Costa Rica - Travel Advice

[Fifth Vodka]

I don't speak any spanish, but I would like to get in contact with your doctor to get an initial fitting. Thank you for posting, us newbies to the "hobby" really appreciate the help. I will be in CR from the 11-16th but a flight for me is only 350 or so, so I would be able to come back easily if necessary.

Thanks

Tim

[Green_Thumb]

Ok,

Back from CR with a brand new smile! I love the new veneers, never had whiter teeth in my life. Very happy how everything went. If anyone wants the details, PM me. There's a lot of info I have on specifics of pain, pricing, etc. That I don't want to clutter this site with as this should be dedicated to the chicas!

GT

[Gam3000]

Me and my cousin are trying to decide either Panama, Costa Rica, or Medillen.

We did the DR sosua trip twice and we are looking for the same type of experience.
any ideas?

[Green_Thumb]

Vector,

I am leaving for San Jose for veneer work tomorrow. First meeting is on Monday, Jan 26th for initial consult, pictures, molding, etc. And then having work done on Friday, Jan 30th. I am going with Dr. Alejandro Mora Lasso of Dental Cosmetics Costa Rica.

I'll let you know how everything went as far as pricing, service, etc. When I get back.

GT

[Vector313]

Hello guys,

I am currently looking for somewhere to go to get dental veneers. I've scoured the net for places such as Thailand, poland, etc. And have found information for a facility in San Jose, CR. I was wondering have any of you found good places to have dental work in other central or south american countries such as Panama, Brazil, or Columbia. The flights to Asia or Europe are much more expensive, and I do not know much about Costa Rica, so I am a little leary. I do whoever like that fact that the facility in CR can do the entire dental process in a week. Also, I'd like to go to a place where there would be some beautiful women (preferably dark, negritas).

Vector

[Superman06]

The earthquake appears to have done some very serious damage to buildings and roadways on the mountainous areas. Sadly there have been several deaths. AM Costa Rica has some good coverage.
http://www.amcostarica.com/index.htm

CRT members who are in CR posted ongoing reports of what was happening and still are.

Teletica 7 has several good video reports showing road and building damage from a helicopter. I watched a few last night. Unfortunatly their server appears to be jammed. But you might want to check later.
http://www.teletica.com/videos.php

[Qncterra]

I received a couple reports of a 6.2 earthquake today, with a couple of casualties and several injuries, and a number of buildings running generators. I am just looking for any local reports on what's happening. I'll probably be coming back in March. Thanks.

[Iguana Six]

I am shipping out for the Middle East before the holidays. I would like the forum's advice in deciding where I should I go for some pre-deployment mongering, as where I am going will be as dry as a bone.

I used to go to Tijuana in 2000, have been to San Jose in 2006, and have made several recent trips to Panama City. I hope to get in a October and an early November trip in, each of a week or less duration.

A short Tijuana trip would have easy logistics. Fewer questions are asked for a pass to Los Angeles. A flight from the east coast (IAD or RIC) isn't too expensive, and hopefully neither are hotels and rental cars in San Diego. I don't know what the current quality of the AB and CC talent is.

Costa Rica requires a cover story. Getting a good rate on a flight and a hotel might require at least a month's advance purchase. I recall the talent in the lobby of the Del Rey ranged from porn star to fryolater operator at the Dairy Queen.

Panama requires a cover story, good rates for flight/hotel. However, I could easily spend a week going through the "sampler package" at Golden Times. (Have they raised their prices?) I am still fascinated by the snap shots I took of one particular CMM (Colombian Mattress Monster)....

So help a fellow monger out. Where would you go if you could do two short (and hopefully not too expensive) trips?

[Prolijo]

Let me get this straight. You're going to start in Cartagena and travel east before flying back west to Panama City. If I were you I'd fly into Porlamar first. A quick search at Kayak showed that might actually be a cheaper and slightly shorter total flight from LAX than going to Cartagena. And I'd also bet there are many more, cheaper and shorter flights between Cartagena and Panama City too, since they're both much more important destinations, much closer to each other and with no other major stops in between. Alternatively, fly into San Jose first and do your trip in the opposite direction. That would have the advantage of starting you out in an "easier" city before you undertake the cultural challenges of 3rd world bus travel, which could be important if you haven't done any trips like this before.

As for the advice to travel between Bogota or even Medellin through the mountains to Caracas instead of taking one of the direct coastal buses from Cartagena, well I won't comment on the relative mongering strengths of each city, but from a purely logistical standpoint it makes no sense. The bus from Cartagena to Caracas takes 20 hrs which is bad enough that you'd probably want to break that up somewhere along the way any way. The bus just from Medellin to Bogota takes 9 hours by itself, then it is another 16 hours from there just to the Venezuelan border and it is still another 14 hours from there to Caracas.

