About Costa Rica
Exploring San Gerardo de Dota: A Hidden Gem in Costa Rica
If you’re seeking an off-the-beaten-path adventure in Costa Rica, look no further than San Gerardo de Dota. Nestled in the heart of the Talamanca Mountains, this secluded gem offers a unique blend of natural beauty and outdoor activities that will leave you in awe. Holden, one of Serendipity’s local travel specialists, has a passion for […]
Best Time to Visit Costa Rica
Travelers can visit Costa Rica year-round, but the majority of the country experiences its best months between December and April. The weather is warm with low humidity, so there’s little discomfort from the hot days. The rainy season from June through September requires travelers to be more flexible with their plans and bring along light […]
Selecting Your Costa Rica Tour Company
Regardless of who you use for booking your independent travel, evaluate the tradeoffs of price versus service and security. Here are a few tips for the independent traveler in Costa Rica: How much do you know about your travel organizer? How long has it been in business? Do they provide you articles or ratings in […]
COSTA RICA MAP
Don’t be deceived by its small size; Costa Rica’s mountainous terrain means the shortest distance between two points is never a straight line. Earthquakes and torrential rainfall mean many roads are in poor condition. A limited national budget means that road signs and lane markings leave tourists in the dark about where the road goes […]
Weather and Climate in Costa Rica
Even though Costa Rica is only 8 degrees above the equator, Costa Rica is much more “temperate” than most North American locations. Costa Rica is cooled by two oceans and, no matter where you are in in the country, you are always within 70 miles of a coast. A typical day starts out about 65 […]
Inoculations
Diseases, Medicines, and Inoculations for Travel in Costa Rica Mosquito-borne illnesses Costa Rica had been relatively free of dangerous parasite diseases (malaria, dengue, yellow fever, typhoid) for a long time. In 1996, dengue and malaria reappeared in the two port cities (Puntarenas and Limon), and are pretty much contained to those areas. There have been […]
Driving in Costa Rica
The roads in Costa Rica are different from those you will find in the U.S., Canada, or Europe. The roads can be narrow, winding, and with little or no markings. Fog and heavy rain can greatly reduce visibility and the rules of the road are confusing, to say the least. By far the most dangerous […]
Safety and Crime in Costa Rica
Traveling in Costa Rica: Crime and Safety Crime Yes, like many countries around the world, 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 very little violent crime in Costa Rica (except related to drug […]
CURRENCY EXCHANGE
Costa Rican Currency, Exchange Rates, Travelers Checks, and Credit Cards Costa Rican Currency, Exchange Rates, and Travelers Checks Bring only U.S. dollars in cash which can be exchanged widely. Currency from other countries can only be exchanged at the central bank in San José, and this is a long process (up to half a day!). […]
Tourist Visas
Travel Documents Required for Entry into Costa Rica U.S., Canadian, and most European citizens do not need a visa or any pre-entry permission to enter Costa Rica, as long as they have a current valid passport. With a passport, visitors can stay for up to 90 days, and during these three months, your driver’s license […]
Airport Customs
Arrival to Costa Rica: Customs Service & What to Declare On arrival to Costa Rica, you will go through immigration, collect your bags, and then must pass through customs before you exit the terminal. The airlines will hand out customs forms on the airplane. The form asks you to declare everything you are bringing into […]
Costa Rica’s Time Zone
What is Costa Rica’s Time Zone? The current time in Costa Rica is : Daylight in Costa Rica varies by only half an hour between seasons, so Costa Rica does not observe daylight savings time. All of Costa Rica is in the GMT-6 zone, which corresponds to U.S. Central Time during winter months, and U.S. […]
Phones & Internet
Making Calls from Costa Rica Costa Rica’s rural phone system is quite good by neighboring country standards, but that means that even small towns have a phone. One payphone. Which is shared by all the people who live in the town. Prepaid sim cards are nowadays readily available at many utility stores and almost all […]
Water & Electricity
Traveling in Costa Rica: Water and Electricity Drinking Water Parasitic infections are rare in Costa Rica, and the drinking water quality in Costa Rica is excellent. Should you want it, bottled water is readily available and we keep containers in the vehicle with us. In all the areas we travel to, it is completely safe […]
Access for travelers with disabilities
Officially, and legally, Costa Rica has access for travelers with disabilities and access for Seeing Eye dogs, but, in reality, this vertical country does not really have adequate “U.S. style” access everywhere. However, everyone is most willing to help whenever there is anyone wishing to enter a building or on a pathway in a wheelchair […]
Hot Springs
Costa Rica hot springs Tabacón Hot Springs and Arenal Volcano The Tabacón River originates in Arenal volcano, coming to the surface with bubbling clear water in several places. A dozen commercial pools use the thermal waters to provide entertainment for tourists. The most famous of these is the Tabacón Resort, but there are other smaller […]
Volcanoes
Costa Rica volcanoes – visiting Arenal volcano Volcanoes – nature’s safety valve Arenal is the newest in the chain of active volcanoes forming the main spine of Costa Rica. Arenal was constructed by successive eruptions of the older Chato volcano, which now has a beautiful lake filling its calderas (the cone at the top of […]
Rainforest & Cloud Forest
Costa Rica rainforest – what’s the significance of “primary”? There are major differences between a rainforest, a cloud forest, a primary rainforest, and a secondary rainforest. Most of the thousands of rainforests in Costa Rica are secondary — younger trees, dense undergrowth, and newer vegetation (average tree age of about 40 years). Secondary rainforests grow […]
Snakes
Yes, we have snakes, lots of them, and some that are extraordinarily beautiful. The most dangerous is the bushmaster, which is very common in sugar cane fields. Fatalities from a snake bite for anyone in Costa Rica are extremely uncommon. Locals and tourists killed in car accidents are a lot more common! The most dangerous […]