Costa Rica Blog

Border Runs in Costa Rica

Patrick Brunelle — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:13:33 +0000

Ah, the good old border run. This term may mean little to you, the reader, but for us living in Costa Rica, this is something we must deal with if we wish to stay in Costa Rica. At present, Costa Rica law allows for 90 day Visas for Canadians and Americas who come to visit Costa Rica. But what if you are living in Costa Rica? A 90 day Visa is worthless. You could ask for a work Visa, but unlike North America, work Visas are only awarded when a spoecific company wants to hire you, and the work Visa would only be valid for that particular company.

Most companies that hire Gringos are Sprots books (online gambling casinos), and English Schools. Schools and online casinos rarely request work Visas from the Costa Rican government, which mean that you would be on your own. The only solution left for you is to do what we locals call a “border run”. Costa Rican immigration requires you to spend 72 hours outside of the country before your 90 day Visa can be given anew. You need not worry, as long as you stay out of the country for the necessary time, getting back in should not be an issue. So where should you go for your border run? There are many wonderful choices for you to choose from. Just click on any of the links to read more. New posts will be published each week.

My favorite option is Bocas del Toro, in Panama City.

My second choice is Granada in Nicaragua.

My third choice is Panama City in Panama.

My fourth option is Managua in Nicaragua.

My last suggestion is for you to do a Central American jourey by bus using Tica Bus. You will need much more than just a few days off to accomplish this option which is why it is last on my list.

Guns N Roses in Costa Rica???

Patrick Brunelle — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:39:45 +0000

There is still much debate whether Guns n Roses will be coming to Costa Rica on April 7th. Although many websites are confirming the April 7th concert date, this info has yet to be posted on the band’s official website. Axl went as far as denying it on his facebook page. Click here if you would like to read his statement. Strangely enough, La Nacion, the country’s most trusted newspaper, came out with a massive section about the upcoming event. This concert would be a great addition to what is starting to be an impressive list of rock bands that have come to Costa Rica, headed by Matallica that was in Costa Rica just last night at Saprissa Stadium. Iron Maiden was the first major group to come to Costa Rica.

Until the new National Stadium is ready, concerts will continue to be held at Saprissa Stadium in Tibas. This open air venue gets chilly at night, but offers a very intimate experience for concert goers. I went to the Iron Maiden concert and was really impressed with the sound as it easily dispersed to us even though we were way at the back.

We will keep you posted on the possible Guns N Roses concert in Costa Rica, as well as where you can get your tickets!

Costa Rica’s New Traffic Laws

Patrick Brunelle — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:56:37 +0000

Be careful if you have already traveled to Costa Rica and rented a car, having enjoyed the loose traffic rules and regulations as things have drastically changed! Fines used to be so small that no one feared being pulled over. Fines now can get to as much as $550 USD depending on the offense. Speaking on your cell phone, not wearing your seat belt, or speeding will coast you dearly if you get caught!

Costa Rica is also thinking about introducing a new point system is to be introduced–much like that in effect in the U.S. and Canada–that could lead to the temporary or permanent suspension of a driver’s license. In fact, anyone caught speeding over 120 kph (the maximum legal limit is 100 kph) will now face the possibility of an automatic suspension of their license for two years. Repeat offenders could lose their license for good.

Costa Rica is doing their best to curb their terrible record in terms of traffic deaths. There is no question something had to be done, but creating fines that equal monthly salaries for some is a little over the top for me.

Watching the Winter Olympics in Costa Rica

Patrick Brunelle — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:47:13 +0000

If there is one thing Costa Ricans have little interest in, it has to be the Winter Olympics. Very few of my friends even knew they were going on. Every once in a while I would bump into someone and they would let me know they saw a very strange sport where they throw rocks on the ice. This surprised me. I have trouble understanding that the sport that catches their attention more than any other sport it is almost always curling!

The games were shown on CNBC here in Costa Rica. The coverage was excellent, and they had a good balance of sports and countries. I am Canadian, and was thrilled to see lots of Canadians on TV! For the highly anticipated hockey final between Canada and the U.S.A, we went to Hooligans in Heredia, and were pleased they put the game on a bunch of TVs, and even gave us the audio feed for the bar. This has been difficult to accomplish in the past as there always seems to be a football game for them to show.

Metallica in Costa Rica in one week

Patrick Brunelle — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:38:44 +0000

In only a few short days one of the world’s most famous metal bands with make their first appearance in Costa Rica…METALLICA!!!!! The concert will be held March 7 at Ricardo Saprissa Stadium in San Jose. This is the second huge spectacle to take place in the stadium in less than 2 years, Iron Maiden was the first. Costa Rican’s are anticipating this show to be massive. Tickets have been sold out for quite some time, and already today, people are reported to be waiting in line at the stadium.
The tour, named Death Magnetic, is to promote their last album, which shares the same name. They are also promoting the release of their new DVD, called Orgullo, Passion y Gloria. The band Mastodon will be opening for them. The set list can be found below.

Setlist:
That Was Just Your Life
The End Of The Line
Ride The Lightning
No Remorse
One
Broken, Beat And Scarred
Cyanide
Sad But True
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
All Nightmare Long
The Day That Never Comes
Master Of Puppets
Blackened
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
- – - – - – - -
Last Caress
Hit The Lights
Seek and Destroy

This is sure to be an excellent show!! If you have managed to get tickets, ENJOY!!!

