Tips for traveling to Costa Rica

The Tips for traveling to Costa Rica they are more necessary than ever due to the tourist boom that the Central American country is experiencing. Every year it receives more visitors for its natural wonders, its pleasant climate, its dream beaches and its welcoming population.

As for the former, it has some thirty national parks of all types and sizes. As examples, we will mention the Arenal volcano, the Ballena sea or the Coco Island. On the other hand, the climatology is tropical, with similar temperatures throughout the year, although also with a prolonged rainy season. And, regarding its inhabitants, its slogan has become famous "pure Life" as a sign of his vital optimism. For all these reasons, we think it is necessary to give you some tips for traveling to Costa Rica.

Sanitary measures

There is no compulsory vaccination to enter Costa Rica. However, the Ministry of Health recommends some. Specifically, vaccines hepatitis A and B, the tetanus and diphtheria and the typhoid fever. As for COVID-19, it is not mandatory, but we advise you to get vaccinated if you have not done so, otherwise they will require a health insurance to enter the country and, in addition, they can ask you for the vaccination certificate to access many places.

In any case, regardless of the pandemic, it is also advisable to take out health insurance, since Costa Rica and Spain they do not have health agreements. Therefore, in case of illness, you would have to pay the costs of assistance.

On the other hand, except in less developed rural areas, Is the water drinkable in the Central American country. For example, in the Tortuguero part, you should not take it. In any case, to avoid problems, we advise you to always drink bottled water.

You also need to have a good mosquito repellent. In Costa Rica there are many and some are disease transmitters. Also, try to wear long sleeves at night.

Baggage and documentation to enter the country

As for the first, it is a general rule that you keep your documents and money well kept so that they cannot be stolen. In any case, always carry a photocopy of your passport to show it in case of loss or theft.

It is also convenient for you to carry some warm clothes. Although the weather is good, it changes from one area to another in Costa Rica. On the beaches it can be thirty degrees Celsius, but in the interior areas you can find yourself at half the temperature. As for footwear, take two types: flip-flops for the beach and comfortable ones for hiking and mountain trails.

Also, include in your luggage a power adapter. In the Central American country, the plugs are type A/B, while in Europe they are C. Therefore, you will need it to charge your electronic devices.

On the other hand, to enter Costa Rica, you will need the passport and also the so-called health pass, which you can download from one of the country's government health portals (https://salud.go.cr/). Likewise, as we said, if you are not vaccinated, you will have to take out medical insurance. This is also mandatory for those under 18, even though they are.

Best time to travel to Costa Rica and safety

From everything we have previously explained to you about the climate, you will have deduced that the best time to visit a Central American country is the dry season. He from November to April. But you should know that, if you travel in the rainy season, water will not be falling all day, as it happens in other tropical areas. It is more likely to rain, but there will also be dry days. And also, being low season, prices are more affordable.

In terms of security, Costa Rica is fairly quiet. However, there are areas of large cities that can be dangerous at night. For example, some of San José or Puerto Limón. In any case, be careful.

On the other hand, the official currency is the colon and we advise you to get hold of it before you travel. Thus, you will avoid having to look for exchange houses in Costa Rica. Also, keep in mind that most credit cards charge large fees when you use them abroad.

However, some banks offer travel cards that they don't have them. Likewise, also the dollar and even the euro are accepted. But, in case you pay with any of these, the account will be somewhat more expensive.

Finally, regarding your safety, we want to tell you that you have watch out for the roads. Traffic in the Central American country is chaotic and it is not uncommon to witness incorrect turns or overtaking. Therefore, if you want to rent a car, be careful. In this sense, we recommend that you do it to have more freedom of movement. And also that you opt for a 4 x 4 type with comprehensive insurance to be able to get anywhere.

Tips for traveling to Costa Rica about food

The first recommendation that we must give you about the food of the Central American country is that, if you want to eat well for little money, look for establishments known as sodas. They are small local restaurants with typical and tasty dishes and cheap prices.

