These are our own personal tips & travel opinions that we either discovered by ourselves or read about. The tips & opinions are by no means meant to say you have to follow them and they are pertinent to the time of year (May) that we went, which is the start of the 'green' (rainy) season.

Mosquitos: we were lucky and only got bitten twice in the areas we went but we do advise taking something with deet in it.

Cab rides: generally speaking the cabs that have real 'meters' in them tend to be on the up and up in regard to fair prices. Cabs we rode in that didn't have meters usually charged us twice the amount. If you get one of those cabs first ask/negotiate your price. Many cab rides are smelly, cab drivers smoke and are of course not air conditioned. In San Jose it seemed like all the cabs we had followed smoky busses, of which there are plenty of!!

Self Driving & guides: You'll hear much opinion about whether to hire a driver/guide. We did our first trip and realized that we could have definitly done the driving ourselves. Street signs are rare but going from city to city was easy and the road systems, while there were some large potholes, were good. In cities/towns you will see an occasional street sign but you cannot depend on them at all!! We are aware of some guides who will stop at places where 'they' eat free, suggest hotels where 'they' pay little or nothing or negotiate a tour for you when they get something in return. It's your trip, you decide, and try to notice this if you use a guide.
If you hire someone make everything very clear and remember that you're the one in charge. Don't feel pressured to do something that you don't feel like doing. Usually when you hire someone you're hiring them for their driving services or their guide services (you drive) or both. Be clear, negotiate, and reach a clear mutual understanding.

"car watching": whenever you park just about anywhere you'll see regular citizens who will show you where to park and will stay and 'watch' the cars in a lot or street. These are honest people who are trying to make a few colones and they don't panhandle or harras you. Wave to them when you park and drop them $1 on return. If you can communicate with them let them know how long you'll be and ask for any advice/tips. It's well worth a measly $1 and a good thing in our opinion.

The 'water': although we got sick once on our trip we feel certain it was the cerviche not any of the water we drank. In our opinion the water here is fine.

Renting a car: renting an automobile is very different here. There are different types of insurance and without going into details here just do your research on all the types of insurance you NEED to feel safe. Your best platinum credit cards will cover a minor part but you better research, research, research! The cheapest 4x4 rental, with full insurance, for one week we found was $650 for 2005 prices. This is one of those times where, if you rent a car, you better document every dent and scratch before you leave the lot!

Driving tips: If you do drive in Costa Rica, on occasions when you're behind a big truck on a winding road, you might notice the driver will occasionally put on his left turn signal (but not turn). This is your 'signal' that he can see up ahead and he's telling you that it's ok to pass.
Also, sometimes the equivalent of a 'road flare' you're use to seeing is accomplished by a pile of sticks or small branches in the road. This may be a "Costa Rican" road flare' warning you to slow down due to something ahead.
We heard, and witnessed by our driver/guide, that if you're stopped for speeding that the police will occasionally 'prompt' you to just pay in cash and all is forgotten. Our driver asked for a paper ticket instead because paying them off promotes this behavior.
Even though we experienced minimal potholes and huge cracks in the road we did see some that would really damage your rental car badly if you hit them. Keep your eyes peeled especially during the rainy season when roads are damaged by rain.
Bridges in Costa Rica were 'interesting'. Many of them in the rural areas or less traveled roads can be nerve-wracking but we figured that it's like flying, when it's your time, it's your time :)

Transportation from airport: We arrived at the airport after 10pm and there were still at least 25-30 (or more) people wanting to drive you to your destination. We had our ride pre-arranged but if you don't you'll have no problem negotiating a ride to any nearby hotel (should cost around $12 to San Jose from airport).

Beaches: we are spoiled by Hawaii beaches so our opinion of the beaches in Jaco, Playa Hermosa and Manuel Antonio are low. The sand color & texture was the consistentcy and color of a brown Texas beach. However; the water was very nice and warm and waves were fun to play in! On our trip we thought the beaches in the Manuel Antonio park were best.

Binoculars: buy them and take them, take them, take them! If you visit any of the parks and preserves you need a GOOD pair of binoculars. We bought a small pair from Sharper Image for $49 (8X21) and were very happy we did this. Many of the unusual wildlife will be high in the trees and if you're at Arenal you can see the actual boulders plummeting down the volcano!

Medicinal: take a good variety of medicinal or first aid stuff. You can buy stuff there but it's not always convenient, usually pricy, and in rural areas you may not know what you're buying.

"the language": yes, many Costa Ricans speak english but we experienced a lot of places, even restaurants in Manuel Antonio, San Jose, where no one knew english. If you are the type of traveler that goes with the herd (rest of the common tourist places) you'll probably experience no problems. We like to veer from the herd most of the time to see what the locals like to do, eat and where they have fun.

Souviners: Guide books and we say that Don Carlos hotel souviner shop (San Jose) has some of the best in the area. Go to a local grocery store and find cheaper candies or coffee. If you hire a guide, ask them to always negotiate anything you purchase.

Food: the food we experienced was good but not great. CR is not known for it's food. National dish is beans and rice plates found at many sodas. Sodas are very small 'stands' where you can get some of the best tasting food CR offers and it can really vary from one soda to another!

ATM (teller machines): We were lucky and found ATM's (pulse system) when we needed money. One or two required a little assistance from a bank guard but we never had a real problem finding one.

Colones: most everywhere you pay for something in cash you should expect to receive colones back and it is very unlikely you'll get dollars back even if you see they have dollars.

Ear plugs: take them and be prepared to use them. We experienced anything from howler monkeys to hammers to sirens to traffic noises. Many hotels are 'open-air' or don't have the insulation we have.

Washing clothes: most hotels offer to wash/fold clothes at extremely reasonable prices. We had our clothese washed and folded for $5.00 a (large) load.

