Costa Rica on a shoestring

- Canopy tour in Monteverde. Must be experienced!
- La Fortuna waterfall. Absolutely stunning.
- Manuel Antonio park for close encounters with capuchin monkeys.
- The Caribbean coast. Fewer tourists, isolation, and beautiful scenery.

Quick Tips:

- If you are student, bring your ID for discounts. It shouldn't be necessary to get the international student ID; everyone accepted my college ID.
- Many banks' ATMs do not give money to people with foreign accounts. Use the cooperative bank ATMs (e.g. CoopeMex in Santa Elena or CoopeAlianza in Quepos). Banco Nacional will let you withdraw money from the teller. Or just stock up on cash from San Jose, where there are more bank choices.
- Costa Rican food can be tasty, but there's little variety. If you stay anywhere with a community kitchen, USE IT to save money. You'll get your fill of native food when you don't have a kitchen.
- Don't lug around more than one guidebook. No guidebook is accurate enough (I'll get into that later), so just stick with one and get the rest of your info from locals!
- Don't forget to save money for the departure tax--.

Best Way To Get Around:

- The cheapest way to get around the country is the bus. The most expensive ticket I bought was from San Jose to the Caribbean, about one-way. It's possible to take the bus to the airport too, which saves a lot of money.
- I would consider renting a car with at least one other person, preferably more. But for one traveler, it's far too expensive and probably too hard to navigate.
- Within San Jose, taxis are reasonable. I never took a city bus. A taxi between bus terminals was about .50. A taxi to the airport unfortunately cost about , but I had just burned out on buses by then.

I paid $10/night for this hotel, which was fine after $9 for a bunk bed in a cramped room in a San Jose hostel that smelled like urine. For $10 I got my own room with queen size bed, private bath and towels. It was supposed to be a shared bath on the first floor, but since it was low season, the receptionist (or manager?), Ivette, moved me to the third floor. Ivette was really sweet and as she said eagerly, she loves to help!

The hotel price included free breakfast at the restaurant next door (worth 900 colones). Choices were American, continental, or tipico cuisine, which is what I chose--eggs, gallo pinto, toast, and orange juice. Great deal.

Hotel Las Colinas also offers internet access on four computers in the small lobby. They are on dial-up connections, but very cheap: 450 colones for an hour, and they do prorate it.

The hotel was conveniently located near several restaurants, the bus stop, and the grocery store. I found them online because I was looking for the cheapest jeep-boat transfer to Monteverde and they offered it for $18.

I really enjoyed this hotel, but there was another place on the main road that advertised rooms for $5. So cheaper rooms are available, but if this fits your budget, it's recommended.

I had read quite a bit about Pension Santa Elena about their honesty and friendliness. I didn't find this to be completely true. I didn't mind paying for a $7 dorm room, until I heard Camino Verde was only $5 and La Colibri next door had private rooms (shared bath) for only $6.

The dorm was OK. Bring your own towels for the shared bath. I bought one for 1200 colones at the supermarket down the street. There was a community kitchen, a large common area, English-speaking staff and coffee for 200 colones per cup, 100 colones for refills. They offer laundry service but the bookstore across the street is cheaper. They also offer internet but it's VERY expensive and they admit it's slow, so go elsewhere.

The staff was no more honest than you'd expect in a touristy town. . . they promote the companies that pay them. Therefore, Pension Santa Elena promoted SkyTrek as the best canopy tour and Camino Verde promoted Aventura as the best. I really enjoyed doing SkyTrek, but I would have liked a little more information about the other options. The staff is pretty large so some people are better than others. They all knew my name and one of them was actually from my neighborhood. I talked to a few people who were also disappointed with the place, but others loved it, so you never know.

When I wanted to go to the Santa Elena preserve and missed their van, they told me my only option was taking a cab. I simply walked down to Camino Verde and they drove me there a couple hours later.

I stayed in the hostel section of this beautiful hotel. It was $12 a night, a bit out of my budget, but it ended up being completely worthwhile. To get there, take the bus from Quepos or Manuel Antonio (100 colones) and look for the white stone entranceway near Hotel Plinio or Mariposa. It's a bit closer to Quepos.