Chile’s Earthquake – Costa Rican Perspective

Patrick Brunelle — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:41:15 +0000

When thinking about the earthquake that hit Chili just a week ago, I can’t help myself from being reminded of the earthquake that hit Costa Rica a little over a year ago. That earthquake was small in comparison, yet still managed to kill many people. I live just a few kilometers from the epicenter, and it shook the ground so hard that my refrigerator was thrown to the floor. This was by far the most frightening moment of my life. So my heart goes out to all the people living in Chili and I will keep them in my prayers.

Costa Rica’s New Highway

Patrick Brunelle — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:59:06 +0000

Costa Rica’s new highway officially opened a few weeks ago, providing a great alternative to those driving to Puntarenas from San Jose. I drove down to Samara last weekend, and cut the driving town by one and a half hours. Of course, leaving at 4am must have had something to do with it. I was a little displeased with the fact that many of the lanes were still single lanes, and that I was often stuck behind a slow moving vehicle with no where to pass. Costa Rica really had a great opportunity to do something really special with this road, however, for some reason, decided to do more of the same which has been causing many headaches, and even lives in Costa Rica for as long as there have been cars on the road.

Our drivers actually prefer sticking with the old road through Athenas rather than going through San Jose all the way to Santa Ana during rush hour. If anything, the new road has really reduced the number of cars seen on the old road. If you plan on driving on the new road, you can also expect to pay nearly 2.000 Colones in duties each way. Overall, I am please with the entire project, and hope the Costa Rican government can figure out a way to improve the driving conditions in the rest of the Costa Rica, especially the worst drives in Costa Rica.

Playa Zancudo – A Costa Rica Gem

Patrick Brunelle — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 16:21:04 +0000

I traveled to Playa Zancudo when I stayed at Casa Roland in Golfito. There is not much to do there, as I explained in my previous post about Banana Marina, other than going Sports Fishing, Scuba Diving, or some whale watching. I am not much of a fan of any of these activities (more because of the high cost than anything else), so I opted for a day trip to Playa Zancudo.

Playa Zancudo is as isolated as it gets. You won’t see any hotels, stores or even restaurants when chilling on this beautiful Sandy beach. This is exactly the kind of experience I adore about Costa Rica. It is so easy to find beaches that are yet to get ravaged by the tourism industry. There is so much of Costa Rica still to be discovered.

The sand at Playa Zancudo is not the whitest, and the ocean is not the bluest, but it is still a pretty picture. So why is this beach so isolated? Because it is so hard to get to. It is located about an hour away from Pavones beach, one of the most famous surfing beaches in Costa Rica. You can get to Pavones by land if you so desire. From Golfito, it took us about an hour to get there. The boat ride itself was quite the trip. The price was a little steep however, as we each had to pay $40 USD for the day tour, but I just looked at this as a full day tour, and it made it much easier to swallow.

Banana Marina Bay Golfito

Patrick Brunelle — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:00:41 +0000

Banana Marina is the port in Golfito that is located on the Southern Tip of Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast. Most people need to stop through Banana Marina when traveling by boat in the area. Getting to Golfito is quite the trek, and most people opt for one of two options. Getting around by air with either Sansa Air or Nature Air, or by boat through various transportation providers.

There is also a very affordable lodging option there for people wanting to rest up for the night, or be close to the airport if they have an early departure. Flights leaving Golfito can depart as early as 5:30am. The low season rate at Banana Marina is around $75 USD.

The marina is about 10 minutes from the Golfito downtown area. There is not much to do in Golfito or its surrounding area, other than doing some whale watching, scuba diving or first class Sports Fishing. The best hotel in the area by far is Casa Rolland, which offers its guests a truly luxurious experience in what seems to be the middle of nowhere.

You can travel to Playa Zancudo, Puerto Jimenez, Pavones Beach or Drake Bay from the Banana Marina. The hotel in Banana Marina is going to be undergoing some big renovations in 2009, as they will be remodeling their standard rooms to because premium rooms. They will also be making changes to their small restaurant that serves meals to many passerbyers.

Tambor Beach

Patrick Brunelle — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:27:34 +0000

Tambor Beach is pretty much a private beach belonging to Barcelo Tambor All Inclusive Resort. This rockless beach is a wonderful beach for those not wanting large waves crashing on to them all day. Although there were large waves on one of the four days I spent there last year, the other three were quite peaceful. This is not a surfer’s beach, which is a good thing for people wanting to just lay back and catch some rays on their beach vacation. If you want to go surfing, you would be much better going to Montezuma Beach.

This beach has a nice mix of locals as well as tourists, which makes it more of an authentic experience. The Barcelo Tambor All Inclusive resort is the second most popular resort for Costa Ricans wanting an all inclusive experience. Tambor beach also has a volleyball court that is available for the hotel guests, as well as lounging chairs.

The problem with Tambor beach is access to the beach. You would need to take a Ferry from either Puntarenas or Jaco beach. This Ferry usually leaves twice a day and you are best to make your reservations before arriving to Costa Rica. The Ferry ride is actually quite enjoyable, and lasts around an hour. What you want to do is get there early, because if you miss your ride, you would be looking at a four hour wait, and sometimes more, for the next boat to leave port.