21 Things You Must Know Before Visiting Costa Rica

1. Be careful when choosing your transportation to and from San José airport

My recommendation is to take an Uber from the airport, it’s much cheaper and more convenient than taxis, who have a reputation for overcharging tourists. As soon as you exit the San José airport, you will be greeted by loads and loads of people, whose seemingly biggest wish is to drive you to your accommodation. As such, they tend to get almost aggressive, sometimes they follow you around even after you’ve told them that you already have someone picking you up. The important thing to know is that not all of them are official taxi drivers. Some of them are just random people that one day decided that they will now be offering “transportation services”.

Make sure to have the Uber app installed and set up on your phone before you arrive! You will have to verify your phone number and your card info, and that’s not something you wanna be doing in a rush at the airport. If, for whatever reason, you can’t take an Uber, take an official taxi. You will recognize the official ones from the none official ones by their red colour. The driver will have a license and the car will have a meter, which in Costa Rica is called “la maría”. Make sure that they put the meter on, if they don’t, they’ll overcharge you.

There is no need to arrange transportation from the airport in advance. Although, if your accommodations offers airport pick up at a decent price, you might as well book that to save you the hassle. Especially if you’re arriving late at night. If you’re staying in one of the hotels close to the airport, they usually offer that service for free.

2. Beware of a common scam taking place between San José and the airport

There is a common scam that takes place on the highway between the SJO airport and San José. How it works is, that two or more people will be working together, one of them being the driver, whose job will be to stop the car at the side of the road, claiming you have a broken tire or some other problem with the car. This is where the other/others in the scam arrive, it will look like they’re just helpful people that just so happened to be passing by and decided to stop and offer to help you. Now, things become chaotic as you all start changing the tire or to fix whatever else the “problem” was. In the midst of this chaos, one of the scammers will quietly steal your valuables, while you and the rest of the scammers are in the middle of changing the tire or whatever.

To avoid being scammed – take an Uber, an official taxi or a transport arranged by your accommodation. Do not take any sort of unofficial transport. For those renting a car, if you have a broken tire or have any problems with your car on the way to/from the airport, AVOID stopping on the side of the road at all cost! Instead, drive to the nearest gas station/hotel/town, anywhere that isn’t in the middle of nowhere.

3. Although Ubers are frequently used, they are technically not legal

Even though Ubers are available throughout the San José area, and are frequently used by travellers as well as locals, Uber remains in some legal grey zone. This doesn’t change the fact that Uber is the way to go when moving around the San José area. The taxi drivers, especially in San José, have a reputation for overcharging tourists and being rude. Uber in Costa Rica works just like anywhere else, but since it’s technically not 100% legal, there are two things you must be aware of:

The driver will usually ask one of you to sit in the front seat. So if you get in an Uber and the driver says something in Spanish, he’ll most likely be asking you to get in the front seat.
Especially at the airport, you might want to be a little discreet about it. The drivers at the airport will be telling you that you can’t take an Uber because it’s illegal, just tell them that your friend is coming to pick you up.

4. There are no street addresses in Costa Rica

One of the most important things you must know before visiting Costa Rica is that there are no street addresses. Yes you read that right. Streets in Costa Rica normally don’t have names and the houses do not have numbers. I struggled a lot with this in the beginning and couldn’t really get over how extremely strange it was. Questions like how do people get their mail? How does anyone find anything? How can an entire country function without street names?

I quickly learned that instead of “normal” addresses, the “address” is simply an explanation of where the building is. You will find addresses such as 350m west of Taco Bell, San Pedro and the pink house on the corner 100m from the church. For me, this really just raised more questions than it answered. What if you don’t know where this Taco Bell is? How do you know which direction is east, am I supposed to carry a compass with me at all times? How do I know when I’ve walked 300 meters? I need to carry a measuring tape too? Four trips to Costa Rica later, I’ve discovered that there’s no need to carry any of those things around, thanks to apps such as Google maps and maps.me. These will pretty much get you pretty much anywhere, although you will have problems finding residential buildings. I still have not figured out how people get their mail though 🙂

For the record, in downtown San José you will see that some streets are numbered – you have “Avenida Central”, Avenida 2, Avenida 4 and so on. Avenues run East to West, and then you have calles that run North to South. The houses here are not numbered though. This is pretty much the only place in the country where you’ll see street names in any shape or form.