There is something to what has been said about your travel budget. El Greco's estimate may not be too far off for a relatively budget oriented trip, though you could probably do even better depending on how much you're willing to scrimp. Most guys around here would probably spend much more than that. Their point is though that even if you could keep your costs down to just 2 grand that doesn't exactly leave a helluva lot for mongering costs.

My larger concern would not be so much your expense budget though as it would be your time budget. Five days in Cartagena alone out of 25 leaves just 20 for everything else. If you then spend 20 hours on a bus you're probably not going to want to rush through your next stop. To make it easier you might also want to stop in Maracaibo which is about halfway to Caracas. You could save some hotel expense by taking night buses, but I wouldn't swear to how safe they'd be for a gringo. So now we're talking up to 3 days just to get to Caracas (2 long ones on buses and 1 stopping over in Maracaibo). Then say at least 2-3 more in Caracas (or proportionately more if you do the 20 hour trip non-stop) before you rush off to Puerto La Cruz. That's another 5 hour ride or the better part of the day. So now we're up to day 11 or 12 or nearly halfway through your trip. You said another few days there (3?). I'm not sure you'd want to spend that long there since it doesn't have much that you aren't going to find on Margarita. The big thing near there is Mochima NP which you could do a boat excursion out to one day, but you'll also see much of the same scenery on the ferry ride out to Margarita (take the slower ones). How long in Margarita? Another 3 days plus the half day for the ferry out there? Now we're up to day 18 leaving just a week for PC and SJ. The night bus between PC and SJ is perfectly safe but then you're going to miss a lot of the counttry side. Three days each in each capital leaves you with just 1 day to spare to see anything else in those countries. If this is just a mongering trip then might be perfectly fine with you, but I think if you just stuck to the latin american cities you'd really be missing the best aspects of those countries. You could "steal" some time from some of your other stops so you'd have more time in Panama and CR, but then those places would be proportionally rushed.

IMHE, there is always some tradeoff between truly budget travel and time. Buses take time. Air flights cost money. If you take the bus there are always unforeseen delays in addition to just the length of the bus ride, like arranging the tickets, finding the terminals, making connections and simply waiting around. Bus fares may be cheap, but they're still an expense and travel days always seem to cost more than days just spent in one location. Shorten your stay in each place and increase the number of places you visit and your costs go up.

Besides that the first day or so in a new place also will cost you more. There's always a learning curve. Taking cabs before learning how the local buses work, finding the cheaper places to eat, even finding the best hotel for the money if you arrive in town late and don't have time to hunt around (which is another thing that can eat up your time). You can save some money by preparing some of your own meals or washing your own clothes but getting supplies and putting it together is another thing that takes time (personally I don't think its worth the savings). If you visit a place regularly or stay there for several days or more, you may get to know your way around but the first day or two that you go someplace you'll inevitably make mistakes that will cost you money or time (or both).

On a budget trip you won't be spending all your time doing vacationy things like you would on one where you pay for all the conveniences like carefully timed tour buses to pick you up and take you directly to each next activity. For example, in SJ for $100 you could take a tour that will take you to a half a dozen sights around the central valley in one day. To do that on the cheap by public bus would take at least 2-3 and would be simply be impossible to do in the same amount of time.

In summary, I think your trip is a certainly possible. But I think you should seriously consider either increasing your money budget or the time of your trip or else cutting down on the amount of ground that you want to cover (e.g. in addition to Colombia, do either Caracas Margarita Island or SJ and PC but not both). That way you won't wind up feeling like you're racing around from one place to the next (If its Tueday it must be Belgium) and you'll get a better, more in depth experience of each place.

I'll close with one of my favorite budget travel sayings "Always pack half as much stuff as you think you're going to need to bring and always bring twice as much money as you think you're going to need to spend."

[Assman666]

Thanks for your help guys. The only thing I'm nervous of is that I'm the most american looking guy blonde hair blue eyes. I'm afraid I'll get jacked. Do you guys think any of those placed besides Caracas is a place I should not goto?

[El Greco]

I'm trying to plan a trip by myself to some Central and South American countries. To monger. I was wondering if you guys had any tips or comments on where I'm going and the routes that I will be taking. Anything would be very beneficial such as where to and not take the bus. Let me first say I'm 20 year old male my Spanish is alright. I can get by. So I'm thinking I fly in to Cartagena Colombia spend 5 nights there, then catch a bus to Caracas (any tips on customs is the bus safe to take there? ) then from Caracas I would like to catch a bus to puerto la cruz Venezuela spend some nights there. Then catch the ferry to Margairta Island. Then from the airport in margarita island I would fly to Panama city spend some nights there. Then catch a bus to San Jose, Costa Rica. Then fly home to los angeles. Any suggestions would help me out a lot. I plan on being on this trip for 25 days and I'm bringing about 2,000 dollars.