As for the gastronomy, that of Costa Rica is delicious. It is the result of the synthesis of the native, Mediterranean cuisine and some African elements. But the best thing is that we show you some of their typical dishes tastiest and that, of course, we recommend you try. Our tips for traveling to Costa Rica would be incomplete if we didn't tell you about its gastronomy.

This is the case rooster chick, so popular that it is eaten at any time of the day, although it is usually made for breakfast. Despite its name, it does not carry chicken or hen. It is a mixture of rice, beans, onion, sweet chili and cilantro that is eaten alone or as a garnish for other dishes. Without a doubt, it is the most typical recipe of this Latin American country.

But he is also famous married, much more forceful than the previous one. In fact, we could tell you that it is a complete meal. It is based on some type of meat such as pork or beef, but it can also be replaced with fish and even with eggplant or soy. In addition, it includes seasoned rice or pasta, egg and vegetable products.

As you will see, rice It is the staple of Tico cuisine. It is also used for many other dishes such as rice with hearts of palm, which combines it with the bud or heart of the pejibaye, a type of palm tree. But the salads, the mincemeats and the stuffed loin are also very typical.

In turn, the chifrijo It consists of pork rinds, rice, beans, avocado and fried corn tortillas, all seasoned with a chimichurri-type sauce. And the creole stew It has meat, sausages, vegetables, chickpeas, hard-boiled eggs, olives, plums or raisins, onion and sweet chili.

As for the soups, we recommend the tripe or meatballs and, regarding the TamalesThe ones filled with green plantain dough or those made with cassava dough are delicious. Regarding the latter, they are also very popular yoked, some croquettes made with it that also have cheese, meat or chicken.

Some unavoidable visits in Costa Rica

To finish our tips for traveling to Costa Rica, we will briefly talk about some places that are a must. To do this, we will start with the capital and then point them out in the rest of the country.

San Jose

Founded in 1738, the country's capital was articulated around the culture Square, where you can see the National Theatre, a replica of the Opera Paris, as well as the Gold Museum. But the most outstanding from the monumental point of view of San José are its neoclassical style buildings, many of which make up the Amon neighborhood, together with others eclectic of the early twentieth century. Among the latter, the Castle of the Moor, the imposing Post and Telegraph building (also neoclassicist) or the one at the movie center.

For its part, the neoclassical also includes the National Theatre and Metropolitan Cathedral, built at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. Next to it, you can visit other beautiful temples such as the Churches of Our Lady of La Merced and La Soledad.

Tips for traveling to Costa Rica: National Parks

As for the rest of the Central American country, you can visit beautiful cities like Carthage, one of the oldest; Puerto Limón, perhaps its most important port; Monteverde, perfect for ecotourism; Alajuela, around the Central Cordillera, or Puntarenas, on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

But the great tourist attraction of Costa Rica is his, her nature. As we have already told you, it has thirty national parks. Among them, it is essential to mention Corcovado's. Although its location is quite remote, since it is on the Osa Peninsula, we recommend you visit it because it houses the world's only primary tropical rain forest.

Also spectacular is Ballena Marine National Park. As its name suggests, you can spot large mammals such as the humpback whale or the spotted and bottlenose dolphins, as well as scuba diving.

Very different character has the Rincon de la Vieja National Park, which owes its name to the homonymous volcano whose summit you can reach on foot and from which you have impressive views of the Nicoya Peninsula and Lake Nicaragua.

In short, we could recommend many other parks like the Tortuguero, where you can see the nesting of sea turtles, the of the Arenal Volcano, Chin or of friendship, in the Talamanca mountain range.

In conclusion, we have provided you with some Tips for traveling to Costa Rica. But we also wanted to show you some of the places you should visit in this Central American country, one of the most beautiful in the world and whose people are famous for being lively and welcoming.