The Insider's Guide to Budget Travel

Costa Rica is one of the world's most beautiful and interesting tourist destinations. But to get the most out of your Costa Rica experience, you will need to get off the "beaten track" and travel the highways, byways, and rocky roads of this mountainous country, the "Switzerland of Central America."

Should you rent a car? For budget travelers, the answer is NO, not if you want to avoid high rental and insurance costs (with deposits up to $1,500 for young drivers), poorly marked roads, the second highest per-capita accident rate on the planet, and the ultimate adventure: getting stranded in wilderness light years from a telephone or repair service.

But don't despair! You have clicked your way to Costa Rica's best kept secret: an extensive, inexpensive bus system that will take you to beaches, national parks, cities, small villages, and other Central American countries at minimal cost. Sit back, relax, and watch the passing panorama.

Author's Advisories

The 2008 editions of the Costa Rica by Bus e-book (Portable Data File), the multi-media Costa Rica by Bus e-book (DNL), and the paperback are now available. Click on the "Order Now" button above or below. Get the latest information on routes, schedules, and fares.

Also available is our new Costa Rica by Bus Multi-Media e-book with sounds, music, stunning graphics, page turning, internal and external links, printable posters, pop-up schedules, and maps, and even videos! To discover the future of e-books, click "Order Now" at the top or bottom of any page.

Shortly after finalization of our April revisions ARESEP, the CR government's regulatory body that oversees transportation, announced increases in bus fares for 732 routes. The increases are minor, ranging from 5 colones ($0.1) to 280 colones ($0.57). They will not have a significant effect on the cost of traveling by bus. For the latest fares, click on http://www.aresep.go.cr, Tarifas Vigentes, Transportes, and then Buses.

During the "High Season," some airlines prohibit or place high charges on excess baggage and up to $100 for surfboards. They also have size and weight restrictions. Ask when you book your flight.

On arrival at Juan Santamaría International Airport in Alajuela you can avoid pirates by buying a taxi ticket at the office on your left just before you exit the Arrivals area. For a bus, walk to the left and down the ramp to the parada (bus stop) on the highway; however if you have several bags, take a taxi to San José (about $20).

Tica Bus, which offers service between Costa Rica and other Central American countries, has moved to a new terminal on the west side of the city, 200 meters (two blocks) west and 200 meters north of the Scotiabank (formerly Mercedes) building on Avenida 3 between Calles 28 and 30.

Tracopa, which offers service to and from southern Costa Rica, has moved to a new terminal at A18-A20/C5-C7, 200 meters (two blocks) east and 200 meters south of Clínica Bíblica Hospital. Alfaro, which shared the terminal at A14/C5 with Tracopa, will remain at that location. Buses to Zapote have been moved to A6/C1-C3.

The schedule for buses to and from San Vito has changed again since the latest editions of our paperback and e-books. Tracopa buses now leave the new Tracopa terminal (see above) at 6:00 am, 8:00 am, 12:00 noon, and 4:00 pm. Buses return from San Vito to San José at 5:00 am, 7:00 am, 10:00 am, and 3:00 pm. Tel: (San José) 2-222-2666, (San Vito) 2-773-3410.

If you plan to visit Tamarindo, please take note of this new schedule: Take an Empresa Alfaro, Ltda buses, route 503, from their terminal at C14/A5, via Liberia at 9:00 am, and 3:30 pm; 5-1/2 hours, ˘2,915. Buses return at 5:30 pm. Tel: (San José) 2-222-2666, (Tamarindo) 2-653-0268.

The immigration department is so overwhelmed with work renewals of cedulas have been suspended. However, if your renewal date expires during 2008 you must carry with you a copy of the decree implementing this change. To do so, click on http://www.imprenal.go.co . The government periodical "La Gaceta" will display. Go to the calendar at the left of the screen and click on the previous month arrow until Julio (July) 2007 displays. Then click on Miercoles (Wednesday) the 2nd. The index to La Gaceta No. 126 will display. Now click the second item "Decretos" (Decrees). Decree Number 33837-G will display. Print it and carry it with you. Should anyone challenge you about your expired Cedula, show them the decree. Note: The government is considering empowering national banks to handle renewals so as to lessen the load on Immigration and shorten waiting lines.

Although you may have heard so, Costa Rica is not Paradise. None exists on Earth. However, this remarkably beautiful, tranquil country, with its abundance of flora and fauna, near-perfect climate, and good people, is about as close an approximation of paradise as we can expect to find during our brief stay on this ravaged planet.

Finding Your Way In Costa Rica

Many towns and beaches in Costa Rica have the same name. For example, there is a Playa Hermosa in the Province of Guanacaste west of Liberia and two other Playa Hermosas in Puntarenas Province. There is a Peñas Blancas north-east of Puntarenas and another on the Nicaraguan border. A bus to Naranjo will take you to a town near San José in the Central Valley, whereas a bus to Playa Naranjo will take you to the north-eastern coast of the Nicoya Peninsula. There are three Pavones, seven San Isidros in the central valley alone and four others large enough to be shown on maps, seven San Ramóns, and (at last count) eleven San Antonios! Be sure that your destination is correct.

Equipment varies from a few old Blue Bird school buses on local routes to luxurious Mercedes and Volvos with reclining seats. Long distance buses have overhead racks and storage compartamientos abajo (compartments below) but local and short distance buses have little or no room to store bags. Travel light. Use a soft bag that you can stuff under your seat or carry in your lap. Some international buses, such as Tica Bus, have air-conditioning, toilet facilities, and even peliculas (movies), but domestic buses do not. Although old Cantinflas movies might have you think so, no chickens, pigs, or other livestock run up and down the aisles of Costa Rican buses.

