At which time of the year had we been to Costa Rica?
We arrived in San Jose at Christmas Eve. After staying two nights in the capital and three nights at the Caribbean coast, which is very uncomfortable in winter, we moved to the central highland. We spent the second half of our holiday (up to 10 June) at the pacific coast, which is dry in winter.

Are traveller checks of advantage?
No, because it is really no problem to draw money for instance in a Mc Donalds shop or a bank with an EC- or Vista-Card. Thus we didn’t have to change money although it is possible in hotels or banks. The paying with Visa was no problem in most cases. Exceptions were a tipico restaurant in San Jose (Nuestra Tierra) and the national parks Manuel Antonio and Arenal.

What about vaccinations?
For Costa Rica no special vaccinations are required. Vaccinations against diphtheria and tetanus are recommended (as it is here). Moreover, the vaccination against hepatitis (a and b) makes sense. For people who enter from an area with endemic yellow fever to Costa Rica the vaccination against yellow fever is obligatorily required.

Do you get along with German / English in Costa Rica?
The national language in Costa Rica is Spanish. In the big towns and tourist places you can manage with English well, however, German is rather the exception which also applies for the hotels and local tour guides. I was glad that my wife speaks a little Spanish, so that she could ask for the way during our rides through the country.

What camera / equipment did we pack?
The Canon Eos 400D with the objective Efs 17-85 mm was among the equipment and a telephoto with 70 up to 300 mm and a picture stabiliser (the camera has a lengthening factor of 1.6, corresponds up to 480 mm of focal length). It has been worthwhile because we have taken a lot of photos of several birds who would have appeared, otherwise, only very small in the picture - above all the hummingbirds.

Moreover, a UV filter or also Skylight is important. To protect the lens against mud and fat. By no means you should forget a bag for the camera because the rain if it falls sometimes can become quite heavy and also the air humidity is rather high in the mountains, particularly in the nebulous woods.

As a second camera we had a small Canon Powershot with underwater case. Should I go again on the Poas volcano, it stands quite far on top of the list of essential things.

Electricity/outlets?

You can find outlets in every hotel, but sometimes they’re sparely fitted. We got on well with our adapter for every current outlet. In parts it was enough to disconnect the barrier with a pen. We had no problems with the line voltage. To be sure, because we travelled with a rental car, we had a voltage transformer with us –however we just used it once.

How is the food in Costa Rica?
Not very exuberant but digestible. At least we didn’t get any problems with it, no matter what we ate. Getting up for the breakfast nearly doesn’t pay off because its a bit meagre in many hotels. Apart from that there often are many fresh fruits that you can –as we experienced it- eat without hesitation. Urgently to taste are the Tipico-meals, that are served e.g. at a banana leaf.

Would we travel through Costa Rica with a rental car again?
At one place we have had a “disaster” and then a little accident. Nevertheless in case of another journey to Costa Rica we would rent a car again. Because of reports of other travellers we’ve been a bit unsecured or have been forewarned, depending on how it’s seen.

Actually the driving was not the problem. You should not absolutely leave the car unguarded at the countryside , at best with all luggage. But this holds true in our country. In a „casual“ breakdown you should not accept the „casual“ coming running help. However you should rent a Jeep because the roads in the mountains demand often a high wheelbase. The contribution of the car was no problem.

Which experiences did we gather with our organiser?
Our experiences with „Erlebe Costa Rica“ were throughout good. The description of the journey was serious, the the employees friendly and the price was appropriate. However you do not have to overlook that in a country like Costa Rica you have to take the initiative every and now again to get along. Furthermore the Vouchers which we got locally were not every time conform to our travel documents. Actually we should go to the thermal baths at Fortuna at the first evening, but the voucher was raised fort he second day. We were a little bit confused but it was not tragical because you much rather take to the thermal water, after you hiked at the Vulcan the whole day.

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