You can find cheaper accommodations in Quepos or closer to Manuel Antonio park. I've heard $10, and even $7 is possible. But the most beautiful area is on the road in between.

The rooms are set far back from the road, many steps up. The hostel rooms felt miles away from civilization, so the hotel rooms, even further away, must have been amazing.

Because it was low season, I had the room to myself, so I really got a deal. I had a queen-size bed, private bath with towels, and a fairly large room. The water pressure was fantastic and I enjoyed the only shower that came at an angle instead of overhead!

Rainforest sounds surrounded my room every night; frogs and butterflies played on the balcony. There was a very slow cable car (outdoor) that went up and down if you didn't feel like walking, and a lovely small pool that was open all day. After one particularly hot day I took a refreshing night swim. . .

The hotel owners were out of town when I visited, but they left as manager a wonderful guy named Sven. Sven was kind, helpful, and spoke English beautifully, and when it was more difficult to meet people in Manuel Antonio than Monteverde, Sven was my buddy (he's my age). We drank beers, smoked cigarettes, and chatted every night. I loved that hotel!

After setting out in different directions, a few of us who arrived on the same bus ended up at the same intersection, somewhat disappointed. A guy named Eric rode his bike up to us and said he had a room for three for $21. I introduced myself to two girls traveling together and we set off for Hotel de Sueños.

Hotel de Sueños was just beautiful, really charming. The "gate" simply swung open, lock-free, which made me feel like the area must be safe! We walked through a small garden area of lovely local plants and flowers. There was roofed-over picnic area and another sitting area on the ground floor.

Our room was upstairs, with a shared bath and hammock on the balcony. Our room had two bunk beds and one double bed. The mattresses were very good here. Mosquito nets, a hammock in the room, two large windows, and a writing desk. It was just so perfectly sweet and Caribbean.

The people who worked there were lovely as well. Eric had even created his own map of the area, including a bus schedule, which was professionally printed. It was incredibly useful! His wife and daughter were quite sweet too. They had another employee, David, who had just arrived a few days before us! David fed us with freshly-opened coconuts and pipas.

Hotel Puerto Viejo, a few blocks away, is only $5 per night (at least during low season) and supposedly has private rooms. But I enjoyed hanging out with my fellow travelers in our beautiful little hotel and we got towels. Towels are very much a theme of this trip.

This was definitely my favorite lodging. Far from the most luxurious, but full of charm. Take the bus from Puerto Viejo or Manzanillo (220c) and look for the signs.

Cabinas Selvin is one of the few budget places that shows up in every guidebook (under various spellings, but "SELVIN" was on three signs on the road). The rooms are of varying amenities and prices, in a gorgeous setting, and with kind and welcoming owners.

I probably looked pretty beat from lugging my gear from Puerto Viejo when I showed up at Selvin's open-air restaurant. He told me to relax in the restaurant until he could check me in. While he cooked madly away for the other guests, he took the time to make free pineapple juice and patacones (fried mashed green plantains) for me. He found me a single room with shared bath for 3000c. I put down my gear, he kissed me on the cheek, and said "Relax, you're home." I was flooded with happiness.

The room was small, with queen-size bed and desk. It was a foam mattress, but better than a bad innerspring. The mosquito net here was draped princess-canopy style. There were two doors and a large window, but no screens so unfortunately everything had to be closed at night or if I went out. And the door only locked from the outside for some reason, so locking up for the night was complex. Toads went in and out through cracks in the walls, and around 5:30-6:30pm, there were bats darting in and out of the hallway.

The bathroom was dark and FULL of mosquitoes. The shower was essentially a low-pressure faucet, with very cold water. This place did not offer towels.

But there was a hammock outside my room, where I happily swung the evenings away. Selvin's restaurant was AMAZING. . . a splurge for me at 2000+ colones per meal, but worth it for patacones, fresh fish, and coconut-flavored rice and beans. Selvin alone made it worthwhile for me. . . when I tried to pay for a 2200c meal, he would only take 2000c and then gave me candy. When I asked him about renting snorkeling equipment, he lent me his own.

