These types of specialized themed trips to Costa Rica seem to be getting increasingly popular. I`ve heard about many kinds of these trips for large and small groups including executive retreats, team building trips, spring break trips and Costa Rica is very popular for things like sportsfishing trips, along with learning how to surf while in Costa Rica. However, this is the first I have seen or read about a group actually travelling to Costa Rica to do Yoga right in the rainforest! Actually arranging to do Yoga on one`s trip to Costa Rica is quite popular already and any reputable and competent Costa Rican travel service provider or agency (link to homepage) can plan these trips out for you. But whether your trip is primarily to do Yoga (in the rainforest or maybe on the beach) or you want a Yoga specific trip like the group noted in the article above, your best bet is obviously a local travel agency in Costa Rica. The best part about working with a local agency is that they know Costa Rica, have experience planning these types of trips to Costa Rica and possibly most important are ready and willing to work directly with the activity providers and hotel management to get you the possible experience on your vacation to Costa Rica.

Happy Traveling!

I find these types of feelings you have are based more on your observations of the general populace and thus if while you are traveling to Costa Rica and you don’t witness much in the way of crime (or what you think may be criminal) then that leaves an impression on you. I decided when I got back to Canada to look up crime rates in Costa Rica. Here is what I found:

According to the United Nations Seventh Annual Survey on Crime, crime recorded in police statistics shows the crime rate for the combined total of all Index crimes in Costa Rica to be 1208.2, per 100,000 inhabitants in 1999. This compares with 1529.75 for Japan (country with a low crime rate) and 4184.24 for USA (country with high crime rate).

Now I also found this a bit strange as well. Although I did not see or experience much related to crime I did encounter prostitution and cocaine use in Costa Rica which seemed fairly prevalent during my first visit. I realized soon afterwards that this impression was generated from spending 3 days in Jaco (a surfing town). Any Costa Rican or foreigner living in Costa Rica will tell you that Jaco is an exception to the rule. If you don’t believe them then read this May 2007 UN study where Costa Rica ranks last on the list of Central American countries in terms of cocaine use among adults (page 19): http://www.unodc.org/pdf/research/Central_America_Study_2007.pdf

The same study also shows Costa Rica ranking last in terms of Central Americans arrested for drug trafficking in the US (page 21); Third from last for estimated gang memberships (page 21); and by far the smallest shadow economy or black market/informal sector in relation to GDP (page 25);

Although the study claims that Costa Rica’s low crime can be related to its “longstanding democracy” and its “political stability”, I would argue that this is convenient when compared to other Central American countries. But when you stack up Costa Rica against other countries with longer standing democracy and political stability you find very much the same thing, very little crime. Others may argue that because Costa Rica is the richest of the Central American countries that this is ultimately why you have less crime. Fair enough, but the next country with the lowest crime level in Central America is bordering Nicaragua, which happens to be one of the poorest, if not the poorest (p. 30 of UNODC). I think maybe there is combination of cultural factors that can lead to both more development and while others that can lead to both development and less crime.

Perhaps one of the most startling statistics in the study is that ONLY 31% of Costa Ricans actually believe their government is winning the war on crime (p. 34). This then most likely indicates a perception amongst Costa Ricans that even though the crime rate is relatively small, what crime they do have is unacceptable to the general population and the government must thereby assist in providing solutions for this.

This then is what I would argue is why crime is low and nearly unnoticeable when you visit. As a sound piece of advice in closing: if you don’t like to witness drug trafficking, drug use or prostitution, then please stay away from Jaco… unless you`re an avid surfer you`ll thank me for it later!

If this hotel did not offer a so called all inclusive plan, it would not find itself on this list. Unfortunately for them they do, and well…here they are. This resort is located in front of one the the country’s most beautiful beaches. When we stayed there, and opted for all-inclusive, we were truly sorry to see that this meant three small portions of food a day, to be eaten at a time decided by our resort, and not our stomachs. Our rooms was decent at best, and the service was definitely sub par. We just got the feeling that this resort does as little as possible at everything that they do.

9. Hotel Presidente

Located downtown San Jose, Hotel Presidente seems like the posh hotel of the capital. However, when staying in San Jose Costa Rica, you quickly realize that behind the glamor is something a little sketchy. Hotel Presidente, because of its location, is where most men with money who wish to take advantage of the legality of prostitution stay at. The ladies of the night can be seen everywhere. To the hotel’s credit, they do have a dress code for the prostitutes, unlike the Del Rey, and do not allow them to solicit inside the hotel, however, this is still not a top choice if I am traveling with my significant other or family.

