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I second what sprite wrote. Driving through the mountains in the Central valley is a feast for the eyes! With good roads, to boot! Actually, it is good roads from San Jose all the way to Limon, then they are bad.
From Turrialba-Puerto Viejo is 2 hours, San Jose-Puerto Viejo about 3 hours via Guapiles, but I prefer the beaches outside the town and towards the border.
In regards to the scenery around the the coast, it is to flat, very dusty and not ‘tropical’ looking as far as I’m concerned. The hotels and some house have nice landscaping of course.
Again, visit, a few times and take time to check out many areas of Costa Rica, during the dry and the wet seasons and then choose.
Only you know what you want.There have been several articles about the Caribbean side of Costa Rica
in the archives (including one written by myself). Lots of rumors of about
this beautiful place have been around for many years, you would can gain
another perspective by reading these archived articles.Chetohrt, I just read your interesting article, and wanted to add that there it seems that there are no flights going into Limon right now, as they were having problems getting fuel.
Chetohrt- that was a very nice article. Do you live in or own a house in Cocles now? It is so crazy to have so many different opinions from so many people about such a small area…
blackjackds: you can buy land anywhere near Tamarindo or anywhere else in Costa Rica for about $2,500 and up. It depends how you want to live. If you want to maintain your present life style, you’ll end up buying in a Gringo community, prices are high of course, but you can survive living with other Gringos. If you buy where some are suggesting in the central areas and you don’t speak spanish, you will get lonely very quickly. Your chances of surviving in an area where there are only indigenous persons, are slim to none. The other issue is resale. No one will buy your house if you build where these folks are suggesting. If you’re looking to invest, invest where the Gringos are and that’s on the Pacific coast.
If you want a steal, head to the Potrero-Surfside area. It’s near Flamingo. It’s Gringo and every house, yes every house is For Sale. Some nice properties around there. About 5 minutes from the beach. If you can hold off until this high season is over, you’ll get even a better deal. There’s a couple of houses sitting there right now that have been robbed, everything is gone including the wiring. You could get both for next to nothing.
Haha! Yup,move near or in with gringos where most of the robbing takes place. Why do you think they live in “gated” communities? They create a little fortress in what they see as a wilderness of foreigners who can’t be trusted. That’s what happens when you separate yourself from a community.
If you crave the company of Americans, why not stay in the U.S.? If you are simply looking for a cheap, comfy place in paradise, remember that so is everybody else. Prices will reflect value more often than not. Why are there so many cheap gringo houses for sale in the Potrero area?
Either commit to living in Costa Rica the right way by learning Spanish and by accepting the negatives of the Tico culture, or move into one of those gringo gulags which are segregated from the rest of the culture by walls and fear.
Blackjackds, We own a house in Cocles, which is two km south of Puerto Viejo and
have been down 10 times over the last 3 years since we purchased it. Eventually
we will retire there. Everyplace has it’s positive and negatives, and the only
way to determine if it’s the right fit is to actually go there and see for
yourself, instead of listening to rumors. Spirit has some really great deals
on flights, a bus ticket from San Jose to Puerto Viejo is $8, you can get a nice
room for less than $50/night and the food is reasonable and outstanding.
Works for us! True anywhere, treating people with courtesy and respect goes
a long ways towards having an enjoyable experience. Just practice the same
prudence you would have while traveling in any country and you will do
just fine while there.thanks for the comments, this site is a dream come true. I would NEVER buy a house in a gated community full of americans and not learn spanish. I feel like it is very disrespectful to see these listings for land where some american is going to parcel off 80 acres into 160 plots and build and sell houses like I see in my neighborhood. That seems to defeat the purpose of moving to a country like CR. In my opinion it would be better to have a rule where no matter how much land you buy you can only build one or two houses on it and that would stop greedy developers from bulldozing the rainforest away to create suburbia. I want to live with nature not live where nature used to be
thanks for the comments, this site is a dream come true. I would NEVER buy a house in a gated community full of americans and not learn spanish. I feel like it is very disrespectful to see these listings for land where some american is going to parcel off 80 acres into 160 plots and build and sell houses like I see in my neighborhood. That seems to defeat the purpose of moving to a country like CR. In my opinion it would be better to have a rule where no matter how much land you buy you can only build one or two houses on it and that would stop greedy developers from bulldozing the rainforest away to create suburbia. I want to live with nature not live where nature used to be
Unfortunately, the 1-2 house rule will never happen! So, it is up to each individual to think, in advance what they hope to achieve here if they purchase a large tract of land.
Many will go ahead and plant indigenous trees where previously the may have been cut down for cattle. And some will let it revert to nature, which then leaves this property a possible tinderbox. But, in either instance, upkeep costs money.
Whether you decide to plant fruit or veggies , is up to the individual, but it is a lot of retirees who come to Costa Rica and they may say ‘I am here to retire’ not start again, so some will choose to divide their land. Everyone who travels around the country, have seen the ‘lots for sale’ signs offered by both ex-pats (not just from North America) and Costa Ricans and since there are now so many, very few are actually being sold.
ICE will provide free indigenous trees, to reforest a tract of land and are liable to come and check that indeed these have been planted where you have told them and not resold.
We live on large tract and have planted thousands of trees both wood and fruit, have animals, veggies, and enjoy the rural lifestyle, but it’s not for everyone.Quote: “I would NEVER buy a house in a gated community”. Nothing wrong with that idea but think about how you will secure your house (not only when you are out).
If you don’t they will rob and steel everything (including electricity cables).
And even arming the doors and windows isn’t enough. They’ll just come in through the roof if they can’t get in any other way. They sure are an ingenious bunch, those ladrones, and right now all the crackheads, lowlifes, and other manner of undesirables are shopping for Christmas. We had 3 robberies in as many days in my ungated community and now we’re all set up with alarm systems, outdoor sirens, and an armed guard. We did go two full years without any trouble, but we all knew that was not being realistic.
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