5. There are more than one “San José”

If you’re flying into San José, make sure to book the flight to the right San José! The airport code for San José, Costa Rica is SJO. There is a city in California that is also called San José. Something that has turned out very unfortunate for a number of people that have purchased tickets to the wrong San José and not realized until they land in California instead of Costa Rica 🙂

Here you can book your stay in San José, Costa Rica!

6. It’s not as cheap as you might think

A very common misconception about Costa Rica is that it’s cheap. Since most countries in Central America are indeed very affordable, people tend to think that the same must apply to Costa Rica. But that’s just not the case. It’s nowhere near as affordable as countries like El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. To be fair, fruits and public buses are very affordable, but that’s about it. Expect prices to be pretty similar to those in US and Europe.

The fruits in Costa Rica are delicious – and affordable! Edited with the Perfect Greens presets/photo filters

7. Be careful in San José

While I would not necessarily agree with those saying San José is flat out dangerous, you definitely have to be careful. With that being said, I have spent my fair time in San José and I’ve never had any problems there. Just keep an eye on your stuff at all times and be aware of your surroundings. Avoid wearing flashy jewellery (even if it’s a 3$ necklace) it’s not about the risk of the necklace getting stolen, but that it might draw attention to you. As long as you take normal precautions, and most importantly, know where to go and where not to go, it’s unlikely you’ll have any problems. There are certain areas in San José where you simply shouldn’t be, especially not late at night or early morning.

There are some cute buildings in San José!

Buses leaving from San José usually depart at 6 or 7am, take an Uber (or a taxi) to the bus stop, do not walk there. Even if it’s a 5 minute walk, just don’t risk it. The area around the bus stations are often shady, the bus stations themselves are fine though.

Stick to the area around Avenida Central, which is the main street in San José. This is where you’ll find the most interesting sights such as the National Theatre and the National Museum. San José is not the place to wander off into the unknown, the atmosphere can change rapidly just from one block to the next, so always be aware of your surroundings!

8. The local restaurants are called “sodas”

The best way to get a taste of real Costa Rica is by eating at a soda. Sodas are small local restaurants, you’ll recognize them by the plastic chairs and the, often a little torn, “soda” sign. They are cheaper than regular restaurants and offer big portions, making them the perfect option for those on a budget. Sodas offer basic traditional food that usually consists of rice and beans, along with some meat or vegetables. Many sodas also offer things like nachos, guacamole and burritos.

9. The currency is the Costa Rica Colón

Colón, or Colones in plural, is the local currency in Costa Rica. US dollars are also widely accepted and usually you have a choice of paying with US dollars or Colones. Often you’ll get worse exchange rate when paying with USD, but if you’re bank account is in USD, paying in USD might be your best option. I always use Colones and never withdraw USD from the ATM’s. But since Colones aren’t readily available outside of Costa Rica, I often have 50-100USD with me when I arrive, just in case. I usually keep that as “back up” if my card doesn’t work somewhere or if the ATM’s aren’t working.

Santa Teresa, one of my favourite places in Costa Rica

10. Driving can take long and travel times are estimates

Between unpaved roads, sink holes, slow trucks, heavy traffic, and whatnot – driving in Costa Rica can take ages and driving times are estimates. If that. You can expect a 200km drive to take about 4 hours. Then again, a 4 hour journey can easily turn into 5 or even 6 hours if the traffic is bad. So always allow for extra time when going from one place to another.

The bumpy ride is well worth it once you wake up to a view like this

11. The Waze app

The Waze app is a must have for anyone driving around Costa Rica. Especially if you’re traveling during rainy season (April/May-November/December). During that period the road conditions can change fast, rivers may flood and landslides can occur. Every day thousands of locals help update information on the Waze app, so you’ll always have the most recent updates on road conditions and traffic.

If you’re lucky you’ll come across some monkeys

12. Bus stops are not well marked

Costa Rica apparently isn’t very keen on spending money on signs. Just like they don’t bother with formalities such as naming the streets, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they haven’t really gotten around to putting up signs for bus stops either. So when finding your bus stop, especially in smaller towns, you’ll often be at the mercy of locals, who will know where to find it even though that information is not written anywhere 🙂 A number of people standing on the side of the street can also indicate that you’ve found a bus stop. Just ask them if this is the bus stop (parada de autobuses in Spanish). It’s just one of those things that isn’t written anywhere but somehow everyone just knows how it works.