8. Arenal Paraiso – La Fortuna

We can’t lie, the value is definitely good if you stay at Arenal Paraiso. The reason this hotel earned the eight spot is that this property does a terrible job reaching its potential. Arenal Paraiso sits on Hot Springs, and does a limited job exploiting them. Murky pools are all that are offered, that look neither natural, nor clean. The massive grounds with poor cart service makes you feel stranded at times.

Ocotal Resort is a highly praised Sport Fishing Resort. Unfortunately, when we inspected this hotel, we were hugely disappointed by the location, quality of the infrastructure, and the beach really let us down. This hotel does a great job with the website, and have a tremendous photographer, as this property definitely does not live up to the hype.

6. Monteverde Lodge – Monteverde

Monteverde Lodge may be one of the most well known hotels in all of Costa Rica. It is without a doubt the most famous hotel in Monteverde. This is due to the lodge being one of the first Eco Lodges in the country. Their history seems to be their biggest asset, as the hotel itself has very little to offer. Simple rooms, no pool area, no views, driving distance from the Monteverde Reserve, as well as higher prices make this a poor choice of hotels if you are staying in Monteverde.

5. Hotel Mimos – Manuel Antonio

Hotel Mimos is a mystery to us as to how anyone would want to stay here. Manuel Antonio has countless hotels perched on the hillside with unforgettable views of the Pacific Ocean. Others are located short walking distance from one of the most beautiful National Parks in Costa Rica. However, Hotel Mimos offers neither as it is located on the wrong side of the road. Their pool is sunk in the forest, and their tacky casino is the main attraction. You would be better to choose a different hotel when traveling to Manuel Antonio.

4. Hotel Captain Suizo – Tamarindo

One of the top rated hotels in Tamarindo, Hotel Captain Suizo holds the forth spot due to the vast amount of hotels that offer a better experience in close vicinity. The beach is why most people come to Tamarindo, and Captain Suizo offers almost no views of the beach, is located on a dusty secondary road, and is a poor location if one is not traveling with a car. The grounds are well kept, and the rooms beautifully decorated, but this serves only as a distraction to their shortcomings.

3. Intercontinental – Escazu

The Intercontinental is one of few five star hotels in Costa Rica. So how could this hotel reach the third spot on our list of most over-rated hotels in Costa Rica? Firstly, we consider this hotel nothing more than a glamorous business hotel. In addition, the location is only remarkable for those travelers that decide to venture to one of the most beautiful countries in the World in order to take in a good shopping destination- it is located next to the huge Multiplaza shopping center.

2. Paradisus Conchal – Guanacaste

As we consider value a major indicator of a hotel being considered overrated, this Mega All Inclusive Resort earns the second spot mostly due to their over the top prices. Playa Conchal is roughly triple the price of any other all-inclusive hotels that we consider their equal, such as Hilton Puntarenas, Barcelo Tambor or Papagayo Allegro.

1. Tabacon Hot Springs – La Fortuna

At the top of our list is the famous Tabacon hotel located in Arenal. Tabacon tops our list because it is the hotel that is most in demand in Arenal, and is in our opinion not even a top ten option. They are grossly overpriced, their rooms offer NO views of the volcano (which should be a must for anyone traveling to Costa Rica), and they make it nearly impossible for friends who are not staying at the hotel to visit you. The entrance fee for non visitors is $80 USD, and outrageous price for Costa Rica. The newly built Springs Resort and Spa, or even Baldi Hot Springs offer a much better value than Tabacon.

Costa Rica Sex Tourism

This is post however is simply to point out what appears to be happening now. According to some news sources like this one the sex industry in Costa Rica has grown quite significantly throughout the global economic downturn. An influx of Latin American foreigners who have fled their countries in search of work is what is apparently being blamed for an increase in prostitution and a reduction in the cost of doing business (i.e. what prostitutes get paid for their work). Although Costa Rica has always had foreign prostitutes since the global downturn has hit certain Latin American countries quite hard it looks like it may bet getting a lot worse.

Families traveling to Costa Rica really need not worry about this with regards to their children being potentially exposed to this kind of thing. As it is legal, it is also fairly well controlled and as such is only really visible in specific locations. If you are taking a trip to Costa Rica with a good agency like this one, than you can be sure that your vacation specialist will surely advise against areas where this business occurs. They will most certainly tell you which destinations you need to steer clear of if you don’t want to see prostitution during your trip to this (all things considered) wonderful country.

This may be understandable to some as those who live in these areas may feel that this is their only way to survive. My comment regarding Costa Ricans though (or perhaps generalization) is related to the rich, middle class and the less well to-do people of this country. In my travels the people of Costa Rica have been nothing but helpful, kind and genuine with me and I struggle to think of a time where someone may have offended me in any of my visits. It is my personal feeling that this may have something to do with the pious focus of society here which I will touch on in a future post on Christianity in Costa Rica.

