Travel Preparations for your Costa Rica Trip
International Travel is a little different than domestic traveling.
Here are some things that I thought about – or wished I had thought about – before I traveled to Costa Rica.
#1: You need a passport. You don’t need a Visa unless you plan to stay for longer than 30 days. You also don’t need any special vaccinations, though I think it would be wise to be up to date on everything. (See here for current entry requirements).
You will use your passport not only to get through the airport and customs, but also to check into some hotels. Make a copy of your passport to take with you (just in case) and leave a copy with someone at home.
We also registered with the American Embassy. It was nice because while we were in Costa Rica, a strike was happening. Because we were registered we got regular text and email updates so we knew how to avoid the congestion and what was going on.
#2: Check with your cell phone provider. This is an often overlooked travel preparation. Know what your charges to communicate are going to be. Our provider allowed us to text without a fee, but there was a fee for a phone call. Our friends had a fee for every text – so as soon as they took their phone out of airplane mode and got the mass of texts waiting for them, they came to a hefty fee.
Sometimes you can buy an international plan that is per day and only for the days you actually use it. We had quite a bit of wifi down there and didn’t really need to use our phone much, but be sure you know what your options are before you go – and make a plan so you don’t come home to a large bill. We communicated with family and friends back home through WhatsApp as well.
#3: Don’t bring anything you don’t want to lose. This is really good advice for any travel in general. Costa Rica is quite safe, click here if you want to check the rating, but it still requires common sense.
It gets dark every day year round around 5-6 pm. I wouldn’t suggest you go walking at night after 10 pm. That’s when most of the night life dies down and more people = more safety.
That being said, I wouldn’t take anything that’s unnecessary. We cleaned out our wallets and only took what we were going to need for the trip. We also didn’t bring jewelry. It was nice to not have to worry about it. We did bring our watches and fitness trackers. We were aware of where our belongings were at all times and we utilized our hotel safe.
#4: Bring money for tipping. You don’t want to bring a lot (see paragraph above) but the people were incredible to us and we really wanted to thank them. So many went the extra mile. We never saw anywhere to make or get change. When we bought things at the store, if we used cash we got Colones as change. Which, you can use as tipping, but I was grateful for the money we brought as the locals loves our US bills.
Bring small bills. I would suggest $5 and $10. That way if you loved it you can give them two 10’s but if they didn’t do a whole bunch, you’re not stuck only having a $20 at the end. We tipped drivers and servers and guides and felt that each one of them deserved it. They were so kind and fun we were grateful to say thank you and make their day. Look at how many activities you are doing and meals you are eating to guide how much you take. You can always bring it back home. Read about Costa Rican money to get more information.
#5: Let the company you are traveling with know if you have anything they need to be aware of. Allergies, limitations, or medical needs. We went down to Costa Rica with a Type 1 diabetic. I simply let Amazing Vacations know, and they were prepared to help us keep our medication cold and our medical devices dry.
Whatever your need, letting them know early is an important part of your travel preparations and will help them walk through your itinerary and plan for accommodations to be available.
Take extras. We did have some insulin that was in a pocket get lost in the river. But we had plenty and so were prepared.
#6: Pack for your activities. If you have any days on the river – and this includes Canyoning, then plan on getting soaked. We wore our swimming suits with swim shorts for the girls and swim shirts for everyone.
Not having a short or shirt can make you itchy as you sit on the raft, swim in the river, or wear the rappelling equipment. Wear good water shoes with good traction that won’t come off. Even if you are in a raft or kayak, you’ll likely have a hike to the river and maybe a swim in the calm areas.
Our water shoes didn’t have great traction so we ended up wearing our running shoes. The air is so humid they never dried. We took them home in a plastic bag. I would recommend sandals with straps and all terrain soles.
Rather than take your clothes home in a garbage bag, we recommend bringing a drybag that will not only keep your clothes, wallet, etc. dry if it rains, but it works great to pack smelly wet shoes or clothes in for the trip home. We’ve tested tons of drybags and this brand on Amazon has been our favorite as far as quality, durability and price. You’ll probably want at least a 30L size bag for an overnight. The 40L size is great if you are needing to fit wet clothes for 2-3 people.
When you get out of the river, there is opportunity to change – but we wished we had brought a towel as well. Our skin was still a little wet and it was tricky getting our new clothes on. I would also recommend having flip flops to make the changing quick and you’re not stuck in your water shoes.
Think about your other activities – are you visiting a volcano? Bring a jacket. Hiking? You’ll want good traction on your shoes. Ziplining? I would bring closed toe shoes. You get the idea. Think through your itinerary as you pack.
We followed the packing list here in our own travel preparations. It was super helpful, but let me just comment on a few things you might be thinking of leaving home.
Poncho: This is a must. We took the jacket kind and were super happy with them. They had a pocket we could keep our phone dry in and our watches stayed dry. No matter what month you plan to travel – it will rain on you. It’s not a cold or miserable rain. In fact, our days on the river we didn’t even notice it had started raining. The other days, we just threw on our poncho and continued with what we were doing. Take a backpack so you can always have your poncho with you. If you’re doing a water activity, you won’t need your poncho because – we honestly you’re going to be soaked anyway.
Sunscreen: You are close to the equator. Costa Rica has sunscreen, but it is inexpensive, and we feel not as effective. Throw a bottle of cream over spray in your checked luggage and you’ll come home grateful.
Dramamine (or other motion sickness medication): We had a group of 9. Two of them needed Dramamine as we drove on the roads. Costa Rica is a series of small mountain ranges. Driving from one place to another you wind up and down these mountains. At times you might feel like you are driving in a circle. It can make the best of us feel a little woozy. Sit towards the front and have Dramamine on hand. It’s not expensive and if you have it you’ll be glad.
Water Bottle: Doing activities you might start to get a little dehydrated. There is always water available to fill up. It’s a good idea to have a bottle that you can always have with you in your backpack with your poncho. Even when it’s rainy you need to drink water. Dehydration in no fun!
Pain Reliever of choice: Honestly, some of the activities might stretch your muscles. Depending on how adventurous you planned your trip, you might be going all day and get sore. You might get tired and get a headache. You might get a little dehydrated and get a headache. It’s good to have a pain reliever on hand.
Insect Repellant: I have more bugs on a walk in my hometown than I did walking through Costa Rica, but there still were bugs there. However, we were grateful to have it and used it at times that were unexpected.
Long pants and sleeves: The people with light pants and shirts were happiest. Not only did they provide bug repellant at night but they also gave sun protection. We only brought one each and wore them a couple of times.
Charger, Cords, and Devices: Yep, they keep the troops happy during drives and flights. It’s also nice to unplug, so you make that decision, but if you bring the devices you have that choice. We had wifi in every hotel – some good enough to stream and we also had it in the van with the driver. We didn’t have plugs in the van and were gone all day so we appreciated a battery backup. You don’t need any adaptors. They were the same plugs we had at home.
Finally, #7: Don’t stress too much. I did. It was my first international trip. My travel preparations included talking to everyone I knew that traveled internationally, looked up every government travel website. Everyone told me it wasn’t too much different than traveling domestically, and they were right. The actual traveling and getting from place to place was no different than here. If you are prepared with the things above, and pack for the activities you do, you’ll be fine. Of course, Amazing Vacations took care of all arrangements, so it was nice. They met us at the airport and took care of everything along the way. We just sat back and enjoyed the trip!
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