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How to travel in Costa Rica on a budget

As usual, when planning a trip, I go to various websites looking for clues, reviews, discounted accommodations, activities, and exchange rates. You may want to note that Costa Rica uses colones as a medium of exchange, but it also accepts US dollars in most places. Generally speaking, 1,000 colones equals two US dollars, so when calculating colones, simply move the decimal (to the left) three places and multiply it by two to get the US dollar equivalent.

So, with the help of my son Omar, who would also be accompanying me on this trip to Costa Rica, we began our investigation by checking Frommers.com, TripAdvisor.com, Hostels.com, GoVisitCostaRica.com, Google Maps and other websites to familiarize yourself with a little with that part of the world.

There were no flights available to the San Jose airport, so we decided to fly Delta to the Liberia airport (LIR). Liberia is located in the Guanacaste province, which is located in the northeastern part of Costa Rica. This is not a bad option for those who want to get to know the country in the most profitable way, which is by bus. We took a taxi from the airport and checked into the Hotel Boyeros in the center of Liberia. The taxi charge was $ 15.00 for me and my son. However, there is an even cheaper way to get to central Liberia. You can take a taxi to the main road for about $ 4.00 and take the local bus for just 50 cents. So we return to the airport on the day of our departure.

Los Boyeros was a nice hotel with a 24-hour restaurant and two swimming pools (one for adults and one for children with a small waterfall). They also had double beds, cable TV, and hot water. The staff don’t speak much English, so brush up on your Spanish before your trip. Many small hotels and hostels do not have hot water, so always check your room and turn on the water before payment is made, especially if you are traveling without making advance reservations like we did. They are also conveniently located on the bus line and around the corner from the bus station.

The cost of the room was $ 60.00 per night, which was well over our hotel’s budget of $ 40.00 per night, but the hot water and nice pool were a good trade-off. We spent the day in the pool, adjusting and planning our next move. We didn’t eat at his restaurant but instead walked across the street to a mall that was home to Burger King and a few other fast food restaurants. It was full of locals and some tourists. After eating, we stock up on water and head back to the hotel. My son Omar fell and I stayed awake and they treated me with a Pacquiao vs. Margarito fight on HBO. Pacquiao emerged victorious, but I still think Floyd Mayweather would win if they ever met.

We got up early around 4:30 am to make our six and a half hour trip to Manuel Antonio National Park, which was one of the places that was listed on many websites and was a must see. I paid $ 12.00 for us to go to Barranca, which was an hour and a half away. For $ 1.00, we take the local bus to the Puntarenas Bus Terminal. You need to buy a bus ticket at the booth around the corner from where the buses line up. The bus to Manuel Antonio cost $ 15.00 and it was another two hour trip. We really got to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the country while traveling down the road in this comfortable bus.

We arrived around 11:00 a.m. M. to Quepos and we decided to look for a hotel there instead of going to Manuel Antonio, which was only 30 minutes away. We walked about two blocks and found the Park Hotel or the Parque Hotel which was located on the second floor above the Drage pharmacy. It was very quaint with only cold water and no AC, but it had cable TV and a ceiling fan and it was only $ 20.00 for the room we selected with two single beds. We checked in and dropped our bags and ran back to the bus station to continue our journey to Manuel Antonio National Park. There is a $ 10.00 entrance fee for adults and it was free for my son who is 11 years old. You have to walk about a mile on a gravel and dirt road before reaching the beach. We didn’t see any wildlife on the trail as it was touted in their literature and on some websites. The hike was a bit strenuous in the heat and with our backpacks, but the beach was beautiful and the water was fine.