Then there's the beach. Ahhh, the beach. It deserves a separate posting.

Casados are the best bang for your buck, including meat, vegetables, a cabbage salad, rice and beans, and sometimes tortillas. Sandwiches are a good deal too. See where the locals go.

FORTUNA

Java Jungle - 900c for gallo pinto, eggs, toast and orange juice, although I got it free with my hotel. Probably cheaper without toast and orange juice.
Soda del Rio - 950c for arroz con pollo. They also made a DELICIOUS sweet plantain with a big bowl of natilla, for just 500c.

Musanni -- (bakery chain) on the main road. Cheap, but not great.

SANTA ELENA

The restaurant above the bakery (forgot the name but it's obvious) is great. They have a HUGE sandwich stuffed with ham, cheese, avocado, and egg (plus l/t) for only 950c. They make delicious fruit juices and shakes.

Panaderia Jiminez -- each item is around 225c. The chicken empanadas and potato pastries are spicy and tasty. Pañuelas with dulce de leche are delicious.

"Party Machine". . . might be the name of this club. Same road as Pension Santa Elena, walking toward the snake museum. More expensive (1700c for a fish dinner), but tasty.

QUEPOS

Costa de Oro - Local favorite recommended by my hotel manager Sven. Near bus station, next to Banco Popular. Huge chicken casado for 1000c, and a large ham and cheese sandwich for 500c.

Super Americas bakery - on the road behind the bus station. It is actually down the street from Musanni, so feel free to compare! Most items cost 215c. Their pañuelas con dulce de leche were unbelievable.

Cafe Milagro - touristy and expensive, but supposedly the best coffee in CR. 450c for a cup (with free refills). You can also get baked goods like a big, gooey brownie with walnuts.

Supermarkets - there is a nice expensive one across from the bus station. If you go to the street behind that store (on the road to Manuel Antonio) you will find the dark, cramped store used by locals. It's cheap.

PUERTO VIEJO

Cafe Coral - only 650c for one egg with gallo pinto, 750c for two. The owner "Smoky" is very friendly.

Cafe Oro - recommended by Smoky! Reasonable—1700c for dorado (mahi-mahi), including mashed potatoes and rice and beans (of course).

Miss Sam's is in every guidebook. I got the best breakfast deal there...775c for an egg sandwich on coconut bread, a fresh mango juice, and a big ginger cookie. For lunch casados include spaghetti and are 1200-1600c. Her rice and beans are cooked in coconut milk. Located on the same road as Hotel Puerto Viejo, just walk away from the beach.

PUNTA UVA

Selvin's - During low season, he is only open Friday through Sunday (all meals). Had filet of marlin (2200c) one night and whole snapper (2500c) the next. Dinners come with coconut rice and beans, patacones, fries, and a small salad (lettuce! not cabbage!). Ranges up to 5000c for lobster. Make the trip even if you don't stay there.

The waterfall is amazing and completely worth the fairly frightening (to me) descent on slippery stone and wooden steps, completely worth the heart-stopping climb back up.

I came to Costa Rica during rainy season, expecting mostly clear days with one- to two-hour tropical storms. Unfortunately, I got caught in some freakish weather zone of almost-solid rain for a week. So my two days in the Arenal area did not include seeing the volcano or a trip to the hot springs, but I loved the waterfall.

I was on a pretty tight budget, so I decided to walk to the falls. Well. . . I don't recommend doing this. Of course, it was raining for about 3km; then for the remaining UPHILL 3km when it stopped raining, it was incredibly hot and humid. But even if it were a nice day, the scenery is nothing too special compared to what you'll find at the waterfall and it tired me out before even tackling the several hundred steps down to the falls. It was so frustrating to watch people passing me in cabs and on horses! It might be a bit better if you have someone to walk with. I found a dog that accompanied me most of the way. . . that was somewhat entertaining.

The falls costs $6 for foreigners, $3 for citizens to enter. This may be a price change because all the books say $3. At $6 you really want to make the most of it, so again, don't tire yourself out before getting there! You can hike further along the stream to where the current slows and swim.

