Costa Rica guides
The best time to visit Costa Rica — and why rain is not the enemy
Dry season, green season, what actually changes in price, and the one thing most trip planners get wrong: the Caribbean coast runs on a different calendar from the rest of the country.
Cabinas, cabins, hostels, glamping: what the words mean in Costa Rica
«Cabinas» does not mean «cabins», and booking sites translate it wrong every day. The seven ways to sleep in Costa Rica, what each one really gives you, and the five questions to ask before you book.
Colones or dollars in Costa Rica?
Both work, but not in the same places. ATMs, cards, how much cash to carry, and why paying in dollars usually costs you more than it should.
Do you need a rental car in Costa Rica?
Depends how many places you plan to see. And if you do rent, there is a liability insurance required by law that almost never appears in the online quote. Read this before you book.
How Costa Rican addresses work
Almost nothing here has a street number. An address is a landmark, a number of metres and a compass direction. How to read one, what the words mean, and how to actually arrive.
Pacific or Caribbean? Costa Rica's two coasts are not the same country
They rain in opposite months, they eat different food, they speak differently and one of them takes five hours to reach. What to know before you pick a coast — most people pick without knowing there was a choice.
Tipping in Costa Rica: do you have to?
Mostly no. A 10% service charge is added to restaurant bills by law, along with 13% tax. Here is where a tip is genuinely expected, and how much.
What people eat in Costa Rica: the casado, gallo pinto and the soda
Everyday Costa Rican food explained for someone arriving: what's on a casado, why breakfast is rice and beans, what a «soda» is and isn't, and why the Caribbean coast cooks something else entirely.