Costa Rica Warnings Or Dangers

  Frogs in a NC aquarium
by grandmaR
 
  • Frogs in a NC aquarium
      Frogs in a NC aquarium
    by grandmaR
  • Trash litters the roadside for months
      Trash litters the roadside for months
    by BruceDunning
  • More trash laying strewn about
      More trash laying strewn about
    by BruceDunning
  • Junky and trashy areas
      Junky and trashy areas
    by BruceDunning
  • Abandoned houses
      Abandoned houses
    by BruceDunning
 

Most Viewed Warnings Or Dangers in Costa Rica

26.

Robbery   San José

Robbery, San José

 8 Reviews  When you are walking trough the streets dont look at your map were you have to... step into a restaurant or shop and look at your map there... keep some change in your pockets I was watching the map... 

 See All 26 Warnings Or Dangers in San José

Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Oil Lines Are Fragile

by BruceDunning

They go from one side of the country to the other. As a result of the earthquake in 2007, the lines were broken, and service to San Jose ceased for a while. It is fragile in that there is only one line going through the terrain; up and downhills and over waters.

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Irazu Volcano - foggy weather

by monica71

We did not have a chance to see the Irazu Volcano due to thick fog and heavy rain. The park was open, but they were turning back all the cars because of the bad weather. On the way to the volcano the weather was changing from sunny to rainy and foggy, but we were hoping that once we get there there would be a break in the clouds that would allow us to see the volcano. Unfortunately, this was not the case and we had to turn back. You never know how the weather is gonna be like until you get there, so be prepared and don't be too disappointed if you will not see the volcano.

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Traffic light outage dangers in Costa Rica

by mexvisitor

During my stays in Costa Rica over several months of time there were routine blackouts throughout the country. On television following these they showed incidents of cars crashing into one another as the drivers evidently do not treat an unlit traffic intersection as a four-way stop. They assume that no light signal gives them the right of way without thinking that other drivers approaching from the crossroad have assumed the same thing.

Costa Rica fake vendors

by conchalparadise

On Conchal and other places, be very careful of vendors. They don't work for the resort (www.paradisusplayaconchal.travel/) but wait outside to take advantage of tourists. They will use phrases like 'welcome to my country' and show you things like: 'here is the beach, here is the ocean,' and expect a commission from everything you do on your vacation. This drives up the prices for the business owners in the area. They are a dark spot in an otherwise beautiful place. They will charge you double the amount of the actual price for a tour or renting ATV or Jet Ski. They stand outside of the resort and will follow you. Just tell them that you do not need their services. If you are looking for a service like horseback riding or a tour, go directly to the owner to ask. These guys are a menace and potentially dangerous. I would advise calling the resort first to inquire if they've been removed....

If you pay with American dollars...

by monica71

We took American dollars with us when we left for Costa Rica and we exchange $50 in colones, therefore there were several places where we ate or bought stuff and we paid in American dollars. I was unpleasantly surprised to see that the exchange rate varied from store to store and from restaurant to restaurant. There was one particular restaurant in La Fortuna (Soda Y Express Kristina) that we ate dinner at and we were charged $1 more just because we paid in American dollars. The owner of the restaurant and his wife were there and they told us that this was because we were paying in dollars and not in colones. Our waiter came to us to apologize for this incident, telling us that the owner had too much to drink and this is why he was behaving this way. I wanted to argue with the owner, but my husband stopped me from doing it since it was just a matter of $1. I explained to him that is not...

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Challenging roads (part 2)

by monica71

I am sure you read about the poor road signs in Costa Rica, but I really think that you have to experience it before really understanding this statement. Of course you will see good road signs while you are close to San Jose, but the further you go from the city, the worse the signs get. You can easily get lost on the roads. We got lost few times on the road from Alajuela to Manuel Antonio, but once we figured out what signs to look for, it was pretty easy to get there. The maps you are given when you rent a car are not very detailed, so do not be surprised if you have to stop several times and ask for directions. Ticos are friendly people and they do like to help if you ask them. Even if you do not speak Spanish, they will do their best to explain to you how to get back on the road that takes you in the direction you want to go. We do not speak Spanish at all and we were so grateful...

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Challenging roads (part 1)

by monica71

In Costa Rica there are good roads, bad roads and very bad roads. I like to think that we drove on all of them and that there are no worse roads than some of the ones we drove on. If you have a car and you are the driver, make sure you feel comfortable driving a stick car on narrow roads, with lots of sharp turns. Do not attempt to pass the vehicle in front of you unless you have really good visibility on the opposite direction traffic. We have seen lots of cars in the ditch because the driver attempted to pass the vehicle in front and lost control of the car while doing it. Another challenge are the narrow bridges that you encounter while driving. They are wide enough to accommodate just 1 car, so when you come close to the bridge you have to make sure there is no other car coming from the opposite direction.

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Do not feed the animals

by monica71

When you are vacationing in Costa Rica, you will most likely come close to some of the animals in the area you are visiting. You will see signs like this one in the picture in a lot of places. Try to stop the temptation to feed the animals. The latest reports issued show a lot of death in the animals due to heart failure triggered by human food. So the next time you come close to a monkey or any other kind of animals or birds, try to remember this report and do not feed them anything.

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Not safe

by chels77

I live in San Jose costa rica. It no longer is safe here for tourist or locales.Robberies and assaults are common place day or night.Anarchy reigns, security has decreased AT an incredible rate. You can NEVER leave your house alone any where in this country.People are robbed in their hotel rooms.Maybe 15% of the victims file police reports because they understand the futility of it.Crack is smoked openly. Thousand of street people sleep do drugs releave them selfs in the streets. Do not be fool my the internet adds . The beaches are even more dangous than the city.

Are There Snakes in Costa Rica?

by grandmaR

Yes there are, but sightings are pretty rare.We went to the serpentarium at 1st Ave., 9 & 11 Streets in San Jose so we would know what the snakes looked like, but other than that, we saw no snakes. We did see big iguanas and Jesus Christ lizards and poison arrow frogs and lots of birds, and monkeys and a couple of sloths and a coati mundi. And mosquitoes. And bats, hermit crabs and fish. But no snakes.The serpentarium however has moved from San Jose, so that it is no longer in the city. It is now about 1km (1/2 mile) outside of Grecia, on the old road to Alajuela (see photo #2 - the map) and is now called the World of Snakes. It had lots of other kinds of animals other than snakes, like crocodiles and other reptiles. It also featured boa constrictors, Jesus Christ lizards, poison dart frogs, iguanas, and an aquarium full of deadly sea snakes. There are also such exotic creatures as king...

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Top 3 Hotels in Costa Rica

Hotel AmaTierra  Provincia de Puntarenas

Grano De Oro Hotel  San José

 2 Reviews and 489 Opinions  I arrived at Hotel De Oro on December 28, 2008 at lunch with 3 other friends. We decided to have... 

 Hotels in San José

Questions and Answers

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Q:  My Husband and I have never been to Costa Rica. We were researching Villa Sol Hotel.....I realize it's small but looks like... 

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A: Where is this hotel in Costa Rica? The name is a common formulation... 

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