Getting Around In Costa Rica

I thought I would write this article to help those visiting Costa Rica make informed decisions and be safe in their travels. There are many different ways of getting around in Costa Rica some of them include: walking, taxis and buses.

The first thing you should know if youre going to be walking is the pedestrian does not have the right of way, you should always use cross walks. If you are going to walking during the rainy season it is a good idea to take an umbrella with you, because must afternoons it will rain and there is very little warning before it starts, better to be prepared than wet other than that it is a great way to enjoy the nice Tropical weather.

Now lets talk about taxis my favorite mode of transportation (kidding of course), there are plenty of them around and there easy to spot because they are Red with a yellow triangle or a company signs on the door. Taxis are the most expensive option I will talk about today. When you get into the car ask the driver to reset the meter it should start out at around 500 colones, which is about a dollar. It is better if you pay for your trip in the local currency, which is called colones, this way you will not have to worry if the exchange rate is correct. Most of the drivers will not speak English, but will know some words. If youre going to a public place, just tell the driver the name and what part of the city it is in; if youre going to a private residence or a hostel that is not known by the driver you will need the address. The addresses in Costa Rica are a lot different than in the States, because they use reference points the houses do not have numbers. Here is an example of an address (500 meters south of the Church, 150 meters west, White house on the left side) if you do not speak good Spanish this could be a problem to communicate to the driver.

A couple other things you should keep in mind is if you call a taxi from a hotel you can expect to pay a little more and if it is raining you will have a hard time finding one on the street, it is better to call and have them come and pick you up.

Then there are the Buses, there are two different kinds the big public ones or the smaller private ones, tour companies use these. The big buses are the most economical option with an average trip costing about 50 cents. They will always have signs in the window, telling you where they are going, if you are not sure you can always ask the driver and if youre not sure what stop to get off at just ask someone on the bus and they will tell you the people are very friendly and will be glad to help you. I once took one of these buses from San Jose to Jaco to save some money, it only cost a couple of dollars, but was crowded and very slow. The private buses are owned by a tour company or a private company and they seat about eight to ten people, if you have purchased a tour you will probley be met by one of these buses at the airport and your tour company will use these to transport you from location to location. The private buses operate between cities, this is a good way to travel for example you can go from San Jose to Jaco for around 40 dollars. The best part about taking one of these buses is you never know who youre going to meet I have met some very interesting people on my trips.