Costa Rica: The Best & Worst of Visiting Costa Rica

hola fellow travelers mark here with walters world and we're in santa domingo costa rica right outside the capital san jose and today what we have for you are five things you're gonna love and maybe not like so much i hate about visiting costa rica and i'll be honest we've had a fantastic time here the people are wonderful the food was great all kinds of good stuff but even places like we love like costa rica there's things we don't like and especially when we've talked to a lot of tourists we've come up with the five hates and the five loves so let's get started the first thing you're not going to like about when you come to costa rica is the driving and the roads the thing is when you come to costa rica you're going to want to explore this country is beautiful with the flora and the fauna and the beaches and the volcanoes and the zip lining all this great stuff but you got to get all those places and the roads can be quite bumpy now they're not as bad as the internet makes them sound they've done a really great job of improving the road system here and fixing the roads and making them better just know though if you get off the beaten path you will have bumpy roads out there and for us it wasn't so much a really bad bumpiness it was more the curving of the road there's a lot of bends and curves and stuff like that and if you've got little ones or if even if you're a big one that does upset a lot of people's stomachs and so you could get a little nausea i mean we call it vomit inducing curves when you're driving around here so just be ready for that also with the drive which will drive you craziest the the ticos the costa ricans they drive crazy well i say half of them drive crazy and have them drive slowly and this can you know kind of make sure for some frustration when you are driving so just be prepared for people to pass you in a no passing zone when there's trucks coming okay so you might want to get over you really want to pay attention that's why we really recommend getting the gps when you're here to help you find those other back roads out there now if you've got some not very sturdy vehicle you might not want to take them but just be careful for that also with the roads the speed bumps here they call them los muertos the dead okay because you hit it and you're like one it's like a dead body there but also you think you're gonna die if you hit it too fast because it's like axel breaking tall and back breaking too if you hit it too fast so be careful with that and then there's the people walking on the side of the road and all kinds of things and signage oh man signage here is not very good and you'll see when you ask directions for people they'll tell you oh go 80 meters from the the catholic church and then go by past the factory and take a a west you're like what and that's the thing is addresses and directions here are kind of interesting so just be prepared for that because just because you have the address doesn't mean people know where it is they will give you directions via major sites okay so always know where the the catholic church is so that's the really the only big thing you're not gonna like about costa rica are the roads and the driving and it's actually not that bad nowhere near as bad as it sounds like when you go online the huge potholes that eat your car and missing manhole covers and stuff man that stuff's that's overblown way out of proportion okay but just be prepared for a little bumping and a little nausea anything like this but you'll be fine so i felt it was best to talk about the five things i love about costa rica and have it rain on my parade hey the rain can't even stop me from loving costa rica even it is the dry season it's raining on me hey i'm in a tropical rain forest of course it's going to rain and so what are the five things you're going to love about coming to costa rica the first thing you're going to love and you'll see it written all over the country pura vida the pure life this nature the just naturalness of this country is just amazing whether it is coming here to arnold and hiking up the volcano or hiking in the the hanging bridges you know 50 meters above the you know the streams going down the things or or going ziplining or going surfing or being on the beach and just enjoying nature here it is such a pure life here it is just fantastic and that's one of the things when you come here you really get to relax you really get to kick back and enjoy being and enjoying this country because it is awesome okay so that's the first thing you love is all the nature and natural beauty that it is here because it really does like make you feel better inside i'm not kidding this is one of one of our most relaxing trips we've ever done it has just been amazing and the second thing you're going to love about coming here are the ticos the costa ricans they are so laid back and they're so friendly and they're so helpful it's actually the pura vida and the ticos are like number one one because the people here are phenomenal a lot of they've really done a lot of stuff for tourism here so a lot of people do speak english so even if you don't speak spanish you people will still talk to you and they do speak a lot of english in the tourism industry of course and the people are just so nice and so welcoming they'll give you advice on what to eat what to see what to do how much salsa lizano you should put on your food there you know and when you how do you make the really best gaiu pinto everybody i've met the gaiu pinto is the breakfast rice and beans mixed together yes i know i said the rice and beans you might get tired of all the rice and beans but you will love the rice and beans and that everyone has their own special recipe to how to make that perfect breakfast rice and beans mix and it's just it's just phenomenal how friendly