The Frugal World Traveler: A Costa Rica Vacation On A Budget
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Every year hundreds of thousands of visitors from Canada, Europe, the States, and elsewhere travel to the tropical Latin America country of Costa Rica. It is a very popular destination for different reasons for different people. Some love the great beaches and warm, blue waters. Others are enraptured by the lush tropical mountains and great weather. There are an extraordinary number of things to do and see during the days and, of course, many, many travel for its adult nightlife (what happens here, stays here) as well.
It does not have to cost you a fortune to enjoy Costa Rica, just a little knowledge.
For centuries, people have marveled about this country. Discovered in 1503, Christopher Columbus was so enraptured he named the place Costa Rica, the rich coast. About 75 years later, just before he defeated the Spanish Armada and saved England from Spain, Sir Francis Drake landed at what is now named Drake Bay off the southern Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.
However, unlike these men, you won’t need a boatload of people to help you get around and it will not cost you the Crown treasure, either.
One way to experience Costa Rica on a budget is by taking a ferry boat ride. For about $1.50 (this is not a misprint), you can have a nice hour and a half cruise along the tropical waters off the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica between the port city of Puntarenas and the southern tip of the lovely Nicoya Peninsula. Where else can you take an ocean cruise for the price of a bottle of water? Most vacationers never take this ride because they’ve never heard about it. But now you have.
Trains are fun, too. From downtown San Jose, take a four hour ride on the Tico Train to Puntarenas. You’ll see spectacular mountains and cross deep chasms on tall bridges. The train will be packed and filled with happy Costa Rican families. Be sure to bring your bathing suit because you are going to end on the beach! How much? About $16 each way. Like the ferry, most tourists don’t know about the train. For reservations (you need them) call American Travel at telephone number 22-33-33-00.
Your Costa Rica visit will provide you two coasts to choose from and nearly 800 miles of wonderful beaches can be explored, surfed, hiked, swum (but be careful about rip tides at some places), and even fished for free. Every beach in this country is public and open to everybody. And you can get anywhere really cheaply. Public and private buses are everywhere in Costa Rica. For example, suppose, like lots of other vacationers you want to visit the lovely Pacific town of Jaco. From the price of a Happy Meal, you can take a large, comfortable, air-conditioned bus ride from San Jose to Jaco. Yep. Less than $5 will get you there.
Finally, I have one more budgetary secret to share. There are very nice Costa Rica hostels throughout the country. Sure, most folks associate hostels with college kids crammed into a dorm but the truth is that many of the hostels in Costa Rica offer private rooms for just a little more per person than a dorm. You don’t need to spend $50-70+ per person to have a nice room. I recommend them because I’ve stayed in private, quiet rooms at hostels for way less than the cost of hotels.