Do’s and Don’ts while traveling in Costa Rica…

No matter where you travel to, a nearby city or a foreign country on the other side of the world, when you’re in a new place there will always be things that you better be doing and others that you better avoid. It’s a learning curve when you travel – especially when you travel solo – and sometimes you might arrive prepared, while other times you will learn once you’re there.

I’ve learned – and I’m still learning – both ways during my travels, and I’ll share with you what are the DO’s and DONT’s of every different country, town, mountain, beach, jungle and forest I’ve already explored, and those that are coming next.

Here goes…

No matter if you’re going to stay in Costa Rica for 10 days or three months, if you’re traveling at any point between December and April, then you absolutely must plan your accommodation ahead of time! This is high season, and there are flocks – and I mean FLOCKS! – of tourists and and travelers arriving in the country, so if you don’t book your hotel, Airbnb, or hostel well before your arrival, you’ll be sleeping on the beach… Yup!

Find out if the tap water is drinkable in your area. If you’re traveling to Samara or other parts of the west coast, as well as San Jose, Liberia and most of the center of the country, you’ll find that the water is super safe to drink. No need to buy gallons of bottled water or to avoid ice cubes in your drinks. But that’s not the case everywhere, especially around more rural (“more rural”…”morrrre rrrurrral”…”morrr rrrurrral” …woah…I can’t pronounce that!) parts of the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. Even in big touristic spots like Puerto Viejo, you’ll find that in most places there are signs telling you to don’t drink the tap water as it might be contaminated. When you see one of those signs in one part of town, you can be sure you don’t wanna drink the water in any part of that town…really!

These are the 2 words you want to keep in mind before and during your trip. Yup. There are 12 microclimates in Costa Rica, and they vary massively one from the other, even during the same months. For example, if you’re traveling to Guanacaste during December and April, then you’ll be in the dry season, plenty of sunshine and temperature ranging from 28 C to 38 C (average, it can be warmer).

But if you’re there between June and October, prepare yourself to be soaked in sweat or rain every day, all day long, as this is the rainy season in that region! And when the rain doesn’t get you, the insane humidity will.

That said – and here’s the funny part – if during the same trip you cross over to the Caribbean side, you’ll find yourself right in the middle of summer time, because you moved into a different microclimate and therefor into a different season. Ya-ha, that’s right!

The Spanish language come in many variants, and while you can get by speaking some basic Castilian (“Castellano” is the most commonly taught Spanish by online language sites, apps and schools; so, if you’re studying Spanish, unless it has a specification, you’re studying Castilian) in most Spanish speaking countries around the world, locals will speak their own variant of the language, which they’re also very proud of.

I arrived in Costa Rica feeling very confident as I’m fluent in Castellano, and soon I realized that Tico Spanish has many many MANY different words, ways of speaking, and even some phrase structure that differ immensely – if not entirely – from Castilian.

In fact, Castilian is not very appreciated in Costa Rica – like in other parts of Central and South America – and Ticos jokingly refers to it as “Español sucio” (dirty Spanish).

So, you may want to learn some Tico Spanish before your trip, and if you like you can start right here! Just check out my “Speak like a Tico” post, and learn useful expressions and slang that will make your Costa Rican trip smoother and more fun!! https://weisscooper.com/useful-expressions-speak-like-a-tico/

Straight to the point. Get those colones out of the ATM as soon as you arrive.

Yes, there are places that take cards, but there are many variables on that. And trust me, you don’t want to have the server from the beach restaurant walking with you to the nearest ATM, to get cash to pay your bill…

In fact, even if there’s a sign saying “aceptamos tarjetas” (we accept cards), I found that often there was an issue with the machine, OR the WI-FI was down, OR there was some unspecified issue that day, OR “that’s only for the weekend”, so in the end, they accepted only cash. So, get the colones in your pocket, and avoid any surprise!

(I’m sure there are many others, but for me, it’s this one…)

Costa Rica is a great example of a thriving animal kingdom. At any time of the day or night, there’s either iguanas, monkeys, tropical birds, insects as big as your hand, or snakes, and even crocodiles moving around in their habitat not too far from you.

Then, sometimes, they like to come by and check out YOUR habitat… Yup.

You’ll be delighted seeing cute iguanas running around under the tables of the beach bar, or in your back yard, or crossing the street.

And you’ll be equally overjoyed to see colorful birds and cheeky monkeys calling for your attention from trees while you lay in your hammock.

They’ll make you chuckle when you’re happy, and cheer you up when you’re down, and before you know it, you’ll be giving them names and talking to them out loud as you do with your human neighbors and buddies.