and how wonderful the people are here and that's one of the things we want to bring you back that pura vida and the people are the two greatest things about this country and that's really why you should come so that's the second thing are the teachers the people that are here are just so fantastic now the second thing you might not like about coming to costa rica is i would call it the resortification of costa rica there are tons of resorts here for a great reason there's fantastic beaches there's fantastic wildlife there's a rainforest all kinds of stuff but this resortification really makes it so sometimes it's hard to really get to know the teco culture the costa rican culture because you're kind of separated from the real world and your resorts and that is one of those things the people are really friendly and they try to bring you in but you feel like you're missing something when you're in these resorts now there are a lot of b and b's out there you can get and that makes life a little bit easier to get in contact with the people but just know the resorts yes they do kind of take you away from the the real tico culture and what's really bad about the resortification is the resorts do have the restaurants and a lot of time the resorts are kind of farther out of town and therefore you're eating there and the restaurant prices at the resorts are significantly higher than eating at a soda which is like a local mom-and-pop restaurant in a normal costa rican town okay so that resortification of you're not really getting into the tico culture very much and the prices that go along with those resorts because a lot of people don't realize this look costa rica is not a cheap vacation yes you can do it on the cheap with bed and breakfast and if you rent a surfboard and stuff like that but if you're gonna do zip lining well look look 50 to 70 to do ziplining or hanging bridges and that's per person and you know it adds up after a while so that resortification kind of priciness that comes with some of the things in costa rica it's not as cheap as you think it's going to be the third thing you're going to like about coming here is you're a tourist and this country has really done a great job to develop their tourism infrastructure to help all tourists come here whether you are a surfer dude who wants to go out and hit the waves or you're a nature lover that wants to see spider monkeys or your family wants to get back kick back and take a boat tour and see monkeys i mean it is just a wonderful thing they've done such a great job with resorts hotels the roads are getting better don't worry they're getting better english spoken all over the place and what's great coming to central america sometimes you're worried about safety you don't really have to worry about that in costa rica it is very very safe here but i mean take precautions don't leave stuff in your car don't have lots of you know bling on and stuff like that but honestly this infrastructure they've developed here is fantastic if you don't want to drive well there's turismo buses that will take you places you can hire drivers guys all kinds of things anywhere around the country you want to learn how to surf look i learned how to surf fat mark learned how to surf they have all this stuff set up to help tourists from all over the world and that is one of the things you're going to love is that great tourism infrastructure that is here now the third thing you might not like about coming to costa rica is if you're expecting to see you know oh we're going to see the plaza de armas the square the museum and the kabila the town hall that's not what costa rica tourism is costa rica tourism is ecotourism i.e you're going to go see macaws and spider monkeys and howler monkeys and see the flora out here the birds of paradise the orchids the rain forest it is very much an outdoor kind of thing and also with that it's adventure tourism yes you are zip lining through heck my nine-year-old went and did and he loved it yes you're gonna learn how to surf my chubby butt i learned how to surf here it was awesome but the thing is this is eco tourism and adventure tourism therefore in terms of accessibility it's not always accessible to do all the things you want to do if you are coming here so if you do have issues i would really recommend is make sure you check out everything beforehand to make sure you can you know do a hanging bridges tour or something like that because it really is adventure or ecotourism this is not your museums and restaurant vacation that's europe go to europe for that okay this place is for relaxation kicking back enjoying nature and have a little adventure on the side so the fourth thing you might not like about coming to costa rica is the seasonality and the seasonality can go into a lot of things one yes there's the dry season and the rainy season now the thing is the dry season is a misnomer you're in a tropical region okay you're gonna go to the tropical rain forest by arenal and monteverde it's monte verde it's green is in the name and for all that greenness it has to rain so even though it says it's dry season you're still going to have rain out there so make sure you do bring a poncho now if you're going to like guanacaste or you're going to be on the coast most likely you're not gonna have to worry about rain too much but just know just because it's called the dry season doesn't mean it doesn't rain because we are in a tropical climate with tropical rainforest it takes rain to make this look so beautiful okay also that seasonality it's also how the tourism goes here so high season for tourism is december through april okay then april through july is like shoulder season the rain starts to come in july august rains there september dude don't even bother it's so rainy here you're not gonna get a lot of enjoyment out of it if you talk to the guides here they'll