Clothes: Take shorts, shorts and shorts. We never wore long pants anywhere. Hiking might require you take the 'zip off' pants only because you can put lots of stuff in the various pockets. Remember, it's cheap to get your clothes washed while you're out having fun, take less clothes!!!

"Green" season : during May it can be muddy and we prepared to be muddy but was lucky most of the time. If you're going on a tour, hanging bridge, etc., expect that it will rain and you'll be soaked. We took paunchos and never used them because the warm rain was ok with us and added to our adventure. Don't be upset that you'll get wet in a rain forest country...

Hiking: Costa Rica offers fantastic opportunities in hiking. We were only able to get in 2-3 hikes during our short stay; however, if you're an avid hiker you will really enjoy the beautiful scenery. Depending on where you go, parks for instance, you can hire a guide to take you on a hike, especially if it's a long hike and if the trails aren't well marked. All of the hikes we went on were easily navigated and well marked but this may not always be the case.

Sweat rag - ok, kind of gross I know, but if you're a hiker and you sweat in extremely humid places then you'll be happy you have one with you!

Hand fans - if you're like me and you're hot natured, it can be very muggy in many open-air restaurants. Bring a small fold up fan with you for these occasions. Some restaurants may offer them if you ask!

Shave ice: tasty treat usually sold by 'push-cart' vendors in small towns. Different flavors and very tasty!

Lizano sauce: extremely popular there and comes in different varieties. The basic sauce is actually a good souviner to bring home and pretty darn good on hamburger meat, steaks and fish. Cheap and easy to get at stores and you'll always see it on restaurant tables so taste it and then find/buy it!

Snakes: I was terrified of this before our trip. I knew I was going to be bit on a hike and die. We never once saw a snake, alive or dead (on the road). We did a good deal of hiking and I was watching. Don't worry about the snakes. Take it from a great fearer of snakes (best snake is a dead one!).

Churches & parks: One of the best tips we discovered is that when you're driving through a small town, just look for the steeple of the church and go there. It is extremely common for a park to be across/next a church and, on the weekends especially, this is the place to stop and see, if only for a few moments! Churches are always open to the public and usually very beautiful inside and great picture taking places.

Tabacon Hot springs: worth the $19 admission (only) after 7pm but the water can be very hot. Nice facilities and lots of streams and pools to soak in. Take just a towel and minimal clothes if you can to avoid the locker key wait which was long even on a slow night. By the way, if you're spending the night at the Tabacon resort, you will still have a 1/4 mile walk to the springs down the road so if think staying at the resort affords you the ability to have the springs convenient to your room, think again :)
Las Fuenta Hot springs: downstream and across the street from Tabacon and costs $10. I think the Tabacon Hot springs are a better deal after 7. Not too much in Las Fuenta and it wasn't nearly as nice and kept up.

Airport departure tax: At the arrival at the airport find this desk first because you need to pay the tax and get the form (complete the back of the form!) before you go to your airline desk. At the airline desk you give them this completed form, get your airline tickets, and you need to ask and get an immigration form. Sometimes the flight you're on doesn't have enough of these forms and this is something you can get at your airline desk. Also, they do random searches of bags and I mean they go through everything! If you're chosen, better hope you don't have dirty underwear!

Disposable hand wipes: come in very handy on hikes or in places where it's not easy to wash your hands (small soda's, buying food off of a street vendor, etc.)

Travel alarm clock: power can cycle on/off in more remote areas and some places don't have reliable wake up calls or alarm clocks. Get a $10 battery alarm clock with glow in the dark hands.

Sun lotion: I think this is too obvious for tips other than to say we still got burned even being really careful and our skin is well conditioned for the sun (in Texas).

Tipping: generally you really don't need to tip anywhere. It's 'built' into the price of your meal. We did occasionally tip someone about a dollar but even cab drivers do NOT expect tips. This was one of the most difficult things to get used to because Lyndon and I are tippers. Tipping the right people can help enhance your trip though (tipping the doorman of your hotel can get you great advice on places to go)

Manuel Antonio opinion: We'd definitly advise going here, visiting the park, visit the beaches and eat at the local restaurants. Use the bus system to get to/from the park area to any points between there and Quepos as it is very inexpensive (105 colones - about 20 cents). The beaches inside of the park are nicer than anywhere else in the area. Inside of the park, keep an eye on on group that hired a guide and notice what their scope is aimed at, then you know where to look with your binoculars because wildlife really is designed to blend in.

Quepos opinion: In our opinion Quepos is a nasty little town that was dirty and had no real appeal to us whatsoever. We walked almost every street in that town to check it out, ate there, and still left with no redeeming thoughts about it.

Arenal volcano area: One of the highlights of our trip and we'd spend more time there next time exploring the area, hiking, and relaxing. Very peaceful, generally quiet and easily 3-5 days worth of things to do there if you aren't needing a 'sun' fix (beaches).

San Jose: in our opinion don't stay here. The city is nasty, loud and we didn't like much anything about it. At night we honestly did not feel safe walking anywhere (where we were told it was safe). Perhaps staying in a nearby town or suburb would be best if you're flying in late.

Driving in general opinion: I guess I'd say if this is your first trip you might just hire a guide for your first time and use him the first part of your trip and then consider renting a car for the latter part. The advantage of a guide is that he did stop at places we wouldn't have known or thought to have stopped at that were great picture taking opportunities or places to mingle with the locals. One note of special interest: driving in San Jose, in our opion, is to be avoided totally! I am not kidding when I say that people run certain red lights, stop signs but 'know' when they should stop at them. We would have stopped at each one to be sure but the locals 'know' which ones to stop at...borderline insanity!

Questions/comments: comments@marklyn.us