Actually, my recommendation would be to stop going through the National Park and instead just go to the other side of the road and enjoy the beach right there. There are noticeably more rocks and stones along the shoreline and you can’t help but walk on them as you enter the ocean, but the $ 10.00 National Park fee could be used for a meal or two. After a while, the clouds started to fall and it started to rain. My son was not discouraged and continued swimming. After his hands and feet looked like raisins, we headed back up the trail and decided to eat at Chicken on the Run, which is located on the main road and right across from the beach, before heading back to the hotel. We shared a whole roast chicken, rice and beans, plantains, and a two-liter bottle of soda, which cost about $ 16.00 for everything. However, keep in mind that the chicken and other animals you eat are likely raised on the same water that you are trying to avoid when you bought bottled water during your stay. Just as you experience sickness, cramps, and vomiting in Mexico and are warned “don’t drink the water,” the same warning should also apply when visiting Costa Rica.

We scheduled the Mangrove Safari Tour for the next day, then hopped on the local bus to Quepos for $ 1.00 and were safely in our room around 7:00 PM. After our cold showers, Omar watched the Disney Channel in Spanish, while I went to the Bogarts restaurant, just below and to the right, to use the Internet to plan our next moves. I checked the bus schedules at http://www.thebusschedule.com/ to make sure we are on schedule.

The next morning we got up early and left the hotel. We took our bags with us to the tour pick-up location in Manuel Antonio because we were going to take a bus to San José right after the safari. We could have been picked up from the hotel, but when I signed up for the tour the day before, I didn’t know the exact name or location of the hotel, so to avoid confusion I said that we would come to the ticket office location. . Little did I know that the mini tour bus would end up taking us back to Quepos to a restaurant less than half a block from the hotel for lunch, which was included in the $ 65.00 per head ticket price of the tour. The food was good and included rice and beans, salad, and a choice of fish or chicken. The tour drivers seemed confused and not very organized. They said it was a four hour tour, but it ended up being about 2 hours. We finally made it to Damas Island to board the boat about 2 hours after we were picked up. The river area was desolate to say the least.

We saw monkeys along the bush area near the pier. We also saw some birds in that immediate area, but further into the trip we saw less and less. No alligator as promised upon check-in. We saw a curled up snake that appeared to be sleeping on a tree branch. A woman on the tour, from San Francisco, CA, said that she had done the tour about 20 years ago and that the same area was full of colorful birds swooping down and flying in all directions. The tour guide, who appeared to be in his twenties, couldn’t offer a reason. My suggestion is to skip this tour or look for a company that offers it for about $ 40.00. That seems to be worth it. You can also travel to Damascus and you may be able to see the monkeys hanging around the dock area. If there is a next time, we would probably opt for a trip to a zoo or reserve like Africa Mia, which is located in the El Salto area of ​​Liberia. You can check their website to reserve space.

We quickly returned from the tour and around 5:00 pm we boarded the bus to San José. We arrived around 8:30 pm and we were lucky to receive help from two young ladies who were on the bus and who provided information about crime in the bus station area. They translated our selected hostel to the taxi driver, who spoke very little English.

We checked into Vesuvio for $ 40.00 for the night. It was a great place to stay with hot water, cable TV, air conditioning, and free breakfast. Eduardo and Mauricio spoke excellent English and were very informative and hospitable. You can contact Vesuvio by visiting their website at http://www.hotelvesuvio.com/.

After a quick breakfast of toast and fruit, we took a super quick 30 minute tour of the downtown district of San José. Our bus to Liberia left at 7:00 a.m. M. And it would arrive in Liberia around 11:00 a.m. M., Which gave us a three hour window before our flight back to the US We took advantage of the time by heading to the local grocery store to buy coffee as gifts. We boarded the local bus and got off at the airport entrance road, then took a taxi to the entrance area. Keep in mind that a departure tax is charged before you leave, so don’t spend every dollar you have in Costa Rica or you may have an extended stay. The rate is approximately $ 26.00 per person.

We arrived in Atlanta after four hours, we went through customs and baggage control and finally to our vehicle. My son and I had accomplished a lot in just four days and three nights. We spend less than $ 500.00 on ground transportation, food, hotels, gifts, and entertainment. When my son looked at me and said “thank you for taking me to Costa Rica”, simple words alone could not express my gratitude to the Creator. My feeling could justifiably be described as “Very, Very Good”!

Safe journey!

A. Omar Muhammad can be reached at [email protected]

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