If you are looking for a sign to take a trip to Costa Rica, this is your sign!! You will not regret exploring the rich environment Costa Rica has to offer. Below we have detailed some common Costa Rica travel FAQs to aid fellow travelers in planning their next great adventure. Leave a comment or email us if you have any additional questions!
Do I need to speak Spanish?
No! The overwhelming majority of Costa Ricans we encountered, especially those involved with the more touristy aspects of our trip, spoke impressive English. That being said, we encourage anyone traveling to a country with a native language differing than their own to at least make an attempt at learning a little, but your knowledge or lack thereof of Spanish won’t largely impact your experience. It certainly helps to speak the language as it tends to gain favoritism from the locals.
Is Costa Rica safe?
Costa Rica is a safe country to visit, with the majority of crimes tourists experience being related to petty theft. This is especially so if you’re planning on staying in more touristy areas. Generally speaking, common sense should keep you safe. If you get a flat tire while driving, be mindful of where you pull over, don’t leave all your valuables in open sight in the car, etc. Just because it looks like paradise doesn’t mean you’re in a fairy tale! However, we must note our experience was almost entirely in rural areas. We did not spend any time in the big cities, and as such cannot speak on that.
Is an Airbnb with no AC miserable?
We visited in January and half the places we stayed had AC and the other half did not. Not to sound like an American prima donna, but I had some reservations about the stays lacking AC. We went in January, but Costa Rica remains pretty warm year-round. In Arenal, it stayed cool throughout the day, so the lack of air conditioning went unnoticed. In Santa Teresa, the fan set-up came in clutch to ensure everything stayed cool.
If you’re going to Costa Rica in the summer and plan on staying in Airbnbs, definitely double check the air conditioning status of the unit. If you have any concerns, message the owner to see how they keep the unit cool—especially at night, to see it that fits your needs.
Do I need to rent a car?
This depends on the itinerary you have planned and how many people you’re traveling with. If you are staying at a hotel or resort for your time in Costa Rica, they likely have shuttle services they offer, which could be useful to avoid the hassle of renting a car. If you’re a little nervous at the prospect of driving in a foreign country or perhaps you’re flight lands at night—whatever the reason, if you need a shuttle, there are a number of shuttle services, like this one that can help you get where you need to go.
Planning on exploring multiple regions, a bit more independently? A rental car is recommended. This is going to be the most streamlined way to get from point A to point B. We used Vamos, and 100% recommend them!
A very adventurous traveler might be able to swing bus transportation, but this would definitely require a bit more advanced planning—both in knowledge of bus routes as well as having colones, cash, or coins on you to pay for fares. Not impossible, but also not for everyone!
How long were you on the road for?
We spent about 15 hours in the car for the two weeks we spent here, which sounds like a lot but was feasible as none of our drives lasted longer than 4 hours. Stopping along the way as things struck our fancy (usually food) helped break up the drive.
I have linked google map directions to our road trip journey here. We landed in Liberia and drove to Arenal first. From there, we went to Samara, followed by Santa Teresa, and finished up on the Papagayo Peninsula. This worked out well as the Papagayo Peninsula is only a 30-minute drive back the Liberia Airport. You can read more about all these stops here (spoiler alert: food, tour, & Airbnb recommendations ahead).
Fastest way to get to the Nicoya Peninsula from San Jose?
If you arrived in San Jose, but want to explore the Nicoya Peninsula, you can avoid the extended road trip with a ferry ride across the Gulf of Nicoya. Departing from Punta Arenas, they have two drop off locations: Paquera and Naranjo. Getting off in Paquera will bring you to the southern portion of the peninsula to enjoy Tambor, Montezuma, Malpais, Santa Teresa. The Naranjo stop with bring you to the west side of the peninsula to San Miguel, Nicoya, Nosara, Samara.
The trip takes about 70 minutes and costs ~$25 one way for a car and driver. With 5 different departure times, one is sure to fit your schedule. The ferry can hold up to over 150 cars, so it’s usual for it to completely fill up, but you can make your reservation ahead of time here. It’s always a good idea to make these reservations in advance to ensure your spot— especially if you’re traveling during the holidays.
When booking your reservation the website may initially come up in Spanish, but there should be an option that pops up in the top, right corner of your screen to switch over to English. Once in English the website it pretty straightforward. The only snag you may encounter is where it asks for your license plate. If you plan on renting a car, you can just put “Rental Car” if you do not yet know your license plate number.
What’s it like driving in Costa Rice? What are the condition of the roads?
We mainly traveled in the Northwest portion of Costa Rica. Due to our selective regional exposure, we cannot attest to the road conditions of the whole country, but we found all the major roads to be well paved and easy to navigate. As we started to get into towns or areas off the beaten path, we encounter potholes of various sizes, but none that were an obstacle to us.
As you get into the southern portion of the Nicoya Peninsula, the roads do become a bit more dusty and gravelly. This does not make them impermeable to travelers, but it does make travel take longer.
The climb up to a house can be a bit of a different story. If your Airbnb suggests a car with four-wheel drive, it’s usually for good reason. The road up to our Airbnbs in Arenal and Santa Teresa were a little treacherous and could not have been done without all tires on deck.
Should I rent a GPS from the rental car agency?
YES! Rent a GPS if you plan of road-tripping at all. We had been on the fence about this—my husband thought we could figure it out, but I’m a safety-first, safety away kind of a gal, so we rented a GPS device. The roads are pretty straightforward with helpful signage and such for most of where you need to go. We didn’t need the GPS 80% of the time we were driving around, but the 20% we did, it definitely saved us. Missing one or two turns can set you back hours!
Any other tips for planning a trip?
Before we go someplace new, we love scouring the internet for anything we can find to maximize our time on our next adventure. As an old soul, I also still love a paper copy book to mark and tab up. Our favorite hands-on, paper guidebooks are from Lonely Planet. Their most updated edition will be available November 2021, and can be found on Amazon here.
Less of a tip, and more just something to know. When you depart through LIB or SJO, every passenger must pay a $29 departure tax before your airline will allow you to check in. This isn’t a cost that breaks anyone’s budget, but rather a cost to be aware of.
written by Hannah
Hannah has learned the hard way to be careful what you wish for— sometimes happily ever after lands you with a husband and puppy… in the Midwest. Despite leaving Florida to move to Wisconsin, Hannah maintains her bossy big sister role with regular phone calls to keep up with all the little sister shenanigans. Notoriously chatty with her patients as well, Hannah stays busy as a physical therapist, but loves spending weekends exploring newfound hikes.
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