I sat and stared at the waterfall for almost an hour, soaking my feet in the current. It was so beautiful, relaxing, refreshing, and gratifying. It was only my second day in the country and the overall vibe was. . . ahhh. THIS is what I came to Costa Rica for!

On the way back a kind British couple gave me a ride in their cab--it was $10 for them so I did feel a bit justified in trying to save money. 10 minutes after I got in the car. . . it started raining again!

This is the best way to get from Arenal to Monteverde quickly. Descriptions of the length and bumpiness of the two bus rides it would take to get between the cities turned me away from budget travel for once. The horseback tour was intriguing, but it's not recommended in wet season, and since my trip was particularly wet, I'm glad I chose this route instead.

Various hotels offer this tour at different prices, and you can do the trip in either direction. I found my hotel by looking for the lowest price, so definitely check around! Some people offer up to $30 for the same thing.

The car picked me up at my hotel and drove me to the docks. The boat ride lasted about 30 minutes. Then we drove in another car up to Monteverde, beautiful scenery the whole way. It's a great way to travel, a bit of a splurge but we arrived by noon. Much better than spending the whole day traveling!

This was the only guided tour I took in Costa Rica, although I will definitely budget for more next time. In the dark (spooky!), there was no way we could see any wildlife without a guide. Of course, since this was during the week of non-stop rain, there really were no mammals or birds to see, but our wonderful bilingual guide Juan Carlos was able to find really bizarre insects for us, as well as sleeping frogs and lizards.

There is a hike for $17 (including transportation) at 5:30pm, which supposedly is a better time for spotting wildlife. The hike is offered by Pension Santa Elena. However, with all the rain, it seemed like it didn't really make a difference, so I chose to do the later tour with some new friends. For the late tour, simply show up at the entrance before 7:30pm--we shared a taxi for 3000 colones.

Bring your own flashlight! I didn't have one but luckily Juan Carlos had an extra. Your eyes will definitely not get used to that level of darkness, so it could be dangerous without one. Bring rain gear for sure. . . it never stopped! The night tour was fun, educational, and definitely a bit scary.

There are three major companies in the Monteverde/Santa Elena area that do canopy tours. Apparently Aventura features 16 cables and a Tarzan swing, so that's on my list for next time! But I stayed at Pension Santa Elena, which pushes SkyTrek. I don't know anything about the third company.

SkyTrek features 11 cables and a few suspension bridges, plus for a few more dollars you can combine it with Sky Walk, a short hike that crosses several suspension bridges. You can also pay with credit card, which was important to me because I was low on cash!

Sky Trek is at the Santa Elena Preserve, although not technically inside--that's not allowed. It was so much fun! May be less enjoyable if you are afraid of heights or don't enjoy roller coasters. You wear a harness and hook onto a long cable...one of them was 800 meters long! With a little push from the guide. . . you're flying!

The feeling was truly exhilarating. At one point I saw a bird flying below me. Some of the cables went through trees, which the guide called "George of the Jungle lines." One cable, because it was rainy season of course, went through a CLOUD. It was pretty crazy, everyone got soaked and couldn't see a thing. . . but the idea that we just flew through a cloud was amazing!

The Sky Walk is a better way to experience the forest, although it's not technically in the Santa Elena Preserve either. You start by climbing a very high tower, the same one that starts the canopy tour. You go at your own pace. The bridges are scarier than the ziplines, but there's just no comparison to normal hikes. . . they are suspended hundreds of meters above the cloudforest floor! Definitely try to do both if you can.

SANTA ELENA
This preserve has several loop trails. Open from 7-4, $5 with a student ID. I arrived at 11:00 and had a ride back at 3:30, so I chose the 2nd-longest loop just to be sure I made it back in time. Turns out the maps greatly overestimate how long the trails take to finish.

Encantado is a 2.5K trail, and fairly easy. The trail was well-maintained, lots of "stepping stones" to keep from getting muddy. I spotted a few birds and an armadillo before the near-constant drizzle turned to heavy rain.

