Traveling in Costa Rica: Crime and Safety
I think we all feel that this Serendipity adventure was one of the very best (if not the best) vacations we've ever had!
Everything from the culture, geography, history of Costa Rica, to the flora and fauna, biology and ecology. Our Serendipity leader, Eduardo, immediately assessed our interests and was quick to find so many great things for us to do. He offered us bungee jumping-which was a huge hit with the 2 " boys", and we saw what it means to be on a trip that was customized and special. He encouraged all of us to try new things( like canyoning, rappelling, swimming in waterfall pools, etc) and never pushed us beyond our limits. In fact he was exquisitely tuned into everyone's special interests and capacities and made us feel great. His special gift is his openness and his sense of humor, yet still with a steady competent sense of responsibility. He made the trip just great for all of us( we wanted to take him home with us!)
4) The food was one of the high lights- because every region and restaurant had a specialty- and Eduardo could explain the dishes and use the food as another cultural experience.
If vacations are meant to get away from the "rat race" -this was a success-and if they are meant to create life long memories-it worked! Thanks! — Nancy S., Potomac, MD, August, 2006
Crime
Yes, we have lots of "petty" theft -- things stolen from parked cars, things stolen by pickpockets in markets. That's the bad news. The good news, however, is we have almost no violent crime in Costa Rica (except related to drug trafficking, but even this is still less frequent, and less violent, than in Detroit or Dallas or San Francisco, so please get it into perspective). When you hear about crime in Costa Rica in America's press, stop for a minute to remember that the rarity of the act is exactly what makes it newsworthy to the American public. Another piece of good news: Costa Rica really doesn't suffer from the vandalism we see in American cities -- no profane graffiti, no smashed out windows of abandoned buildings, no spray-painted monuments.
Safety
How safe are you in your car, or hotel, or bar or restaurant? Using the same standards for selecting where you'd drive, eat, drink, or sleep in Costa Rica as at home will assure the same level of safety you'd have in the USA, if not better. Without our expertise, there's a higher chance of you making errors about hotel selection, etc. because you aren't familiar with the "territory" (some really beautiful web site hotels are, in fact, in the middle of high crime or red light districts where "getting rolled" is pretty common...) but since we live here, we really know which areas to avoid. Serendipity Adventures chooses hotels and activites in areas with low population density, which tends to avoid the areas where you are more likely to encounter violent crime.
