The cost of traveling Costa Rica

The cost of traveling Costa Rica -

Costa Rica is one of the most expensive countries in Central America. The whole country is a huge tourist trail and older Americans and retirees have driven up prices in recent years upwards. Many budget travelers simply skip the country all together because they feel it to be too expensive. Since it is a very popular destination, I was skeptical, I could Costa Rica do on the cheap. But I also wanted to prove other people that, while expensive, can still be affordable Costa Rica. My budget target was USD $ 35 per day, with a maximum of $ 40 USD.

How much I have to spend?

Overall, I was in Costa Rica for 20 days and I spent 424,660 colones or $ 849.32 USD. (The exchange rate is about $ USD 1 = 500 colones). It works on average USD $ 42.46 per day. So, as in Panama, I went over my budget. However, I have my budget often set low simply spend as motivation not much money. There are many reasons why I went over my budget, but let me spending my first break:

Food : 150 755 colones or $ 301.51 USD
alcohol : 16.740 colones or $ 33.48 $
bottled water: 9150 colones or $ 18.30 USD
accommodation: 89530 colones or $ 179, 06 USD
activities : 17.500 colones or $ 35 USD
Local buses : 9105 colones or $ 18.21 USD
Cabs: 98,000 colones or $ 196 USD
Miscellaneous: 33880 colones or $ 67.76 USD

My other expenses were things like underwear, sunscreen, a poncho, and the departure tax. I do not consider these costs in my original budgets. I also have a lot of taxis, because sometimes they go the fastest and most convenient way, but were they were certainly not the cheapest. I overspent on food simply because I ate a lot of nice fish dinner on the coast and have some Western dishes. Also in many tourist areas for a cheap meal can still cost 4,000 colones ($ 6 USD).

can do it cheaper?

Yes, but it will not be fun. If you just for food, room account, and buses, you can probably get by. On a bare bones of $ 30 USD per day But you will not enjoy it. The budget does not include activities and fun adventure activities like zip lining, surfing, diving and jungle trekking are what make this country as amazing as it is. It is not a budget I would recommend.

On my budget of $ 43 USD per day, you'll stay in cheap room to eat mostly local food and some western meals, nightlife, and plenty of activities showed. If you avoid the taxis, you can have more money for fun adventure activities. I do not know much about adventure tours this time since I have I have the first time was in Costa Rica. I never felt I missing on anything with my budget, and although there are more than you could spend in Nicaragua or El Salvador, should not be $ 43 USD high enough to scare you away from the land. save

Ways Money

There are many ways to save money in Costa Rica. And if you do not at least try to do some inexpensive things, while here, your budget will go through the roof.

Do not drink. drinking in bars in Costa Rica can be quite costly. Local beer is usually 1,0 colones ($ 2.50 USD). Sometimes it can be for around 00 colones find, but that is very rare and usually during a Happy Hour. I avoided here just to drink, because it was too expensive.

food to the sodas. The "sodas" are the local Tico restaurants and a great bargain. You can usually find the casado, the typical local dish, for about 2,000 colones (about 1/2 the price of tourist restaurants). In many of the cities on the Caribbean, you can find meals for less than 1,000 colones. I found the empanadas with the best price-performance ratio. For 500 colones, I could get a filling snack / light meal.

Eating at Musmanni . Musmanni is found a bakery across the country. They offer a wide range for lunch. For a 1,000 colones, you can get a sandwich and a soda. Most of their pastries are only 300 colones. I ate at this point, if I found one, because it helped to keep my food costs down.

stay in dormitories. property in Costa Rica is not cheap. I have in a couple of breaks and they were around 15,000 colones ($ 30 USD) per night. Dorm rooms offer the best value than they cost only 5,000 colones ($ 10 USD) per night. On the Caribbean coast, you can for about $ 8 USD.

CouchSurfing. not find as dormitories? Use the site CouchSurfing, you can connect local people who can stay for free in their house. It's a great way to meet locals and your accommodation reduce costs.

to drink the water. Although I spent 9150 colones on bottled water, the water is safe to drink in Costa Rica. I would always lose my water bottle and have to replace it, but if you can remember to keep, you fill it to spend on the water from the tap and prevent money.

Select for more travel tips on Costa Rica, a look at my guide about Costa Rica travel.

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