Traveling in costa rica - clueless?

Question

I have a friend who went to Costa Rica for about 3 weeks and said he didn't stay in a hotel. He said they either slept on the hiking trails on in tiny villas for barely any money. I am going there mainly for the hiking and would like to avoid staying in any fancy hotels. Do you have any ideas of what I should do or where I should stay? My friend also says that they didn't have prior reservations to any of these places, they just stayed there for a day or two and then moved on.

Answer 1

Depends on what city you want to stay . San Jose is the capital city there.

You can stay in a retreat, if you like, just search them on google.

Answer 2

I suggest you get your shots because costa rica is disease capital. You would be suprised at what they call fancy in that country. i suggest you fork over a big extra money,  you life is to big to risk. also, forget costa rica, its a dump, go to peru and Colombia where everything is wonderful.

Answer 3

This information should help you in planning your trip.The Costa Rica hostels listed below are inexpensive alteratives to hotels and popular with bacpackers and budget travelers.

They are all in areas that have many things for you  to see and do.Match the hostel locations to attractions on the Map.

Map:http://www.centralamerica.com/cr/maps/ma...

http://www.1costaricalink.com/eng/web/ac...

This hostel is in Liberia/Guanacaste:

http://www.higuanacaste.com/index.html

This hostel is in Quepos near Manuel Antonio:

http://www.widemouthfrog.org/index.html

This hostel is just outside La Fortuna near Arenal:

http://www.hoteljardinesarenal.com/

Another travel friend of mine recommended Walaba Lodge a hostel at Punta Eva Beach in Limon

This hostel is near Rincon de vieja

http://www.hostels.com/en/availability.p...

Answer 4

In most Costa Rican towns there are simple but clean, comfortable hotels for $5-10 a night. They tend to be pricier in some tourist areas but even then you can usually find somewhere not "fancy". I usually look in a guidebook like Lonely Planet or Rough Guide or better yet ask locals for "un hotel barato pero limpio".  

In Monteverde I stayed in a nice attractive hotel with lots of wood paneling and a lobby facing rainforest for $6/night...can't remember what it was called, but there were several in that price range.

Answer 5

There are lots of hostels in the 10 to 25 dollar range, and surfer places you can stay even cheaper.  It is safe to sleep on some beaches, but it's good to have people around.  I've been to C.R. 4 times, and haven't seen a whole pile of hikers, but I've seen lots just hangin out here there and everywhere.  Surf Camp in Malpais is cool, Pangea Hostel in San Jose is very good, Tucan Hostel in Uvita is excellent, Rockin Jays in Puerto Viejo is good.  Watch your stuff, don't carry more cash than you need for a day ot two, and remember to exercise some common sense and caution.  Costa Rica is super cool, but it's also poor and there is quite a lot of theft.  Enjoy yourself!