After finishing the Encantado loop, I took the Bajo (-something) trail, which was only 1.5K, but made up for lack of distance with difficulty. It was probably worse due to rain, but there were fewer steps, just mud, steep and uphill most of the way. It was not a loop, so at the end I caught half of the Youth loop to come back to the beginning. That trail was practically flooded! So glad I brought two pairs of shoes to Costa Rica! The Youth trail also had an observation tower, which I climbed for no real reason other than that it was there...I knew with the rain there would be nothing to see! It was cold, wet, windy, and slippery--best to only try it when dry.

Granted, rainforests look especially beautiful in the rain, it's just hard being IN it. Next time I'll have to try the Caño Negro (3.5K) trail--apparently it was the muddiest and most slippery.

MONTEVERDE
Monteverde is also open from 7am-4pm. It was $6 with ID, I believe. Not sure why, but I enjoyed Monteverde a bit more. It rained even harder and there were probably more tourists. . . albeit still very few because it was low season. Something about it just seemed more quintessentially "rainforest" to me.

As before, the rain was too much for the mammals, but I arrived at 7am to see a decent number of birds. Spotted a toucan! There were loads of beautiful butterflies. . . before the rain, of course. Monteverde's trails are not loops, so one trail runs into another. If it hadn't been raining I would have tried more, because one trail was supposed to be frequented by monkeys. But with the downpour, I satisfied myself with going around the circle, about 6km total. The last trail goes along the river, and is a bit scary. The Rio trail is very narrow in parts, and simply drops off into the river far below. Near the end is a small waterfall, nothing on the scale of Fortuna of course.

If you have time, see both. I was in Monteverde for four days, so I had time for a lot of hiking. But if you can only see one, I guess I would go with Monteverde.

Ultimate relaxation. I was a little surprised when I first arrived on the Caribbean coast, because when I read descriptions about how beautiful it was, I had my usual "Caribbean" picture in mind. . . powder white sand and blue water. But the water was green and the sand was coarse and tan. . . it really didn't look different from the Pacific beaches at Manuel Antonio.

It didn't take too long to appreciate the Caribbean however, and that appreciation was increased dramatically when I arrived at Punta Uva, the last stop in my Costa Rican adventure.

Punta Uva is quiet, isolated, and beautiful. The beach is backed up by jungle, and I could hear howler monkeys while I swam in the perfectly warm water. There was rarely anyone for miles, the beach belonged to me alone. From my cabinas to the sand was about 200m along a rocky dirt road. It was exactly what I wanted after a week and a half of hiking.

From Selvin's, the beach was so close I would roll out of bed at 5am (not like me in real life at all!) and run down to see the sunrise. One morning, I encountered horses wandering alone along the sand -- startling. There were waves to play in and coral surrounding the area, although the waves made it impossible to see anything.

One day, I walked further down the beach to the natural tunnel formation (the uva, "grape"), where the coral formations were the prettiest. There, I could at least see the colors of coral clearly despite the waves, but after making a wrong turn, hiking up to the point, and then falling down slippery rocks, I decided I was done with hiking for the trip! So I unfortunately never did true snorkeling, but I was so relieved to return to "my" part of the beach. It really felt like home after only three days.

Manuel Antonio was HOT when I arrived! The rains had finally stopped that day, and the rest of my trip was beautiful.

The park is open from 8am-4pm, and buses run every 30 minutes. Admission is $7 (no student rate unless you study in Costa Rica), but your ticket is good all day so you can come and go.

There is a stream to cross to get into the park. Pretty, but somewhat annoying, because the boatmen will charge to get you across...but you pay to get into the park anyway! The first day I simply hopped across on the large rocks, but the second day, heavy rains from the previous night raised the water level over the rocks. Luckily I got the boatman down to 100c.

A short hike after you pay admission, you arrive at Playa Espadilla Sur. This stunning, pristine beach is mostly empty for reasons I cannot fathom. Hike up to Punta Catedral (steep and slippery--definitely wear shoes with good traction), which has beautiful views. 20-30 more minutes of hiking brings you to Playa Manuel Antonio, the most crowded beach. In low season that’s about 20-25 people, of course. Capuchin monkeys hang out in the trees lining the beach; guides can point out sloths for you as well. I couldn’t afford a guide but I tagged behind to see the sloths too. Definitely bring binoculars (mine were 8x). A baby deer wandered the beach the first day I was there as well.

