Costa Rica Travel Tips

Excursion recommendations:

• Nicaragua tour- highly recommend 
• Mega Combo tour- great value! I only paid $90 for horseback riding, zip lining, water slide, local organic lunch, mud bath, and hot springs
• Palo Verde Boat Tour- fun, but not worth $90 

Other travel tips:

• Carry an empty water bottle through security and refill it after you pass security.
• Pre-book a car rental. We booked from the resort and paid $80 for one day. I met a couple that booked the rental online prior to arriving and they paid about $8 a day. 
• Book excursions at the resort. Our resort had two different travel agencies and we were able to shop at both and negotiate a better deal.
• If you book an excursion with a travel agent, ask if you need a "voucher." We didn't get a voucher when booking the excursion but almost every tour guide asked us for it. 
• Toiletries/ first aid kit: include Wet Ones singles, small hand sanitizer, travel toilet tissue, sting relief wipe, lots of Advil.
• It is better to bring two travel sized sunscreens than one regular sized bottle. You will use a lot of sunscreen, but you probably don't want to lug around a giant bottle on all of your excursions. 
• I wouldn't bring a lap top. The wi-fi at our resort is slow, our hotel room didn't have a free safe, I didn't need the lap top once, and leaving it at home would be one less thing to worry about. 
• Don't bother bringing a hair dryer or straightener. It's too hot.
• Bring small bills. Costa Rica accepts USD, but usually gives change in colones. Next time, I'm just going to bring all of my money in ones, fives, and tens. 
• The cheapest place to buy souvenirs is in Nicaragua. Ignore the shopping "tour guides" because they're annoying and they're just trying to get a tip. 
• Bring small easy to carry snacks like almonds or trail mix because excursion days are long days and you're basically on the tour guide's time. Especially important if you're a picky eater!