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[quote=”johnr”][quote=”davek”][quote=”johnr”]Try the trip from Samara to Malpais. The roads are “interesting” but the entire area has some great little hotel and eateries, the people are friendly and you will see some pretty fantastic beaches.[/quote]
John,
How far is the drive from Samara to Malpais? Also have you visited Samara and is it worth traveling to? As I said we were planning on driving from Monteverde to somewhere on the Pacific and was just trying someplace other than places we have been.
Thanks
Dave[/quote]As Lotus stated Samara is pretty bare bones although there are a few little hotels and restaurants right on the beach. I’ve never driven directly through (I usually spend a couple of days in Playa San Miguel) but I would guess around 3.5 hours during the dry season. Could be three weeks in the green season! :lol:[/quote]
John,
I am just looking for a fun place to go other than the real touristy areas that have nice beaches for swimming and snorkeling and a fun town to have a few drinks by the water and some shopping. I just don’t know where to go. As I said earlier, we are spending the first night in the central valley then heading to Monteverde for s couple days. From there we might spend a night on Lake Arenal but from there we are open for up to 4 days or so before heading back to the central valley to visit places like Poas and the LaPaz waterfall gardens as well as Sarchi and Grecia. I am just having trouble filling in the days on the Pacific coast. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Dave[quote=”johnr”]Try the trip from Samara to Malpais. The roads are “interesting” but the entire area has some great little hotel and eateries, the people are friendly and you will see some pretty fantastic beaches.[/quote]
John,
How far is the drive from Samara to Malpais? Also have you visited Samara and is it worth traveling to? As I said we were planning on driving from Monteverde to somewhere on the Pacific and was just trying someplace other than places we have been.
Thanks
Dave[quote=”waggoner41″][quote=”davek”]Point taken, I am just not happy about all of the fees.
Thanks David[/quote]
David is right. If you spend any time at all in Costa Rica you will face fees.
This is particularly true if you intend to apply for residency.
Document fees for birth cert., marriage cert., police report, etc. plus authentification of each document in the state in which it exists and this is solely to get the documents ready in the States. Then you have the authentification of the local consulate – $40.00 each document.
When you get to Costa Rica you will have to have each document translated at 8 cents per word and get fingerprinted for an Interpol chack [b](surprise, this one is free)[/b] obtain stamps through Casa Amarillo for the translations.
Now the documents are ready for presentation to Migracion with another fee.
No, you aren’t finished yet. If and when you finally are approved for your residency they nail you again for what looks to me to be about 22% of your monthly income before you can get your official ID (the cedula).
Everything comes at a cost just like it does in the States. THe tax rate on most things you buy in Costa Rica (except fresh food) is a minimum of 13%.
All in all I don’t think you will find any complaints here about the price we pay for the priviledge of living in Costa Rica[/quote]Waggoner,I understand, I was just not prepared to have to pay Visa 3% everytime I use my debit card for anything I do while in Costa Rica. It won’t change how we spend our vacation. I hope someday in the not so distant future, I am staring down the barrell at all of the fees involved in gaining residency in Costa Rica. I am very jealous of those of you that are living your dream in the most beautiful place on earth.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”][b]No! I DO NOT think that you would be safe bringing “a few thousand dollars” whether you exchange them for colones or not.[/b]
Costa Rica is hardly crime-ridden, but it would be a fool’s errand to bring that kind of cash money here (or anywhere else, for that matter). Think of the bank’s 3% transaction fee as a form of insurance. You can only lose as much as you withdraw. If you bring a big wad of cash here and someone gets wind of it and you lose it, then what?
Think of it another way: How much of this “few thousand dollars” can you comfortably afford to lose? That’s the amount I’d carry in cash.
[b]Don’t do this![/b]
(On second thought, when and where are you arriving? I just might like to meet you myself.)[/quote]
Point taken, I am just not happy about all of the fees.
Thanks DavidOkay so after all of this great advice, I find out that my bank charges a 3 percent fee on all international transactions made with my debit card. So if I take $500.00 out of an ATM in Costa Rica, my bank will charge me $15.00. They say that this is a Visa or Mastercard fee and not theirs but regardless this really sucks. Do you think I am safe bringing a few thousand US dollars and then exchanging at a bank there for Colones?
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]If you left click once on the box centered and immediately below this text, the one that says, [b]”Reply with Quote[/b]”, a new text entry box will pop up.
That new text entry box will already contain the text of the message you just read, the message to which you want to reply.
Place your cursor at the end of the quoted text and left click. Then press the “Enter” key to move the cursor down one or two lines. They type away.
When you’ve finished typing your new message, that is, your reply to the quoted text, left click on the [b]”Preview[/b]” button at the bottom of the screen you’re typing on and the text you’re quoting followed by your new message will appear above the text box in its finished form. If you need to edit your message, do so in the text box where you were typing and left click [b]”Preview”[/b] once again; otherwise, left click the [b]”Save”[/b]button at the bottom and your new message, including the quoted text, will be added to the bottom of the discussion thread.[/quote]
David,
Very well explained.
Thanks
DaveWaggoner,
Can you tell me if there is a limit on the amount you can withdraw from ATM’s and how they work? I assume I enter how much I want in American and then it asks me if I want dollars or colones?? Is it still 550 Colones to $1.00 US. I don’t think I will be as lucky as you have been with the fees so I don’t want to have to pay a bunch of fees if I can only take out $200.00 worth of currency each time. That is the usual limit where I am from.All,
Thanks for all of the advice. It sounds like I should basically bring a little cash and then rely on my debit card. Can anyone advise what the fees are to use ATM’s there? Also would I be better off just going to a bank and using it there? Is it still 550 Colones per 1 US dollar?
Thanks again
Dave