Pay attention to movements in the trees to find capuchin monkeys. I never saw howlers, only heard them, but capuchins are not as deeply hidden. Look for them on fruit-bearing trees as well.

There is a more challenging trail near the end (the trails do not loop)--the waterfall trail. Give yourself time to do this one. This trail is steep and muddy, and at points I had to grab tree roots to haul myself up. Then if you lose track of the trail-- as I did--you will have to wade through the stream the entire way. It was about 2 feet high after the rains.

But it's worth it. The waterfall is small but strong, looking like the most refreshing shower you can imagine. Incredibly cool and relaxing. You can climb higher to the stream which feeds the waterfall, but it involves semi-rock climbing...pretty fun. Met a fellow American on the way back, so she showed me where the trail picked up after the first stream crossing.

Manuel Antonio was absolutely beautiful and I'm already dreaming of my return. It's wildly popular with foreign and local tourists for good reason.

Internet connectivity was pretty comforting to me as a solo traveler. . . it made me feel less alone to chat with my friends and keep my mom posted! Here are the best places I found for internet in my travels, some which were not listed in guidebooks.

FORTUNA
I believe people were allowed to come in off the street to use the internet at my hotel, Las Colinas. The lobby was very open. It wasn't the fastest but the price was good...300c for 30 minutes, 450c for 60 minutes. It was prorated.

SANTA ELENA
There are a few different places, but the one I liked was called T@berna Internet. It was next to the snake museum. 400c for 30 minutes, 600c for 60, and prorated. The connection was pretty fast. There was also Pura Vida, which was closer but either 800c for an hour or $2.25 (no, those numbers don't match), or Tranquilo, which may have been cheap but was pretty far.

QUEPOS
Tried a couple places, the best was Arte Net. Seemed to have the best connection, and a relatively good rate (the rates got higher as I traveled, it seemed). The prorated price list was posted, but I just know it was 700c for an hour, and air-conditioned!

PUERTO VIEJO
Connections are generally slow in this whole area. But the best place was the ATEC (tourism) office, right on the main road. They weren't cheap--15c per minute minimum 10 minutes--but the connection was decent. I also liked them because you could fill your water bottles from their water cooler for 100c per liter and buy little necessities like pens cheaply.

I was given many reasons not to travel to the Atlantic coast: no tourists, unsafe for solo women, wetter than the rest of the country. But the lack of tourists was the main appeal for me (even though it was low season everywhere anyway) and I decided I'd take my chances with the rest!

It was a really long day of travel. I decided I did not want to waste time overnight in San Jose in order to maximize my beach time. I took the 6am bus from Manuel Antonio to San Jose (3.5 hours), hopped in a cab to the Caribbean terminal, and took another bus to Puerto Viejo (4.5 hours), arriving around 2:30pm. But I knew I'd be happier waking up there than San Jose.

Puerto Viejo is a pretty sleepy town. The locals assured me it was because of low season, but it was hard to imagine it any other way. It was packed with hotels and bars and restaurants and souvenir shops. . . but there was such a relaxed air. I found myself walking slower than I've probably ever walked, almost in a daze. I sat and watched people. I layed on the beach and watched the surf. I slowly ate Caribbean-flavored Costa Rican cuisine. It was wonderfully pleasant.

I felt perfectly safe (although it doesn't hurt to be alert) walking around Puerto Viejo at 9-10pm. If people chose to, they could walk off the street into our hotel courtyard at any time, we needed no locks. People were incredibly friendly and happy.

There were buses from Manzanillo to Limon four times per day. There were even more buses from Sixaola that did not pass Manzanillo but went through Cahuita.

I took a bus up to Cahuita (200c) the second day on the coast. Cahuita is an even sleepier town. The roads were full of people walking or riding bikes, very few cars. There is a beautiful park there protecting a large coral reef. Monkeys, lizards, land crabs and even snakes abound. Gorgeous beaches. The admission at Cahuita is donation, but at the Puerto Vargas entrance (6K away) it's $6. I meant to walk much further but by the time I got to the Caribbean side, my hiking adventures seemed so long ago. . . I took everything at a more languid pace. I only spent a few hours in the park before getting out to wander the tiny town. I ate curried fish and bought a mango. There wasn't much more to that day.

