First Visit

[Renee Baresel]

Hello, I am a 60+ female visiting Costa Rica for the first time in June. I will be attending the International Living conference, and then going on a couple of relocation tours in the Central Valley, with the ultimate goal of discovering whether and where I might want to live in CR. I will have two full days open to visit other areas. I would love to see the Pacific Coast but am not sure where to go. I will be traveling alone, and do not want to rent a car. What would be two options for “representative” expat towns on the coast that you would suggest? Best ways to get there? Mid-range hotels? Places to meet and talk with expats? FYI I will be flying in and out of San Jose. Thanks for any help.

• This topic was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by Renee Baresel.

[Country Expert john michael arthur]

Hola Renee!
How exciting that you’ll be visiting Costa Rica. We just love our life here.

Let me try to answer your question–but in doing so allow me to first make some observations that just always are true.
1) 2 days is hardly anytime at all–distances are short but travel times much longer than you think. If you really want to check some areas you’ll need a MINIMUM of one day in each location, but you’ll need travel time, too.

2) The whole purpose of the Fast Track Costa Rica conference is to acquaint you with all the different areas. And I can not tell you how often people come with one set of ideas in hand and those completely change after participating in the conference. The areas you ask about are so varied and only YOU can know if it is a fit.
Soooooo, I strongly suggest you wait to decide where to visit until after the conference.

3) That said, if I were to pick one town to suggest in each of the major Pacific beach areas, they would be:
In the North–Tamarindo
Central Pacific–Quepos
Southern Pacific–Dominical/Uvita
Each of these are as drastically different one from another as Santa Fe is from Atlanta is from Boston. In other words, they are all fantastic places to live FOR THE RIGHT PERSON–but not for every person.

4) I’m sure there are myriad other questions you’ll have (even more than you realize now) after you’ve started hearing the speakers at the Fast Track Costa Rica. Both Kathleen and I will be there the entire time, and either or both of us will be happy to talk in more detail about any of these questions or others.

Best of luck
I’ll look forward to meeting you in person in Costa Rica
JMA

[Kathleen Evans]

Hi Renee!

It’s Kathleen the Coastal Correspondent here. I absolutely echo everything that John Michael has shared with you. Since you are focusing on the Central Valley and only have a short time to get to the coast, you might want to check out the Central Coast – since it is closest. Just in case you want to do more research before you go.

The most popular expat towns there are Jaco and Quepos/Manuel Antonio. But there are also several charming smaller beach communities along the way in between them such as Playa Hermosa an Esterillos. A Google search for them will help better acquaint you, as well as a search on the IL site.

As a female, I understand your concerns about traveling alone. Costa Rica is a safe country. But one should always err on the side of caution no matter where you are in the world. Therefore I would suggest staying in a hotel rather than an Airbnb or a hostel. That way you have 24/7 hotel staff to look after you.

There will be a travel company at the conference who can help set up transport to one of the towns. You can also look into pricing on either Gray Line or Interbus CR. These are very dependable shared shuttle companies that can get you from the conference hotel to most of the beach towns (and much of the country, as well). That way you do not need to rent a car.

I hope that helps in your pre-planning. Feel free to stop by the booth and we can discuss it further if you have not yet made plans. I look forward to meeting you!

FYI, I live in the beach community of Tamarindo on the NW Pacific coast. We have just had 2 single retired ladies move into our condo building (one from Dallas and one from Portland). So you can feel confident to know many expat single ladies are taking the plunge!!

See you soon!
-Kathleen Evans
Coastal CR Correspondent

P.S. Please note I am currently on a cruise and have limited access to email. But you can direct any more specific questions to John Michael.

[Renee Baresel]

John Michael and Kathleen,
Muchisimas gracias for your thoughtful, honest, and informative replies. They are both extremely helpful. Special thanks to you, Kathleen, for taking the time to respond while on your cruise. Hope you’re having a great time!

As you suggested, I have begun to do more detailed research, and am painfully aware that the time I have is really not enough to explore the coast as I would like. Good reason for a return trip!

Good to know there will be a company at the conference to help with travel out to the coast. Although I am more comfortable having a plan and reservations prior to travel, your responses have encouraged me to wait until I hear more at the conference to make a final decision.

Looking forward to meeting you both and having my list of questions ready!

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