Costa Rica: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Costa Rica feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 126 written places.
Pura vida is a greeting, philosophy and customer-service standard all at once.
✓ Considered polite
- Say Pura vida for hello, goodbye, thanks and all is well - it always fits
- Book eco-lodges and parks ahead in dry season
- Rent a 4x4 if exploring beyond the main routes - roads are honest adventures
- Respect wildlife distance rules - guides enforce them for good reason
✗ Better avoided
- Feed monkeys or touch sloths - fines and harm both real
- Expect cheap - Costa Rica is the region's premium ticket
- Swim at unguarded Pacific beaches casually - riptides are serious
- Rush - Tico time is gentle and traffic is geological
Worth knowing
- Cards work widely; dollars accepted, colones given in change
- Tipping: 10% service is included by law; extra is kind
- Dry season December-April is high season everywhere
- The country runs on renewable energy and is proud of it - ecotourism is the identity
Plugs and voltage: Wikipedia, «Mains electricity by country» (after the IEC World Plugs list), read 15 October 2026.
Some links on this page are Amazon affiliate links - if you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.