Costa Rica Traveling Tips

When I travel anywhere, I always think of safety first. Most of the people I have traveled with haven't thought too much about safety. Number one: Separate your cash if you are traveling with it. Travelers checks are OK, but they are kind of a hassle in Costa Rica. Just a warning. When I say separate your money, I always wear a money belt that contains the bulk of my credit cards , money and passport copy. Yes lock your passport in your hotel safe unless you need it to go to the bank. The reason I separate my cash is in case I am robbed, I have my walking money in my pocket. You know the money I can use easily for eating etc. I travel this way in all major USA cities also. Mostly I find the USA more dangerous than Costa Rica and I was born and raised in the USA. So separate your money is one of my safety measures. Bring more than one credit card or debit card.

Make sure that you can control these cards from the internet. This is not that big of a feat. I have several cards from several banks and I have internet access so If the card is lost stolen or I forget my pin number I can change it myself online. I can cancel the card and stop any transactions myself with out having to deal with the bank people on the spot.

So I hope you understand that you may have limited internet and phone contact when you are in Costa Rica, even worse than the USA. So get control of your money and set it up so you can draw it from different sources. It will save you alot of trouble in the long run thats for sure, I am speaking from experience. I have seen plenty of people travel through Latin America unprepared. So the best thing you can do is to have several different ways you can fund yourself. If you do not you could get stuck somewhere. The main thing to bring with you to Costa Rica is patience and lots of it. Learn to smile, stand in line and wait. Probably the best tip yet.