13. There are road tolls

All the major highways between San José and the Pacific Coast have road tolls. Expect to pay around 250-750 colones (about 1 USD). Both Colones and USD are accepted, debit and credit cards are not accepted. You will of course only be required to pay the tolls if you have your own car, not if you’re on a bus or a shuttle.

14. There is no central hub for bus buses

You know how in most cities you have one main bus terminal where all buses depart from? That’s indeed very practical 🙂 Well, In Costa Rica it’s not like that. Instead, you have lots of small terminals located all over San José. So when taking a bus from San José to anywhere else in Costa Rica, you’ll need to look up from which bus terminal the bus departs from.

15. It’s easy to take public buses to and from San José

There are direct public buses to and from San José to basically anywhere in Costa Rica. The public buses are way cheaper than shuttles, and they work just fine to get you to and from San José. However, if you’re traveling between others parts of Costa Rica, there often aren’t any direct public buses so in those cases I usually take a shuttle.

16. The traffic in San José during rush hours is insane

Driving in San José during rush hours is a nightmare. It’s loco. There are apparently some traffic laws in place but drivers seem too be more concerned about getting to wherever they need to be, than following any of them. Rush hours on weekdays is roughly 5-8am and 3-6pm. Additionally, you have a lot of traffic out of San José on Friday afternoons and than into San José on Sunday evenings, as the locals like to get out of the city during the weekends.

17. You can visit during rainy season

You can still enjoy Costa Rica during the rainy season! It can even be a great time to visit and certainly has it’s advantages! Rainy season, also referred to as the “green season”, runs from May through mid-November. During this time the jungles turns more green, as opposed to appearing brownish and often dusty towards the end of dry season. Costa Rica sees plenty of sunshine even during rainy season, it’s usually sunny in the mornings, followed by cloudy afternoons and a few hours of rain. Visiting during rainy season also means that you can expect to get better deals on flights and accommodation since this is the low season. This also means less tourists!

Rainforest in Monteverde // Edited with the **Perfect Greens** preset pack

18. You can drink the water

There is usually no need to buy bottled water in Costa Rica as the tap water is generally safe. Some hostels and accommodations even have water filters so it doesn’t even taste bad. Just double check with your hostel/hotel before drinking the water, but in the majority of the country it’s totally fine. Make sure to bring an insulated water bottle to keep your water nice and cold. There is nothing worse than bringing a cold water to the beach, only to realise that because it’s in a plastic bottle, it has reached the same temperature as the outside temperature. Boiling hot water is not so refreshing 🙂

Find the perfect accommodation for your Costa Rica trip here!

19. It’s the safest country in Central America

Costa Rica consistently rates as the safest country in Central America. It’s one of few countries in the world that doesn’t have an army. Tourists do not have much to worry about when visiting Costa Rica, as long as they take normal precautions.
For some practical safety tips that are applicable around the world, read this post: 14 tips for staying safe while traveling

20. The biggest safety risk is petty theft

Bag snatching and pickpocketing do occur, so always keep an eye on your belongings. Avoid flashing your valuables and never leave your valuables unattended at the beach while taking a swim! If you’re going to the beach by yourself and plan to go swimming, leave any valuables at your hotel/hostel.

21. Don’t go to the beach after dark

but make sure to visit the beach during the day! Edited with the **Perfect Greens** preset pack

This is possibly one of the most important things you must know before visiting Costa Rica! Yes it’s the safest country in Central America, but the beach is still not a safe place to be after dark. Unless you’re at a restaurant or bar at the beach, do not wander off to the beach at night. Even if you’re with a few other people. It gets completely dark, there is usually no one around, and the sound of the ocean will drown out any other sounds. This unfortunately makes for a perfect environment for crimes much more serious than pickpocketing.

I hope that you are better prepared for your trip to Costa Rica after learning about these 21 things you must know before visiting Costa Rica. if you want to get notified when I publish new blog posts, just click the red bell in the bottom right corner or follow me on Instagram where I usually announce new posts :))