Things to avoid when you're in Costa Rica

I recently found this pretty good article about things to avoid in Costa Rica.

Many times I see tourists walking with their digital camera taking pictures in downtown San Jose. Probably they simply don't know but they are exposing their selves to be robbed and that my friend will suck very much for your vacations.

The main problems travels have to contend with in the city are street mugging and pickpocketing. In downtown San Jose, you need to be on your guard at all times especially in isolated and poor sections of the city. Gangs of youngsters called "chapulines" engage in snatching and pickpocketing. Never carry anything of value if you will not need it especially flashy jewelry. Carry only enough cash for the day and do not flash wads of bills when paying for something.

Check http://ca.tenfootsquare.com/central-america/top-things-to-avoid-in-costa-rica the whole article.

Picture from Al Día.

Volcan Arenal @ Volcano Lodge

Just returned from 2 nights at the Volcano lodge. We were pleasantly surprised at how nice this place was considering the price we paid. Our room was large, comfortable and what we especially liked was that the rooms are maybe 4 to each building and spread apart, so you can open your window shades completely have a perfect view of the volcano without having to worry about people passing by,. You have privacy! You can even see the volcano from the shower!!The pool/jacuzzi area is nice. The staff friendly and efficient. No problems here, we had a wonderful stay

Cheap flights to Costa Rica from US: Spirit Airlines and Frontier

New Flights Available to Costa Rica

U.S. travelers to Costa Rica now have a wider selection of flights thanks to two airlines, Frontier and Spirit, recently creating new routes here.

Frontier Airlines has announced it will begin flying from the U.S. city of Denver, Colorado, to Costa Rica four times a week beginning Nov. 30.

The flights from Denver to Juan Santamaría International Airport, just northwest of San José, and from this airport back to Denver will be offered Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, according to the airline's Web site. Introductory fares begin at $149 each way, not including taxes and fees.

The airline is also offering connecting flights to Denver from U.S. cities including Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, San Diego and Salt Lake City.

Additionally, Civil Aviation has given the go ahead to Spirit Airlines to open a route between the U.S. city of Los Angeles and San José, according to a statement from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT).

This was the final step necessary for this budget airline to begin flying here three times a week. It has yet to announce the date it plans to launch this new route, reported the wire service ACAN-EFE.

Spirit began flying to Costa Rica from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at the end of April, and the success of this flight peaked its interest in opening more routes here, the statement said.

Tourism Minister Carlos Benavides said he is pleased with this new flight, which jives with the ministry's “open skies” policy it has been pushing since the beginning of this year to bring more flights to Costa Rica.

-Tico Times

Pros and Cons of Costa Rica Backpackers Hostel

I loved the atmosphere of Costa Rica Backpackers. Even when San Jose is dark and rainy, as it many times is, the hostel is an extremely cool place to relax and regroup on your way in, out, or through Costa Rica. There is a constant cool mix of eclectic music, a pool, and plenty of computers. As with any hostel the environment changes with the crowd at a given time, but I stayed three times there and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. I would recommend it highly.

From: www.tripadvisor.com

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We were very disappointed with the place and service.
It started already at the airport. Airport pick up never showed up. I spent a fortune calling the hostel to find out what was happening.

When we finally got there, the receptionist was on the phone and didn't get off it for a good 5 minutes. Over all he wasn't pleasant, more arrogant.
Our private room was very small and smelly - it didn't have an outside window. The bed (---) had some greasy stains, I'm not even mentioning that we had to check out ( with deposit) towels that let a lot to desire.
The hotel was promising hot water, but most of the showers had the water heaters not working. There was only one working shower in the girls dorm bathroom. My husband had to shower is cold water for 3 days.
The first night at the hostel's restaurant was rather tasty, but the next day they didn't have half items of the limited menu. The two ladies - cashier/cook/waiters were rude and didn't attend to us for over 10 minutes of standing at the counter and trying to order some food, what forced us to leave the restaurant.
Hotel isn't in the best area. There aren't any close places to eat that are open after 6pm.

I have to say I liked two things there - the coffee and the kitten that was sitting on the sofa in the internet room. Oh, I forgot about the internet. There are several computers. Some of them don't work, and those that do work are very slow.

I would never stay in this place again!

From: www.tripadvisor.com