Costa Rica is a country in Central America and is located at the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
Impressions from my Vlog
Monteverde
The city of Monteverde is located in the interior of Costa Rica and is surrounded by cloud forests. We were at the suspension bridges of the “Sky Adventure Monteverde Park” and the “Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve”. The entrance fee from both was not particularly cheap and we saw some birds.
San José
In the capital San José we were only for the transit from Panama to Monteverde. We did the freewalking tour in the morning and continued to Monteverde at noon.
Travel Tips
Planning
- I traveled to Colombia on my world trip through Latin America:
- 1. Bus from the border to Panama to San José.
- 2. Bus from San José to Monteverde.
- 3. Bus from Monteverde to Rivas in Nicaragua for the island of Ometepe. We bought a ticket for the TicaBus in our hostel in Monteverde. To catch the bus, we had to take a public bus from Monteverde to the crossroads early in the morning.
- Costa Rica is about twice as expensive as most countries in Central America. The entrance costs to the nature parks were particularly expensive. So we didn't stay longer in Costa Rica and went straight to Nicaragua.
- I used for my planning and can recommend the Lonely Planet for Central America.
Transport
- Arriva
- There are several national borders between Costa Rica and Panama. From San José are buses like the TicaBus that go directly to David or Panama City. Otherwise, you have to take the bus to the border continue and on the other side with another bus.
- There are direct buses from Costa Rica to Nicaragua like the TicaBus from San José to Managua. Otherwise, you have to take the bus to the border and continue on the other side with another bus. We bought a ticket for the TicaBus in our hostel in Monteverde. To catch the bus, we had to take a public bus from Monteverde to the crossroads early in the morning.
- Transportation between cities
- Rome2Rio has some bus connections between cities.
Accommodation
- We stayed in hostels and found the cheapest rates on Booking.com or Hotels.com. HostelWorld had fewer choices and they were more expensive.
Visa
- No visa is required as a German.
- Proof of departure is required on arrival such as a flight ticket. This is checked at the border before entering the country. For me, it was at the border crossing from Panama to Costa Rica and I had a flight ticket as a PDF on my smartphone.