Costa rica

comment by Anonymous, 2009-07-04 08:25:07

Air jordan shoes
Thanks for your useful info, I think it’s a good topic. So would you like the info about the Air jordan shoes
Christian Louboutin
Bose headphones
jordan shoes
Tiffany Jewelry
wholesale electronics

comment by Anonymous, 2009-06-17 20:20:09

@ Anna about Samara and travel advice
Anna -

I went in December '08 with my younger brother for two weeks and we went all over the country. I am fluent in Spanish (I lived in Costa Rica for more than a year and a half) and I hope you are as well because it will make the trip much easier for you.

We stayed in Samara for a few days and I would say that Samara is a good place to learn how to surf. There is a reef out a ways at the entrance of the bay that keeps the waves on the smaller side. Almost all beaches in Costa Rica have no life guards so you need to be smart about things when you are out in the water. Rip currents (resaca) were not bad when we were in Samara (in fact a current was hardly noticeable), but be sure you study up on how to notice a rip if you are just learning. Board rentals run about $20 a day (which kinda sucks because you can rent them in Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu for $10), and there are lessons available in Samara. Samara is very out of the way though and they don't have a grocery store (closest one is in Nicoya) so you will have to buy food at either a soda (mom & pop restaurants they have all over the country) or a pulperia/abastecedor (convenience store).

This is a great site to know when the peak times of the year are for different regions of the country http://www.surf-costarica.com/surfing-best-time-of-year.shtml

Since I am in college we took a tent to save money and there are many places around where people will allow you to camp on their property so you have access to running water, shower, toilet, etc. If you are looking at saving money I would recommend this as the hosts will often offer you food for purchase. In Samara the place you can camp is called Bar Aloha which is about 25m N of the Banco Nacional (ask the police at the station right next to the beach at the end of the road into town for directions if you need help)

We brought a tent with us, but I think that if anyone wanted to do any kind of tent camping you could go to a HiperMas and get a tent. HiperMas is actually owned by Wal-Mart and you can get all sorts of things there. We even found a certain type of gas cartridge for the stove that we took.

Don't count on hotels like you would see in the US to be all over the country. They are mainly in the capital and tourist areas on the pacific coast such as Tamarindo and Jaco.

If you plan on renting a car take a taxi to the rental agency as there is an outrageous fee they charge for the pick-up at the airport, and do not take any of the drivers up on offers to rent you a car (we had a guy do this and offered $350 for a 4Runner but we ended up screwing up the rental on the last day of the trip near the Nauyaca waterfalls - Joe Taxi driver isn't going to go out to help you in a tow truck so stick with the agencies).

I will warn you right now that driving in Costa Rica is a very irritating activity. The roads are not large enough to handle the amount of traffic there is in the capital and country roads can get bogged down by small farming trucks. Potholes are all over the place and tend to be worse on the Caribbean side of the country - though the roads in Guanacaste are better than any of the other roads in the country.

Ticos (Costa Ricans) are wonderful people. They generally like Americans and are friendly and hospitable. It is the safest Central American country, but I don't know if I would travel by myself if I were a female. You may have experience traveling already so regardless I hope you have a great trip.

This response is already a freaking novel so feel free to contact me if you have any other questions and anyone else who has questions about traveling to wonderful Costa Rica. My email is mvhs_dynasty@yahoo.com

Good luck and have an awesome trip!

chau

comment by Crazytubes00 , 2009-06-04 12:00:44

Costa Rica nov- jan
Finally after 5 years of wanting to go i will have a 70 day trip in CR from mid nov to late Jan. im a kiwi now living in west australia .Areas i want to surf are Mal Pais, matapalo, puerto viejo, jaco dominical, pavones and bocas del toro panama for ten days. Will be travelling on the lonesome and really just wanting any advice/ tips possible. have i covered the country and spots well? is it easy to travel by bus with a surf board? can i buy a decent board in mal pais as this will be my first spot. Any one wanna join the experience?? email me at o_hara_steven@hotmail.com, peace stevo