Winging it in high season?

[editer]

I plan to take my first dry season trip to Costa Rica next January with two friends. We will rent a car. I want to wing it as we travel, with some desired destinations and time for some impulse trips. We’ll have no schedule to be any place at any time. How difficult would it be to find lodgings at the end of each day?

I understand that proximity to tourist destinations is a huge factor. If we don’t mind stopping an hour away from tourist spots, would it be very difficult to find a B&B or hotel with three beds available? I’m thinking that restaurants would be a good place to ask about B&Bs in the vicinity. We’ll also have a laptop with us and I know how to use Costa Rica phones so I’m hoping that we’ll have good opportunities to find reasonably priced beds.

Can anyone advise me about the feasibility of this plan? Do you have any tips or cautions?

Thanks,

editer

[Andrew]

January is indeed “peak” season and you may run into some problems finding space…

It’s not just the tourists that are looking for expensive rooms, the Costa Ricans spend a lot of time at the beach in December and January and for the most part, they’ll be looking for the ‘affordable’ accommodation.

Scott Oliver
WeLoveCostaRica.com

PS. Do you REALLY need a laptop here? There are plenty of internet cafes and worrying about your laptop while you’re trying to vacation is something most people prefer not to do…

[editer]

I understand about the laptop. I had mine with me on last May and was worried about it the whole trip. I didn’t know the internet cafes had computers to use. I thought you had to bring your own to connect to the internet. So, thanks. I’ll leave mine behind.

We were planning to do most of our traveling away from the beaches. Part of the reason for this trip is to scout out possible properties to purchase for retirement. I’m particularly interested in the Central Valley around Alejuela, Grecia, and Atenas. Would we be seeing many Costa Ricans vacationing in these areas?

Scott, I can’t begin to tell you how helpful Welovecostarica has been in educating me about retirement possibilities in CR. Thanks for providing this excellent source of information.

[jrego]

We found that taking a GSM cell phone with us was the smartest thing we did. We were having the most difficult time finding some of our destinations and I don’t recall seeing any pay phones en-route. Our cell phone saved us time and again because we could describe to the person on the other end what we were seeing as we were driving and they would confirm if we were going in the right direction or not. This was a big help.

As soon as we had picked up our baggage at the airport I turned our phone on, it worked as well in Costa Rica as it did at home. In many instances it was a comforting life line. Costa Rica has a very good GSM service. Unlike their TDMA service where you have to physically take your phone to ICE and get them to turn it on to work, with GSM you turn it on and it works. The roaming charges once you return home was a bit of a shocker but we will never go to Costa Rica without our GSM cell phone.

[editer]

Thanks jrego,

I will definitely look into GSM. It sounds like an ideal alternative to taking my laptop. Thanks for the tip.

We’re also planning on bringing three small two-way radios to keep in touch with each other during times when we split up. They are supposed to have a range of up to five miles. Does anyone have an experience with these devices in CR. On paper it sounds like a good idea, but I wonder if they would just be extra weight to worry about.

editer

[wmaes47]

Rico has great prices for telephones and he will meet you at the exit, after you clear customs. I have rented from him numbeous times in the past.

http://cellulartelephonerentals.com/

With your US based Cellular Phone you will have to have your carrier setup you phone to work in Costa Rica or world wide use where your carrier has an agreement. The ICE band used is 1850, so a tri-mode or quad-mode phone will work there.

If you have your own phone, Rica will rent a SIM card to you. His rental includes all incoming calls from anywhere in the world and all out bound calls to anywhere in Costa Rica. You can call back to the US, but the rates are extremely high, about US$2 a minute.

Using a Cell phone with an ICE calling card is the best way to go for calling back to the US. A 3,000 colones card will give you approximately 20 minutes of calling back to the States. There are three different cards… 197, 198 and 199, so called because it is printed on the front of the card and this is what you dial on a phone to use the card. The 199 card is the best, because it will have instructions in English on the card and when you dial “199” from any phone in Costa Rica.

Edited on Jul 29, 2006 16:13

[jrego]

Hi editer, the two way radio’s sounds like extra baggage and an unknown quantity. I am assuming that your party have cell phones amongst yourselves, use them. Roaming charges will shock you a bit but you will be using something you know works.

I was contemplating renting from Rico at the airport. I am sure he provides a necessary service. He told me that my GSM phone may not work in Costa Rica, if your phone will work on multiple frequencies, it will work.

If you plan to rent a car, many of the Car Rental firms will provide you with a cell phone at an extra cost.

[fhmoroz]

jreugo is correct. You need to take a few steps prior to leaving the US, though.
–make absolutely certain that your cell phone is GSM
–make certain that your provider is either TMobile or Cingular. I would not trust others which claim to offer service overseas. You may be in ‘hit or miss’ situations.
–call your provider to request that international calling be turned on for you. If your phone is already unlocked (as mine was) I don’t believe this call is necessary. But do it anyway. This way you are absolutely assured that the minute you step onto Costa Rican soil you have a phone that works, albeit at $2.29/minute.

After that if you wish to swap out SIMs go for it.

[Andrew]

This posted in the wrong place and reposted here by SCott .
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Posted Aug 03,2006 12:17 PM editer
My previous query in the forum evolved into a discussion of cell phone usage in Costa Rica. That information was useful and I’m adjusting my plans to follow the sage advice of the responding forum contributors. However my initial question remains unanswered. During high season (specifically early January), how difficult is it to find lodgings without prior reservations?

I am not talking about high tourist traffic areas. We (three of us requiring separate beds) were thinking about places like Alajuela, Grecia, Naranjo, Tilaran, Turialba or other mid-sized towns. And, of course, we’d like to spend a couple of nights in San Jose.

It seems to me that non-tourist destinations should have a fair amount of vacancies, even during high season. Is that the case? If so, what are the chances that we can haggle over prices? Do they do that in CR?

Thanks for any advice.

editer

[editer]

Sorry Scott,

I was afraid that posting the message in the original thread would place it too far down on the page and it wouldn’t be seen by as many readers. I was able to find my answer elsewhere, though. I’ve been assured that there should be plenty of B&Bs that with available rooms. They might be a little frayed around the edges, but my companions and I just want clean beds and showers.

editer

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