I want to take a senior trip to Costa Rica for a month?

Question

Two of my friends and I want to take our senior trip to Costa Rica. Both of them have been on trips there before, but only for a week and with their families. We all surf and are looking forward to the new culture. I would be flying out of Norfolk International. We want to live on a relativly small budget(no expensive hotels or meals). I heard somewhere that in places you are allowed to pitch tents on the beach for free. Is this true? I love to eat and would eat 2-3 meals a day with some snacks thrown in. What should we plan on spending without airfare? Any help is much appreciated

Answer 1

I'm not sure what your budget is - but you can stay in some budget hotels pretty cheap. There are also hostels if you want something even cheaper. I'm not certain about pitching tents, but I know there is a cool tent camp in Corcavodo, i don't think its a surf area though.

Malpais is where a lot of the surfers go, and there are a lot of lodging options there.

Answer 2

Camping is prohibited on many beaches in CR, except in designated some campsite areas. You'll see this enforced more in populated areas. Also when camping, keeping your stuff secure while camping is a real issue.

Alternatives to camping are cheap accomodations. If you don't mind sharing a cold shower you can find accomodations for ~$15/night in many places

Answer 3

Sean is correct, you cant camp in many places, and I would be a little concerned about security.

You can rent a dump VERY cheaply.... it would be hot, no A/C, etc... you get what you pay for... but at least you have a door to lock... and in many cases, it will still be ocean front. Your lodging could be as low as $600 for the month (total for all three of you, $200pp)

That being said, when I go to Pavones, I always see a few brave people camping on the beach... so it can be done.

Personally, I would be miserable camping on the beach. After a full day of surfing, it is nice to be able to take a SHOWER, play some cards in my air conditioned room, and sleep in a comfortable bed. With air conditioning.

Three people should be able to get a very nice hotel for $1500/month ($500 each) so that really should be do-able.

For under $1,000.00 pp you should be able to easily eat for a month and stay in descent lodging.

With surfboards you probably would want to rent a SUV (unless you want to try a bus)  which will cost another $500pp.

Also dont forget the airline will make you pay $50-$75 each direction for your surfboards.

Have FUN!