What’s more is that the people of Costa Rica I have encountered on my travels genuinely enjoy helping tourists out. Some have even refused to be compensated as was the situation with a young man on his mo-ped who helped us out when our Toyota Prado broke down a couple of years ago (although Patrick forgot to mention the random act of kindness by the young lad during that particular portion of our trip to Costa Rica.

A third type of phenomenon you will thereby not encounter in Costa Rica is what I call the Parisian effect, aptly named for the feelings I got when… you guessed it… I traveled in Paris. A place where asking for help in a high tourist area provokes the same type of reaction you would expect to get from someone after you have just t-boned their parked vehicle. The “I cannot believe you have just gone and done that and ruined my whole day” look can be offensive to say the least when you need help in a foreign place.

In any case, I believe the difference in attitudes towards tourists in Costa Rica may also have a lot to do not only with religion, but also the focus on tourism by the government. Parisians generally don’t like tourists and you as an individual are not vital to them, nor even needed. Whereas in Costa Rica I believe you are taught to understand how important tourism is to the various local economies in the areas that you visit. Please feel free to post comments with relation to this or even similar encounters (or perhaps dissimilar experiences?) with the people of Costa Rica that you may have had.

The subjects of my posts however will be the intangibles that make travel to this country so truly memorable. Hopefully this will inspire people to want to visit this beautiful country or perhaps it will inspire some informed comments or debate which we always encouraged.

Why Travelling in Costa Rica is Special – Special 8 Part Series
Pages will be active once each post has been published.

Why Travelling in Costa Rica is Special – Part 1
Costa Rican Friendliness

Why Travelling in Costa Rica is Special – Part 2
Costa Rica’s Crime, almost nowhere to be seen

Why Travelling in Costa Rica is Special – Part 3
The role of religion in Costa Rica

Why Travelling in Costa Rica is Special – Part 4
The wonderful working people of Costa Rica

Why Travelling in Costa Rica is Special – Part 5
Delicious Costa Rica Food

Why Travelling in Costa Rica is Special – Part 6
Costa Rican Culture

Why Travelling in Costa Rica is Special – Part 7
Costa Rica is great anytime of year

Why Travelling in Costa Rica is Special – Part 8
You can do more in a week in Costa Rica than any place else

So are the conditions as bad as everyone says? I would say that depends very much on where end up having to drive to and from. I have broken down some of the worst driving experiences for you to try to avoid.

The Central Valley – San Jose
Without a doubt, driving in the Central Valley is the worst driving experience in all of Costa Rica. One and a half million people live in the Central Valley, and there is not one road sign to be seen. Since Costa Rica has decided against naming their streets, you basically have to drive around a maze looking for landmarks and stopping every 5 minutes to ask for directions. I have been driving here for four years, and still have not come close to knowing how to get where. Another awful aspect about driving in the valley is the lack of overall respect for the rules of the road by other drivers. It is an ultra competitive driving community that is trying to get out of the common traffic jams.

Driving to Monteverde
Although there are four different roads that will take you to Monteverde, there are no good choices. Easily the worst road of the country, this 30kms drive will take you at least two and a half hours to complete. I strongly suggest taking the Jeep-Boat-Jeep transfer from Arenal in order to get here. If you are to drive to Monteverde I would only do it during the summer months from January until April.

Manuel Antonio to Dominical
Looking at the map they seem so close to each other. Millions of people have traveled to Manuel Antonio and Dominical, as both are some of the most popular tourist attractions in Costa Rica. They are both located on the Pacific Coast and are practically neighbors. But what separates them is an awful two hour drive that should be a quick 30 minute drive. What makes this worse, is that the road is paved, but the massive size of the potholes makes it impossible to go faster than 20kms an hour. There are worse roads, but this is probably the one that frustrates me the most.

Getting to this national park is not easy, but not too difficult either. Tour operators and hotels like the Papagayo Allegro charge upwards to $115 a person to go there, however I find that it is much better to drive yourself there and enter the park yourself. This is only possible if you have a rental car and I suggest you make it a 4X4. The closest beach to Rincon de la Vieja is Playa del Coco in Guanacaste. It should take you no more than one hour to drive there from Playa del Coco. What makes this National Park different from other national parks in Costa Rica is the fact that there are two main attractions, and you will have to decide which one you would prefer seeing. When you visit Rincon de la Vieja in Costa Rica you will have to choose between the the Volcano itself or the waterfall. Seeing the volcano involves a much longer hike than option two. The hiking trail is well taken care of and you should make it to the Volcano in about 3 hours. The second option, which is my personal favorite, is going to check out the waterfall and boiling mud. This waterfall can only be seen during the rainy season (from May until November), so make sure you know this going in. The boiling mud however, can be seen year round. I absolutely loved watching a literal mud bath bubbling and exploding. This is due of course to the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano that lies next to it.