Rate Costa Rica from 1-10, and tell me about your good and bad experiences?

Question

Rate Costa Rica from 1-10, and tell me about your good and bad experiences?

Answer 1

I rate Costa Rica a 9.25 out of 10 for living there and an 8.88 for vacationing.  My wife is from Bolivia and I'm from Mexico and yet we both chose to live in Costa Rica since 2003 because we fell in love with it while vacationing there a few years earlier.

We fell in love with nature, the friendly people, democracy, the medical infrastructure, the freedom of religion, and the cost of living.  My only personal pet peeves are minor and they are the lack of "proper" addresses and lack of many street signs.

Answer 2

I have lived in Costa Rica almost four years and I would give it a 9 just because no place is perfect.  I lived on the Caribbean coast for 3 1/2 years and San Jose about six months now.  Despite what a lot of people have said about the Caribbean side, it is one of the jewels of Costa Rica.  Of course you don't go to the town of Limon, because like San Jose, it is a dirty city with crime (not unlike most cities in the U.S.) but once you are south of Limon you will find some of best and least-touristy beaches in the country.  If you are looking for a Disneyland vacation this is not it but if you appreciate natural beauty, culture, adventure and are open to new and different experiences you will have a blast here.

Oh and my experiences here have been about 90% good to 10% bad.  The good includes meeting some really cool people from here and around the world, riding my bicycle along the beach everyday.  Smelling the sea and listening to the waves as as I go to sleep, amazing plants and flowers that bloom all year, active volcanoes, two oceans, lots of rivers and mountains, the Indigenous culture of the Bri Bri and Cabecar in the Talamanca mountains, the Festival of Lights in San Jose at Christmas, the bullfights at Zapote, Carnival in Limon, sloths, iguanas, salsa dancing at Castro's, sportfishing in Jaco, awesome waterfalls all over the country, I could go on and on...you get the idea.

Annette

Answer 3

10.

costa rica is the most amazing place in the world.

the people there are THE FRIENDLIEST people i have ever come across in my life.

some fun stories:

one night when my amigas and i were staying in a town called la fortuna we made friends with the teenage son (we were all 16 at the time) and his friends. we told them that we LOVED the movie 300 (trescientos) so they went out and rented it for us and we all watched it. it was so much fun. then their parents decieded we were all "items" and it was silly.

another fond memory:

we were staying at a hotel (hotel heliconia) in monteverde and it was probabaly 10 o clock and we were chilling at the bar because the bartender (johan) was our BFF so were were all enojying some shirley temples when one of the waiters was like i made you guys some food and we were like h**l YES! and then johan was like free drinks! and we were so happy and then the waiter was showing us magic tricks and then another waiter (elian) decided to tech us how to merengue.

that was possibly best night ever.

plus our tour guide william was the coolest guy ever.

also it soooo beautiful there. best place ever.

i think the best part is interacting with the people there.

excellent.

goodbye.

ha also hooker hunts in jaco...:)

Answer 4

10 its the best latin country

proud to be costa rican!!!!!

Answer 5

Get lost between the nicoya peninsula islands. 10.

Answer 6

well, it is a great place.....but i have seen 32 countries, so i am going to be harsh and give it a 7 or 8.

the natural beauty is a 10 for sure.  

the food is a 3 or 4 compaired to other places.....people there do not seem to like vegetables.  very bland food.

the people.....very very nice/polite, but not like the stereotypical latino from mexico or brazil.   a 5 on the "lively scale" and a 2 on a "latino lively scale"

beaches.....if you find the right ones.....10....but so many of htem are over rated. (playa coco for example)

sports and outdoor activities including hiking, water, and non water sports......10

wildlife.....10....

san jose....6...not really bad, but nothing special.

beautiful buildings......2.......nicaragua has those.

shopping......5....i can't see why you would go to costa rica for the shopping.

shopping for arts and crafts 3....and compaired to other latin american countries.....2

affordable 10.....compaired to other latin american countries ....not quite as much tho.....it can get expensive if you follow the tourist too much.

all in all, i had a great time.  i was ther 6 months

oh yeah, what the other guy said about crime in san jose.....there is truth to that.  south of the market at night.....never go there.  during the day, just watch out.  mostly petty thevery and scams, but what happened to the other guy,  could happen.  it is mostly in san jose and at the tourist beaches tho.

Answer 7

9

i loved it! just got back yesterday...absolutely amazing! never got sick..

amazing food...greats tours..love the nature!

and the shopping is really good

coffee is amazing

Answer 8

rating - out of this universe!!

my holiday was so cool and i would change NOTHING

my trips included hiking into the Miravalles rainforest to see this magnificient waterfall, and going to see the turtles laying their eggs [ in july its rare but we saw it!!].

Take a tour of the Palo Verde river and feed the cappuchin monkeys and crocodiles[ you arent ment to do this but a small group of people a couple of times a year doesnt hurt - regulations are in place ] and going to see arenal volcano

to get the best views and experiences take a trip to The Arenal Hanging Bridges, here there is a terrace/ large balcony and for 180 degrees you have arenal really close.

i was really luck and got the volcano on a clear day, and you could see the two cones!!

everyone says the summer you are at risk of the weather, but i went in mid july - beginning of august and there were a few heavy showers, nothing major that lasted about 5 minutes each time.

the hotel i stayed in was the fiesta premier resort and spa, now named Hilton Papagayo, Guanacaste

hilton recently overtook it

if you want to know more google it [ the hotel ]

for the trips go to

www.avispasadventures.com

this is for those that dont want a stuff crammed MASSIVE tour bus with no time to stop and look at the animals [that you havent managed to disturb!! ], But a personalised tour that you choose what you want when, with a air conditioned mini van

enjoy costa rica the way the locals would.

hope you find my insight helpful

if you need pictures or more info email me at [e-mail]

biene and Pura Vida!!!!!

Answer 9

Great time for the most part. I visited all parts of Costa Rica and thought there were some shady areas such as San Jose and Jaco, but Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean side was by far my favorite place for the niceness of the people. I was robbed at knife-point in San Jose during my final few days of my month stay, so that sort of tainted my view on crime in Rica. I'm an athletic 6'3 guy who most wouldn't mess with, yet these thieves are in no fear of being arrested and prosecuted, so they came after our group of 4 including trying to take my girlfiend's purse. It was still light out, so it tells you the threat that lurks in many parts of San Jose.

Still the best place I have ever gone, but with all the tourist crime I would not be quick to travel there again.

Don't be fooled by saying they have tourist police. Crime is very prevalent and most of it goes unreported because the cops and judicial system are all screwed up.

So to sum it up an 8. It would be a 10, but the crime and drugs drops it down to an 8.