I would definetly start from Medellin. I wouldn't go on bus from Cartagena over to Caracas. I only went up to Baranquilla. In Cartagena there are some nice discos, full of chicas, a little bit out of town. Ask your receptionist or a taxi driver.

Once in Puerto la Cruz stay at the new part of the city. On the far side of it there is a very large complex with discos, bars and restaurants. It is a must for Friday-Saturday nights. Lots of very-very nice chicas. On the way there you will find a lot of beach bars with nice young people hanging there. IMHO the best beach there was San Juan. A small fishermen village about 40 min drive from the city with a lagoon type beach with very clear waters. Take a chica with you and you will be fine.

We took the ferry to isla Margarita. The best beach there was on the other side of the island. Can't remember the name. We walked through a large and expensive resort hotel to get to the beach.

Expenses. Let's see. your main concern would be accomodation and pussy expenses.eg hotel $20-30 average, food and beverage $20, tickets and transport $15 totals $65/day. So you have another $15 for pussy. Since you are so young you will not have to pay most of the time but remember that chicas in South America expect that you have to pay for their drinks and sometimes it is more expensive than paid sex. In other words have a credit card handy and you might find your self in need of another $500 on the credit card.

I was planing a trip to PTY-SJO-SAL-MGA and GUA for next month but a knee injury is holding me back. My plans have changed for next February-March starting from Fortaleza Brasil on the way to Miami.

Have fun and report. Remember that you are a very lucky man if you can do trips like that at your age.

Hope that it helps.

El Greco

[DR Monger II]

2 Grand isnt enough for 1 woman for 25 days in Costa Rica. However, you plan on traveling latin America. It's barely enough for hotel and food and transportation arrangements.

[Looking For Eden]

I'm trying to plan a trip by myself to some Central and South American countries. To monger. I was wondering if you guys had any tips or comments on where I'm going and the routes that I will be taking. Anything would be very beneficial such as where to and not take the bus. Let me first say I'm 20 year old male my Spanish is alright. I can get by. So I'm thinking I fly in to Cartagena Colombia spend 5 nights there, then catch a bus to Caracas (any tips on customs is the bus safe to take there? ) then from Caracas I would like to catch a bus to puerto la cruz Venezuela spend some nights there. Then catch the ferry to Margairta Island. Then from the airport in margarita island I would fly to Panama city spend some nights there. Then catch a bus to San Jose, Costa Rica. Then fly home to los angeles. Any suggestions would help me out a lot. I plan on being on this trip for 25 days and I'm bringing about 2,000 dollars.

I think 2 grand for 25 days is a tight budget. I usually do twice that for the same amount of time in SA. You will have a great time regardless though. Good luck and please put up a report when you return.

[PapaMac]

You are living the dream. Sounds like a lot of fun. Only thing I would change is if you are going to start in Colombia, I would have to start in Medellin. I have been to Colombia, Venezuela and Costa Rica. All great places to visit. You are going to have a blast!

Good Luck.

UW

Sounds like a plan. You say you speak Spanish and if you can blend in, you should be fine. The buses in Colombia would be the only concern I would have. Do some research on this board and on other Colombian travel sites about the particular safety of the route you will be taking, the information is there. I'm about the same age, have been to Colombia and Costa Rica. Have takin many buses, many times, never had any sort of problems. Although I am blond hair and blue eyes. Just be smart.

Like the previous post stated, I would also recommend starting in Medellin. For mongering, this would definitely be helpful with your budget as you will find some bargains.

I can gather, with this type of itinerary, you are an adventure seeker. So just do it.

[Underwriter]

I'm trying to plan a trip by myself to some Central and South American countries. To monger. I was wondering if you guys had any tips or comments on where I'm going and the routes that I will be taking. Anything would be very beneficial such as where to and not take the bus. Let me first say I'm 20 year old male my Spanish is alright. I can get by. So I'm thinking I fly in to Cartagena Colombia spend 5 nights there, then catch a bus to Caracas (any tips on customs is the bus safe to take there? ) then from Caracas I would like to catch a bus to puerto la cruz Venezuela spend some nights there. Then catch the ferry to Margairta Island. Then from the airport in margarita island I would fly to Panama city spend some nights there. Then catch a bus to San Jose, Costa Rica. Then fly home to los angeles. Any suggestions would help me out a lot. I plan on being on this trip for 25 days and I'm bringing about 2,000 dollars.

You are living the dream. Sounds like a lot of fun. Only thing I would change is if you are going to start in Colombia, I would have to start in Medellin. I have been to Colombia, Venezuela and Costa Rica. All great places to visit. You are going to have a blast!

Good Luck.

UW