FEATURED VACATIONS

La Cantina at Pavones

In the south pacific coast of Costa Rica “La Cantina” spot at Playa Pavones is our favorite wave in the country. The waves at “La Cantina” are so long that we recommend walking back to the start over paddling considering that on a good day the ride can last up to three minutes! The wave starts at the mouth of Rio Claro and end after a kilometer, so paddling against the current isn’t a good idea if you want to sustain a complete session. The surfing conditions at Playa Pavones aren’t consistent and considering the long trip we highly recommend going only when you are sure that there will be good setting. After the 3 minutes ride have a drink at “La Cantina” and walk back to enjoy our favorite spot in the country.

La Cantina Surf Spot @ Playa Pavones

The Corner at Playa Hermosa

Playa Hermosa (in English means Beautiful Beach) is already well know as one of the best surfing spots in Costa Rica apart from being one of the few beaches worldwide with lights to surf at night, it is home of several national and international surf contests every year. If you really want to show your surfing skills “The Corner” at playa Hermosa has been voted the second best surf spot in Costa Rica. The waves are consistent all year long making it the most reliable surfing spot in the country. The water at “The Corner” is deeper than in the rest of the beach creating taller and longer waves with more sand bottom rights and lefts. On a good day with the proper conditions the waves con reach 200m maintaining their size throughout the ride allowing some spectacular tubes. The best conditions to surf at “The Corner” are at low to mid tide with a west/southwest swell.

The Corner Surf Spot @ Playa Hermosa

La Lora Amarilla at Santa Teresa

Santa Teresa apart from being one of our favorite beaches in Costa Rica for the nature, people and amazing sunsets is also home of our third favorite surf spot “La Lora Amarilla”.

Direct international calls from Costa Rica are expensive, using your hotel room phone to make a direct international call isn’t a good idea and the “international public phone” available at some tourist sports , is probably the worst option considering the ridiculous fees they charge.

So what options do you have to make International calls from Costa Rica at a decent rate?

1. Internet is widely available throughout Costa Rica and in most places is free through WIFI in the public areas. Take advantage of it and use many of the great services such available online. Skype is our personal favorite to call the U.S. and Europe and some friends widely use Vonage and MagicJack to make calls to the U.S.

Skype Services also available in Costa Rica

2. If you didn’t bring your laptop or smart phone with you, most tourist spots have computers for rent with Skype installed. Some might also offer direct international calling services, commonly known as Voice over IP (VOIP), at a more affordable rate.

3. Some U.S. and European mobile providers offer international roaming which connects to the I.C.E. (Costa Rica Telecommunication Company), this means that you can use your own cellular phone to make and receive calls in Costa Rica just as you would in your home country. Depending on the mobile provider you use, it can be really expensive or a great solution, before you decide to go with this option, find out the incoming and outgoing rates for international roaming Costa Rica.

In our first post we mentioned how Costa Rica is safe for tourist, since we live and at some point some of our team members were also tourists, we can provide a real guide to make sure you’ll have a hassle free trip. As long as you use your common sense you’ll be as safe as in any U.S. or European city. No matter what your embassy’ website says Costa Rica is as safe as any other civilized country, just don’t look for trouble you should be fine.

As in any “big” city there are areas you should avoid the same way you would in your home country, the most known “dangerous” part of San Jose is called “La Zona Roja” (the Red zone). Some parts of New York are more dangerous than “La Zona Roja” so if get lost and find yourself in the “Red Zone” don’t panic, you won’t be in the middle of a guerrilla warfare, just try to avoid it, there isn’t anything to see there anyways. It is safe to walk almost everywhere else in Costa Rica, just use your common sense, avoid dark lonely places, don’t walk around with lots of valuables at night and everything will be “pura vida”.

Zona Roja (Red Zone) San Jose Costa Rica