The next morning I bused down to Punta Uva (220c). I had the most wonderful time there, and truly cannot wait to return. I described the beach and cabinas more fully in other entries, but suffice it to say it was magical.

The second morning in Punta Uva I took the bus all the way to Manzanillo (220c). The Manzanillo-Gandoco refuge is highly recommended by many, but the lazy island air took over! I hiked for no more than an hour and a half before making my way back. It was just too beautiful a day and I wanted to return to "my" beach at Punta Uva. There was no admission fee, so I didn't feel obligated to stay. But what I saw was indeed lovely. . . coral reefs surrounded the area. When I return I will bring energy enough to explore deeper. . . I want to see dolphins, manatees, turtles, and crocodiles.

The Caribbean coast and its inhabitants are really lovely and an interesting change from the rest of the country. I definitely recommend including it in a trip to Costa Rica.

Don't worry about it. No one guidebook will ever be accurate enough and you don't want to waste space on two books. I just printed my internet research and tossed The New Key to Costa Rica in my bag. . . and the rest just involved figuring it out. Here are a few things that guidebooks didn't always get right:

- Costs of hostels and hotels. If possible, contact them yourself. Pension Santa Elena was listed in New Key as $5 with $2 laundry and cheap internet, when it was $7 with $5 laundry and expensive internet.

- Bus times. According to Frommer's, there were buses all day from San Jose to La Fortuna. I have no idea where this false information came from--the last bus is 11:30am. (Obviously, I found an alternate route). Buses from Quepos to Manuel Antonio are listed as running from 7am-7pm, but I definitely took a bus at 8:30pm. Books also listed only two buses per day traveling the Manzanillo-Limon route, but it was four, with even more buses on a different route that hit Puerto Viejo, Cahuita then Limon.

- Costs of food. This may be just rising costs with the influx of tourists, but I rarely found anything to be nearly as cheap as the books wrote.

- ATMs. Guidebooks list banks and ATMs available in town. Unfortunately, many ATMs do not work with foreign accounts. ATMs at the cooperative banks worked--CoopeMex in Santa Elena and CoopeAlianza in Quepos. Another thing to look for may be the ATH (A Todos Horas) logo--I don't think the big banks used this brand of ATM. If you really cannot find a working ATM, Banco Nacional will let you withdraw from the teller. I also tried Banco Popular and Banco Costa Rica but they did not allow it.

- Costs of attractions. Park admissions were all off. It's possible there's a low season rate that wasn't listed. The most glaring error was that the entrance into Manzanillo-Gandoco was $6. In fact there is no admission fee...as well as few trails, no signs, no rangers.

- Passport. New Key suggested making a copy, but always having the real thing ready for places like the bank. But I was always able to use the copy. I spent about 150c on a high-quality color copy in San Jose, which may have made the difference. The copy is still in good shape so I'm holding on to it for future travels!

Here's one thing the guidebooks were right on--Costa Rica's not cheap. It was really hard to stick to a budget and I definitely spent more than intended. The exchange rate was 432c = $1 when I was there, if that helps figure out my costs.

If I go by the standard of only figuring in buses, lodging, activities and food, my average was $25/day. It is possible to spend less, since my hotel in Fortuna was $10 and Manuel Antonio was $12. . . could have saved on those. I could have used the community kitchen more than twice at Pension Santa Elena. And it's probably cheaper to travel with someone.

If I add in souvenirs, stupid purchases for things I forgot at home, taxis to and from airport and departure tax, the average comes up to $30/day. For a two-week trip, either average is painful.

The Caribbean coast was my big money-saver. No big-money activities like guided tours or canopy tours, fewer park admissions. On the other hand, I had to search a little harder for reasonably-priced food on the coast. My average on the Caribbean was $18/day.

The costs really don't affect my view of the trip of course. . . it was completely worthwhile. Just giving a heads-up to other budget travelers.