BUDGET COSTA RICA TRAVEL ADVICE

Every year hundreds of thousands of vacationers from Canada, Europe, the States, and elsewhere travel to the tiny Latin America country of Costa Rica. It is a terrific destination for different people and for different reasons.

It does not have to cost you a fortune to enjoy Costa Rica, just a little knowledge and creativity.

Adventurers and explorers have marveled about this country for centuries. Christopher Columbus was the first to discover it, doing so in 1503. He was so enthralled he gave it its name, Costa Rica--the rich coast.

About seven decades later, an English captain and seafarer named Sir Francis Drake rounded the southernmost point of South America and traveled north until he dropped anchor at what is now called Drake Bay off the southern Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. You may have heard of this fellow: he is famous for destroying the Spanish Armada and saving England in 1588.

However, unlike these discoverers, you won't need a boatload of people to help you get around as you travel Costa Rica yourself and it won't cost you the Crown treasure, either.

Here are several Costa Rica travel advice secrets for a cheap Costa Rica vacation.

$1.50: Take a Tropical Ferry for the Price of a Bottle of Water

What could be more fun than a ferry boat ride?

Answer: a leisurely ferry tour for less than a can of soda.

Think about a nice cruise along the tropical waters off the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

For about the price of a bottle of water or can of soda---and less than a beer---you can travel between Puntarenas and the southern tip of the spectacular Nicoya Peninsula on a fun ferry.

Can you spare about $1.50 for an hour and half long ferry cruise?

Is this value or what?

It's true, and the best part is that most Costa Rica tourists have no idea about the cheap pleasures of a Costa Rica ferry ride, click

$16.00: Go to the Beach. . . On a Tico Train

And, here is real money saving Costa Rica travel advice.

Take a train from San Jose to Puntarenas.

From the terminal in San Jose, you can take a four hour ride on the Tico Train to Puntarenas. Over the river and through the woods you'll go. . . to the beach.

That's right. You'll pass through spectacular mountains and cross deep chasms on tall bridges in an old train packed with happy Costa Rican families.

Don't forget your camera and bathing suit because the Puntarenas terminal is on the beach! Most tourists don't know about the train which costs about $16 each way.

You'll need train reservations so call American Travel at telephone number 22-33-33-00 when you are ready to go.

Experience a Costa Rica train, click

$5.00: About Buses and Happy Meals

Every beach in this country is public and open to everybody. And you can get anywhere really cheaply by bus.

Public and private buses are everywhere in Costa Rica. For example, suppose, like lots of other surfers and vacationers you want to take in the lovely Pacific town of Jaco. Great climate, lots of things to do.

And a party town at night.

For the price of a Happy Meal, you can take a large, comfortable, air-conditioned bus ride from San Jose to Jaco. Yep.

For about $5 you can get you there on a public, express bus.

So, skip a meal at MacDonalds and save enough to take an adventure!

We have the complete and current Costa Rica bus schedules, click

$12.00: Stay in a Costa Rica Hostel

There are very nice Costa Rica hostels throughout the country.

Sure, most folks associate hostels with college kids crammed into a dorm but the truth is that many of the hostels in Costa Rica offer dorm accomodations for about $12 and private rooms for about $15-20 per person.

You don't need to spend $50-70+ per person to have a nice room. I know because I've stayed in private, quiet rooms at hostels for way less than the cost of cheap Costa Rica hotels.

The web's most comprehensive info about Costa Rica hostels, click

Priceless: Experience Cheap Costa Rica Fun

Priceless.

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