I became very good friend with a curious iguana who lived in my front yard. We hung out every morning and by the second week he was seating next to me on the patio as I drank my coffee, as if we’d known each other all our lives. When we first met, I was working on a Freddy Mercury drawing and listening to a ton of Queen, so I named him Freddy, which I think he liked… He was a bit of a poser, but when you’re that cute, it’s kind of okay!

But there are other encounters that might be a little bit unsettling if you’re not prepared.

I remember the time I arrived in the middle of the night. I parked my rental car on the left side of the road, next to the jungle. I got out (from the driver seat, so, on the left) and before I could close the door, I heard a loud noise that sounded a bit like a car door slamming shut, maybe 2 or 3 meters behind me…on the ground.

I froze for a second, but I was tired and more concerned about how to get into my Airbnb at 2 AM than I was about some random noise, so I didn’t think too much about it.

Got my backpack out of the car and then closed the car door, and when I did that, a similar noise from behind me came again, but louder, and much closer, followed by more noise, like something quite large moving away from me, fast.

Like I said, I was too tired to overthink it, and although there was jungle behind me, I was in a village, so I figured that the mysterious noises couldn’t have been anything I should worry about….right??! RIIIGHT??!

Wrong.

The next day I mentioned this to a couple of locals while getting my coffee, and later on, to my landlady, explaining where I was and how the noises sounded. They all said the same thing: it was a caiman.

A caiman. As in, the alligator type. Yup.

A couple of meters from my calves. At night. An alligator. Ya-hah.

In the case of the caiman, I was in his home, not him in mine. And who knows, maybe I woke him, and he was just annoyed, which I can relate… it’s late, you’re sleeping, and someone parks right outside your home at 2AM making a racket, it’s annoying, I get it.

So yeah, the moral of the story is, stay aways from jungle bits at night. Even if it’s the part of jungle that “technically” is in the village. Jungle is jungle.

But when it comes to home visitors, while in Costa Rica, I met many cute geckos and lizards that came to spend time in my apartment, especially at night, and I enjoyed their company and curiosity.

The lizards seemed to come in from under the front door. It was a ground floor apartment and there was a couple of inches gap under the door… that’s plenty of space for lizards, as well as leaves, and sand, and dirt, that covered my kitchen tiles every morning when I woke up. Heh… the beach life!

The geckos, instead, I never figured out where they came from.

They seemed to just appeared on the walls or ceiling, like they just materialized out of nowhere… I loved them though! They’re so cute… although a bit loud when they sing to each other at night!

But one night…

…I came home after having a great day of surfing, swimming, and dinner on the beach with a couple of people I just met, and when I opened the front door and switched on the light, on the floor of the kitchen there was something a bit different… A brown snake around 3 feet long, was slithering on the tiles heading for the living room.

I didn’t know what type of snake it was so I decided not to risk a poisonous bite, and instead I called up the property guardian who handled the situation.

Snakes don’t usually venture into homes, but it had been an insanely hot day and the evening didn’t bring any relief, so maybe this dude came in to cool down, I don’t know. I don’t know enough about snakes to tell you why it was there.

What I can tell you, is that there’s an easy way to avoid running into this kind of surprises. Just place a towel, preferably a wet one, along the length of the front door on the inside when you’re home, and on the outside when you leave. That’s all. Simple and effective.

Other creatures that you might find in your hotel room, or apartment, are the infamous cockroaches, which in Costa Rica are the size of a mouse.

That’s right!

They come in from shower and sink drains, so if you’re not a fan of these “little guys” – and why-oh-why would you be?!? – an easy way to keep them away from your home, is to simply place a large coffee cup or a ceramic bowl upside down on top of the drains, making sure that the whole drain is covered.

Just remember to run the water for a minute before removing the mug or bowl, so that, if any of them are waiting under there, the water will make them crawl back into the plumbing, which I guess is where they live…right? (Or maybe they don’t live down there, maybe they have nice houses somewhere else, I don’t know, but the drains is where they come into the house, and that’s all I needed to know…)

And no, a plate won’t do, they’ll slide under it and come in, undisturbed. Beliiiieeve me!

The bottom line is, Costa Rica is a tropical country, mostly jungle, and these creatures are in their home even when they are in your home. Don’t freak out, they’re just curious, or looking for shade, or food.

They’re not hunting you down…

The best approach when you meet them outdoors is to leave them alone and admire them from a safe distance for them and for yourself.

And if you want to avoid unexpected home encounters, just place those bowls over the drains, and the towel under the front door, and avoid leaving open suitcases and shoes on the floor.

But, if some creatures still find their way into your place, don’t freak out, for your and their sake… handle the situation with care. And above all, handle THEM with care…and kindness.

Maybe they’re just in your home because they like you, and they want to say “Hola mae, pura vida!”

Weiss Cooper

...little brown snake who came to my door,
only you know...
...what you were looking for...