even tell you look september i'm not working okay i got to find another job because there's nobody here because of the rain october the rain's still there the rain kind of dies off towards the end of november and then december the tourists flood in so it's a flood of water and then a flood of tourists okay and if you're going to be coming here and you want to come here around christmas new year's time that is the peak of the peak season so if you need a book accommodation you need a book at five or six months in advance because literally everything sells out during that christmas week okay so make sure you're prepared for that and that leads into the four things you may think wow with all this tour of infrastructure and resorts isn't it going to be expensive going there no costa rica is a very affordable destination it is you know we think about it's safe good infrastructure and it's affordable people are nice and i love rice and beans this place is great that affordable side of it what you need to do is if you're renting your own car and you're staying in bed and breakfast and you arrange your own stuff it can be a very cheap place to go and if you're going to go eat make sure you eat at the sodas like soda literally it's called sodas those are like the mom and pop restaurants they make stuff you can eat very cheap there and eat very well where you could spend money that's when you go on a lot of these side trips whether you're going to hanging gardens or you're going to stay at a resort prices do go a lot higher when you do stay at resorts the the prices for food are significantly more than if you're in town so try to eat in town some more so you can get some more of that soda food so you can have your quesada the rice and beans and meat and the fish here is phenomenal when you're here oh it is so good you're gonna love the fish and the the freshness of all these kind of things it is fantastic now the fifth thing you might not like about coming to costa rica is rice and beans beans and rice rice and beans yes rice and beans three times a day three meals a day you're going to eat rice and beans look i love it it reminds me my time in brazil and the right the the casada which is rice and beans and some meat and salad that's a lunchtime staple in costa rica or at dinner time and then for breakfast you have guyo pinto which is rice and beans mixed together this time with maybe some eggs and some of course you have to have the salsa lizano it's like this brown sauce they put on stuff you have to have it and you it's really tasty but that's the one thing i've heard the most tourists complain about during their time here is why do they eat rice and beans so much three meals a day of rice and beans look you don't have to eat rice and means every meal fresh fish fresh fruit here out the wazoo you will love it you will eat so well here you'll be fine but yes there is a lot of rice and beans actually the rice and beans aren't so bad they do fill you up and i did actually bust a button in my jack and my shirt because it was so much food here it is fantastic and the fifth thing you're going to love about coming here is the ecotourism and the adventure tourism they do have here the flora and fauna that's here you see the birds of paradise the the beautiful flowering plants that are here and you see the fauna you see the wildlife you see you know spider monkeys and codies i didn't know these things existed you'll see animals you never knew about yes you can see the frogs at night and you you can go see bird watching and things like that you can go kayaking you can go ziplining you can go in the hanging gardens you can i mean there's all kinds of great stuff you can do whether you want to get back to nature or if you want to be an adventure traveler there's all kinds of stuff and that whole eco-tourism stuff and and purified and all these things is reflected in a lot of the life here because the fresh food that's here the fish you're going to need to fish when you're here it is phenomenal they got two coasts and fish is coming from all over the place and it's great i know we joke about the rice and beans a lot but you'll like the rice and beans and the fruit here the fruit here i mean pineapple we have in the us is from costa rica a lot of it you have that but the thing is it's picked here and then it ripens on the way to your store here it's picked fresh and the pineapple the mango the papaya it is so good so i guess that's the sixth thing you're gonna love about coming here is the fresh food the fresh fish the fresh fruit all those kind of things the frutarias go get the fruit have them make you a drink there but fresco it is just phenomenal and so i mean i get really excited about coming to costa rica because we really have had such a fantastic time i know my my hates were kind of lame in a way but you know this place is just really great i really highly recommend it whether you're a family going or your adventure or going or you're a hardcore backpacker it's a great place to go anyway if you want to learn more about costa rica 10 things that might shock you about coming to costa rica maybe you want to learn more about the money things you should know before you go to costa rica check us out on our website at waltersworld.com we're also on twitter facebook instagram all those kind of places and we really appreciate your likes and subscriptions and i want to get a little more soaking wet here in the dry season here in arnold i mean it's a tropical rainforest so just know you're going to get wet bring that poncho okay so i'll say adios from montana in costa rica adios

Channel: Wolters World

Views: 133,670

Keywords: travel, europe, wolters world, travel advice, tourist attractions, travel vlogger, honest travel, Walters World

Id: KHNDl8wbr1k

Length: 14min 27sec (867 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 21 2020