onward to San José. The trip through Mexico may be shortened by following the Gulf coast route from eastern Texas, avoiding Mexico City.
PRIVATE BOATS
With a major marina a Playa Flamingo on the Pacific coast, you might well think of sailing down from California, or through the Panama Canal. If you do so, make sure you clear customs and immigration at the first port of entry: Coco or Golfito on the Pacific, Barra del Colorado on the Caribbean.
GETTING AROUND
BY AIR
Costa Rica's domestic airline, Sansa (tel. 233-3258 in San José), operates flights to a number of outlying towns from Juan Santamaría International Airport. Fares are a bargain: $35 or less to any point with scheduled service. And you only have to check in at Sansa's San José office. The airline takes you out to the airport in its own van.
Sansa's flights save a lot of the wear and tear involved in overland travel. Even if you like to see things at ground level, they provide an easy lift back to San José. The drawbacks are insufficient flights to a limited number of destinations, variations from schedules, lost reservations, and, occasionally, separation of passengers from their luggage.
Latest destinations and flight frequencies are: to Quepos, daily; to Golfito and Coto 47 (near the Panamanian border), six times weekly; to Tamarindo, four times weekly; to Sámara and Palmar Sur, three times weekly. From time to time, flights are scheduled to Barra del Colorado.
Travelair, a newer airline, offers a more reliable service and more destinations—as well as higher prices. Still, no round-trip ticket on Travelair is more than $130 or so. Current destinations on Travelair are Quepos, Limón, Golfito, and Palmar Sur (all daily); and Barra del Colorado, Nosara, Carrillo and Tamarindo (two to three times weekly). Call Travelair at 232-7883 in San José.
Recent schedules are given in coverage of towns in this book.
Charter flights in small planes are also available from Tobías Bolaños airport (just west of San José, also known as Pavas) to places without regularly scheduled service, such as Tortuguero National Park. Arrange such flights through travel agencies, or directly through the companies listed in the yellow pages under "Aviación."
BY BUS
There are several tiers of bus service in Costa Rica. Depending on where you are in the country and how far you're going, getting around by bus can be pleasant and comfortable, tolerable, or—if you're not prepared—an ordeal.
Service between towns in the Central Valley is provided in large buses similar to those used on the city lines in San José. These generally have padded seats, which are closer together than those in comparable American buses, but comfortable enough for the distances involved.
Fares on suburban routes are generally fixed, no matter how far you travel. Fare cards are usually posted near the driver's seat.
Buses in the Central Valley may be boarded either at their terminals, or at bus stops, which are marked by shelters, rectangular signs, or short yellow lines painted along the edge of the road. Pay the driver, choose a seat, and enjoy the sights along the way.
Buses operating on the major highways between San José and the far points of the country are roughly comparable to Greyhound buses in the United States. They may be older, and lack air conditioning and lavatories, but they are generally well-cared-for, and mechanically sound.
Drivers of long-distance buses try to maintain the maximum legal speed, even on winding roads. Bus crews are ready for such side effects as nausea with plastic bags (comforting). Prepare yourself with motion sickness pills if you're susceptible.
Tickets for long-distance buses may be purchased in advance, and this is recommended for weekend travel. If you try to board a long-distance bus along its route, it might or might not stop—there's no fixed rule. Try to select a waiting place where the driver will see you well in advance and have a chance to slow down. Ask a handy local for advice.
Buses operating in rural areas outside the Central Valley are of an entirely different breed. Most are similar to American school buses. Some in fact are old school buses, right down to the yellow paint. (Old school buses never die. They just go to Central America.) Seats are stiff, with minimal padding, designed for small people traveling short distances.
Rural buses stop frequently to let out and pick up passengers, as well as chickens, cardboard boxes full of merchandise, and whatever else has to move. Add poor roads and steep grades, and a trip of fifty kilometers could take a couple of hours. Many a passenger has to stand in a crowded aisle, for there is often no other way to go.
Fares on all buses in Costa Rica are low, generally less than two cents (U.S.) per kilometer.
AUTOMOBILE
Driving your own car makes a small country significantly smaller—but not without a price. Gasoline outlays and car rental rates in Costa Rica are higher than those in the United States. Rental cars are easy marks for thieves, as well as for traffic police looking for payoffs.
Getting your bearings. In the Central Valley, through roads are well marked with standard rectangular signs. In the center of any town along a main highway, signs point the way toward the next towns in all directions, and usually indicate distances.
On back roads in the Central Valley, signs are generally inadequate. To complicate matters, place names are repeated. San Isidro de Coronado is just a few miles from San Isidro de Heredia. Take the wrong turn from San Isidro de Heredia, and you'll end up in Concepción de San Isidro, when you might have been looking for Concepción de San Rafael—each within a few minutes' drive.
Take heart. Everybody gets lost. But you can minimize aimless wandering by paying careful attention to driving instructions, looking at a map, and asking for directions at every church and crossroads as you approach your destination.
Main routes outside the Central Valley are well-marked, but secondary roads are not. Navigation is made even more difficult by the lack of accurate, up-to-date road maps for some areas. Ask directions at junctions if you have any doubts.
Theft: Never, ever, leave anything of value in an unattended vehicle, even for minutes! Thieves lurk wherever visitors roam: at volcanoes, restaurants, national parks, beaches, in "protected" hotel parking lots.
Gasoline stations (bombas) are sparse, so fill up before turning off any main route. Some gasoline stations will accept Visa or Master Card. Unleaded gasoline will soon be available.
Supplies and refreshments are abundant along most roads in Costa Rica. There's always a pulpería (grocery store) where you can stop for soft drinks, cookies and other goodies, always a soda (diner) where you can have some basic eats if no formal restaurante is in view.
