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- Costa Rica has two primary international airports with daily non-stop flights from the United States: Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR), in Guanacaste Province, and Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO), in Alajuela Province serving the San Jose area.
- Due to its proximity to the equator, daylight savings time is not observed in Costa Rica. What this means is that the sunrise and sunset times are relatively the same the whole year long (approximately 5:25 am to 5:30 pm), so plan your days accordingly.
- Rental cars are not as cheap as they may seem. Costa Rica is notorious for “mandatory insurnace”, “undefined taxes”, and “hidden fees”. I cover Costa Rican rental cars in depth here.
- Costa Rica itself is not as cheap as it may seem. “These are American prices!”, is likely a phrase you’ll be saying to yourself over and over. While most of Central America is known to have favorable exchange rates and cheap costs of living, that’s not necessarily the case in Costa Rica. In fact, the Economist’s Big Mac Index lists Costa Rica as more expensive than Japan! I would say “California prices”.
- Costa Rica is located in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). What this means in a nutshell is afternoon thunderstorms in the rainy season May-November (daily) and the dry season from December-April.
- The currency of Costa Rica is the colon, but US Dollars are readily accepted throughout the country.
- Costa Rica has some of the highest UV Indexes in the world, 11+ “extreme“. This means you have to take extra care in using protection from the sun.
(Image courtesy of hikersbay.com)
- Costa Rican roads can be perilous: In general, the main roads and expressways are well maintained, however, due to extreme rain conditions, seismic activity, and river and earth movement, roadways can (and frequently are) damaged severely in an instant. I ran into some major tire-busting potholes and landslides around in the Arenal lake area, so always drive vigilantly.
- Costa Rica has world-class coffee! You can’t really go wrong with coffee in Costa Rica. Although Britt is probably the most popular brand, my personal favorite was the Cafe Rey Espresso blend (which reminds me – I need some more).
- Costa Rica is an eco-paradise with 26 National Parks! I was able to visit a couple of them in the Guanacaste Province (Rincon, Arenal).
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