Bus drivers often stop at paradas (street-side bus stops) only when people are getting off or waiting to board. Pull the bell chord, press the buzzer button, or shout "la parada" and walk to the exit at least a hundred meters (about 300 feet) before you plan to get off. Drivers and ticket sellers usually speak only Spanish and schedules are often not posted and are seldom published, so plan your itinerary and obtain travel information in advance.

When traveling beyond the metropolitan area of San José, buy your boletos or tiquetes (tickets) in advance. Long distance buses are often full, especially on weekends and holidays. If you arrive at the station just before departure time, you may find yourself riding a pie (standing), waiting for the next bus, or staying over at a hotel for an unplanned morning departure.

Tip:  On Holy Thursday and Holy Friday of Semana Santa (Holy Week), which may occur near the end of March or in early April, bus service may be reduced on certain routes. Bus service is also reduced during Christmas week. On Christmas Day some bus lines do not run at all. Call your bus company.

Finding Your Way In San José

San José is laid out in a rectangular grid consisting of north, south, east, and west quadrants. Despite the fact that the city is logically planned, getting around can be difficult because of the shortage of street signs and the Tico tendency to give directions with respect to the number of meters north, south, east, or west of landmarks known to them but unknown to out-of-towners and tourists. They rarely rely on Calle and Avenida numbers. Some addresses are given with respect to Barrios (neighborhoods), which are poorly identified on maps and hardly ever on street signs; finding them is a challenge. Ask for "direcciones." Ticos and Ticas are friendly, helpful people.

Few edificios (buildings) are numbered. When asking for directions, remember that a city block is considered to be 100 meters long regardless of its length. Therefore, "trescientos cincuenta metros sur del Gran Hotel" means "three and a half blocks south of the Grand Hotel." Tico addresses often refer to landmarks that no longer exist, such as the failed "Antiguo Banco Anglo" on A2/C1-C3 (the building is now occupied by the Ministerio de Hacienda). The most popular imaginary reference point is the Coca Cola bottling plant, which was torn down years ago.

I told you but you never listen!
It's 300 metros norte,100 metros
este del Antiguo Banco Anglo!

The majority of buses leave from "Coca Cola" (the non-existent bottling plant) at C16/A1-A3 and from nearby terminals and paradas (street-side bus stops) but many others are scattered throughout the city.Most buses in San José stop running at about 10:00 p.m. and some stop running earlier. After that, you must rely on taxies. Recently revised taxi fares are now 420 colones $0.86) for the first kilometer and 380 colones ($0.78) for each additional kilometer. Waiting time for one hour is 2,275 colones ($4.64). Tips are not expected, but let the driver keep the menudo or plata (small change).

Note: Local buses in San José have laser bars that count passengers as they enter and leave. Do not stand between the bars or pass through them more than once. The driver must pay for any discrepancies between the fares collected and the passenger count.

Finding Your Way With Our Complete Guide

Costa Rica by Bus is the only travel guide that provides all the information you need to travel on Costa Rica's outstanding bus system, a system that will take you border-to-border and coast-to-coast throughout this beautiful country. Our guides are organized for easy retrieval of the information you need to get around and our e-Books are densely linked to help you navigate from one place to another and to visit interesting websites.

What our Customers Say:

“I now have had an opportunity to thoroughly read your book. It is a treasure. I cannot imagine anyone traveling to CR, either as a first time visitor or a frequent traveler, and not having a copy of this tome in their suitcase. I do not think that even the residents have your knowledge of the country or your ability to navigate around it. Thanks for all of your help." -- Myles Cunningham

“I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed your guide. It has a good deal of useful information not found in any of the other Costa Rica books that I have been reading. I like your style of writing and you organized the information extremely well. " -- Frank Muschal

And What they Say About the Multi-Media e-Book:

“I was lucky to get an advance copy of Costa Rica by Bus. I'll be taking 30 of my students on a field trip to Costa Rica in April and the information in your guide is priceless. It's become almost a textbook for my kids. As we are traveling on a very restricted budget your guide has saved us time and money. We'll let you know how the trip went on our return .. Again, thank you sooooo much!" Rachael Gordon ... Edmondton, Canada

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To see the Multi-Media demo, Click Here

Currency

Costa Rican billetes (bills) are printed in four denominations: 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, and 10,000 colones. Coins are available in six denominations: 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 500 colones. New coins are gold in color, old coins are silver. Coin-operated telephones accept only the old silver coin. On August 23, 2008 the exchange rate was 545.6 colones per US dollar and was floating. To make a quick and rough conversion to US dollars, simply move the decimal point three places to the left and multiply by 2. One thousand colones equals about $2.00 USD.

Telephones

Most public phones, abundant in the center of San José but often hard to find elsewhere, use one of three types of telephone cards. Old coin-operated phones take only old (silver) coins in denominations of 10 and 20 colones.

The following web pages give samples of what you will find in our guides. For complete information, click on the "Order Now" button at the top or bottom of any page.

     Now Click on your interests:

San José    Beaches   Parks/Volcanoes   Cities/Towns   Other Places

Map of Costa Rica, compliments of the University of Texas

This web site was updated on August 31, 2008.

Copyright 2008 by John R. Wood