Road Conditions and Hazards: Though Costa Rica has had no recent wars, some of the main roads through mountainous areas, and many secondary roads, look as if they've been mined. There is generally no warning even for monumental potholes. On and off paved roads, much of your attention is devoted to dodging potholes, or it should be. Conditions are generally worst toward the end of the rainy season. Many unpaved roads are graded but once a year. Consider December 1 as the end of mud season for driving the dirt roads of Costa Rica.
Inquire at every opportunity about road conditions ahead (usually at gasoline stations), especially in the rainy season, and interpret the response with caution. Costa Ricans will usually tell you that a road is passable. Gringos will say that you can't make it after a heavy rain, what with swollen rivers and mud up to your axles. The truth lies somewhere in between, and depends on what you're driving.
On mountain roads, beep your horn at curves and drive at moderate speeds. The driver going up a hill has the right of way, so be prepared to pull over or back up on narrow stretches. Oncoming drivers will sometimes flash their lights to warn of a hazard ahead. Slow down.
It's never wise to drive at night on unfamiliar roads, especially in the Central Valley, where the winding right of way is used by people, some of them unsober, as well as vehicles.
Other assorted hazards include herds of cattle in the road, driven by cowboys on horses or bicycles; and slow-moving trucks.
Most hazard signs use easily understood symbols, though a few use words that you might not know. (See road vocabulary, page 457).
Legal matters: The speed limit is 75 kilometers (47 miles) an hour, and it's seriously enforced. I got my first speeding ticket ever in Costa Rica—the radar clocked me at a blazing 91 kilometers per hour on the flat, straight highway from Limón to San José. You can also get a ticket for not using your seat belt. The worst part is waiting in line at a bank to pay the fine—and pay you must, or risk being turned back at the airport.
Your local driver's license is good for 90 days in Costa Rica. Should you stay longer, you'll need a Costa Rican license.
Be sure to stop at roadside checkpoints if you're flagged down. It's usually nothing sinister. The police might be looking for contraband turtle eggs, not firearms.
But some traffic police are corrupt. A dollar or two in "coffee money" will get the cop to overlook your lack of an original registration or some other claimed infraction. It's annoying to pay, of course, but the Cheshire cat grin, seen through the rear-view mirror as you drive off, is priceless.
In the case of higher demands, confiscation of documents, or requests for payment of "fines" on the spot, get the name of the police officer, if you can. You can file a complaint, and you should, even if it's inconvenient. It's time for Costa Rica to clean up.
Repairs: Many auto parts are hard to obtain outside of San José. Try to have your car serviced and repairs made in the capital or nearby. Parts for some makes of car are simply not stocked in Costa Rica, but drivers of most Japanese and smaller American cars should have no problems in this regard.
Car Rental: The smallest cars—the Subaru Justy or equivalent—rent for about $35 daily plus 35 cents per kilometer, or $60, including insurance, at the unlimited mileage rate. These vehicles are comfortable only for two adults, and are worse than useless on many unpaved roads during the rainy season. A compact car that will fit four adults goes for about $70 per day (more with automatic transmission), while a four-wheel drive vehicle—almost essential for the Nicoya Peninsula, or a trip to Monteverde—comes in at about $80 a day. This doesn't include gasoline—roughly $8 for 200 kilometers of driving in a Justy, $20 or more in a Jeep.
Slightly lower rates are sometimes offered when you reserve in advance. I did this once through Budget, though upon arrival I encountered mysterious service charges (I refused to pay), bait-and-switch insurance sales ("your mandatory insurance provides no protection, sir"), and much wasted time—on my meter—while we attempted to come to a consensus about pre-existing damage. But I'm told that similar tactics are used by other companies. In any case, you probably won't get a price break at the moment of renting, so it doesn't hurt to call around before you leave home. Inquire too if your own insurance policy or one that comes with your credit card will cover damage to a rented car in Costa Rica. If so, try to get a statement to that effect in writing. (Such policies generally don't include liability coverage, which is sold at the usual unconscionable rates, often with deductibles that approach $1000.)
TAXIS
It doesn't occur to most people, but taxis are a very practical way to get around the countryside in Costa Rica. Current official rates are about a dollar for the first kilometer, 30 cents for each additional kilometer, and $3 per hour of waiting time. For trips over 12 kilometers, the driver is allowed to negotiate the charge. At the official rate, a 120-kilometer round trip from San José to Poás volcano should run less than $30, including a couple of hours of waiting. Even if you're charged more, the cost should compare favorably to that of renting a car. In addition, you'll be able to look around instead of keeping your eyes glued to the road, and can direct the driver to slow down or stop where you please.
Travel by taxi is not without its problems. Many drivers are used to overcharging tourists, sometimes by claiming that their meters don't work. Look for a driver who will agree to charge the legal rates (which your hotel can confirm), or at least not too much more.
For long-distance travel, of course, you'll want to use airplanes or comfortable buses. But taxis are a good bet for going those last few kilometers in rural areas. In the Nicoya Peninsula and other areas with poor roads, taxis are usually Jeeps or similar vehicles well suited to local conditions.
TRAINS
Costa Rica's world-famous "Jungle Train," from San José to Limón, is out of operation, due to repeated landslides, though parts of the line operate in the lowlands for banana plantation tours. Currently, there is limited scheduled passenger service from Limón southward, along the Caribbean, and in the San José area at rush hours.
BICYCLE
Bicycle tours within Costa Rica's national parks are offered by travel agencies in San José (see page 187). The company supplies mountain bikes, though according to experienced cycle tourist and author J. P. Panet, riding a bike other than your own can be a painful experience.
J. P. Panet is co-author of Latin America on Bicycle (Passport Press), which includes a chapter about a bicycle trip through Costa Rica.
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