My Travel Optimizer

Costa Rican weather is probably some of the most human friendly in the world. There are no extremes of heat or cold. The coastal areas can be hot but I find the Pacific side very accommodating. The days are sunny and hot but not oppressively so IMHO. At night the temperatures lower and I find it easy to sleep with just a fan or a good ocean breeze.

In many parts of the country, air conditioning is not a necessity. In the Central valley the temperature fluctuates in the 70’s. It never climbs or falls to extremes that cause discomfort.

I live in Florida and while we are spared the arctic torments of the north we still get some nasty chills. Where I live is very humid and that creates horrible conditions on the days that the temperature dips into the 30’s and 40’s. I think its actually better up north where moisture is frozen out of the air and turned into snow. Cold, humid air seeps into the bones. Thankfully those temperature dips never last more than a day or two.

Costa Rica is spared these temperature extremes and that only adds to its already paradise like conditions. It’s the best weather I’ve ever experienced and I’ve been to Europe and Africa. There are two basic seasons in Costa Rica; rainy and dry. The rainy season roughly corresponds to the North American winter and the dry season to its summer. Don’t be put off by the idea of visiting in the rainy season. Showers are usually in the afternoon and fairly brief. Costa Rica does not have a monsoon like situation where it rains for days and days without interruption. That being said, there are occasionally bad storms on the coast. There was some flooding recently on the Atlantic side near the Puerto Viejo area. Roads were washed out and travel was made difficult for a few days. Its not a common occurrence but its not unheard of either.

The weather in the interior is much milder. There are no hurricanes or tornadoes. I’ve never experienced thunderstorms of the intensity that I’ve seen in Tampa(supposedly its Native American for “land of lighting”) or central Texas. An umbrella, rain jacket or poncho is all you need. If you plan on being in remote areas during the rainy season you may want to invest in rubber boots because the roads get very muddy.

Here is a good website for local weather conditions in Costa Rica. If you can’t read Spanish just click on “Pronósticos” on the left hand side. That’s Spanish for “forecasts.” Then click on “Regional.” This will give you weather forecasts for the different regions. Norte=North. Sur=South. Caribe=Caribbean.

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Tags: Costa Rica weather

Biking is very popular in Costa Rica. Its a great way to see the country. The last time I was in Costa Rica we went mountain biking in the Arenal area. The ride was awesome and we found some great places to view the Volcano. We saw some really cool sights that would have been difficult to access with a car or even a 4×4. We had to cross a mountain stream at one point. We hitched the bikes on our shoulders and waded across. Once we were on the other side I decided to take a dip. The water was as clear and clean as our spring water back home in Florida. All around us was lush tropical greenery and the sounds of wildlife. Its hard to describe the vibe that is created by Costa Rican scenery, smells and sounds. There is just something inherently dramatic about the Costa Rican countryside. It’s intense and I can’t get enough of it.

We will be in Costa Rica on December 22nd. We will be renting mountain bikes and hauling them around with us as we tour the country. I have a local contact who is going to show me some trails. I’m looking for some single track but I don’t think they have as many of those type tracks as they do in the United States.

If you know of some cool mountain biking locations or trails in Costa Rica please make a post on my blog or sign in to my email newsletter. You get a free download of my Costa Rica travel guide when you sign up. One of the goals of this next Costa Rica trip is find more mountain biking trails and routes. I’ll be sharing what I find via this blog and my newsletter. If you’re a mountain biking aficionado and you love Costa Rica please help me put some good info together.

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Tags: Mountain biking

A question I often hear is whether people should make their reservations ahead of time or book as they go. It depends on when and where you are going and what type of travel you wish to do.

The beaches in Costa Rica get very full during the Christmas and Easter holidays. Its a Costa Rican tradition to spend those days at the beach. I would make a reservation in beach areas during those times.

I reserve a hotel room near the airport when I arrive and leave. When I get to Costa Rica I just want to get to the airport and chill out and get in some good sleep so I can get up early the next day and get with it. I stay at Orchideas Inn. Its a nice looking hotel that is clean and safe. They have a gate and a 24 hour guard so you can park you car and not worry about it. The restaurant is very good and that means I don’t have to go anywhere to eat. I’ts also close to Volcan Poas which I recommend you visit.

The end and the beginning of the trip are times when I just want to get to a hotel I know and not waste time looking around for a room and/or a bargain. Once I get underway I tend to just wing it. There are exceptions. I will be in Costa Rica this december and I reserved a room for us on Christmas day. I wanted us to spend Christmas Morning in the Monteverde Cloud forest. Because I have a specific plan for that day I made preparations.

Otherwise I don’t like to have too much of a schedule. I tend to be spontaneous and I don’t want to be chained down to a list of reservations (especially in Costa Rica where a canceled reservation can cost you money). This style of travel may not be for everybody.

In most cases you will find the best deals if you book as you go. Costa Rica is full of hotels. There are many you can stay in for less than $50. Not all of them have websites. Not all of them are in the guidebooks. The vast majority are clean and relatively safe. When I say relatively I mean you need to careful with your possessions. If you’re staying at a budget hotel you need to keep your passport with you or in a safe. Don’t leave your electronics in the room either. Your money and credit cards should always be with you. If I leave a pair of shoes in the room I tend to put them under my dirty laundry with some underwear on top. I should also mention that areas that have a lot of clubs, bars, booze and drugs will inevitably attract a rougher element. I would be extra cautious in or near party towns.

I’ve stayed in plenty of budget hotels and never had a problem. I’ve only been robbed once(all they got was a new pair of jeans and some shirts) and that was not in a budget location. I keep my valuables with me and at night I bring everything in from the car. Budget accommodations also cater to locals, backpackers and budget travelers. I figure that if you’re a thief you’re probably looking for more high value targets in more expensive hotels.

Booking as you go adds some adventure to your journey. I personally like the unexpected when I travel. There’s plenty of predictability in my normal work routine so my trips are a chance to let the day take me where it will.

When you book as you go you can make some real finds. There are too many hotels in Costa Rica to fully list in a guidebook. You don’t want to make a reservation and find a better hotel for half the price across the street.

What I have found traveling is that there is always a room somewhere. Maybe it won’t be where you like or a price you like but it will be there. You have to watch out for holidays, festivals, concerts and stuff like that but otherwise you’ll be okay. Call a hotel in Costa Rica before you go and ask if there is anything going on during the dates you plan to be there so you don’t get caught by surprise.

I feel very confident traveling in Costa Rica without reservations. I’m very much into outdoor activities so a pool, spa, and cable tv are not important to me. Hotels for me are pretty much for sleeping and showering. If I do want to just lounge around for a couple of days I’ve never had trouble finding a cheap room within walking distance of an awesome beach. I’m pretty active but some days you do want to just lie in a hammock or sit in a chair and just stare into the distance.

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My next Costa Rica trip is only four weeks away. I bought my first HD camcorder a couple of weeks ago. I researched for a few weeks and chose the Canon HF100 for the following reasons

• I have a Canon digital camera.  Its been incredibly reliable and I found the interface very intuitive.
• Its $550 which I find incredible for an HD camcorder.
• Saves to smart cards so there is a minimum of moving parts
• Small size. Not much bigger than a coke can.
• Its storage format AVCHD is compatible with Sony Vegas (my editing software).

I’ve been tinkering with it recently. I’ll upload some videos soon. The Canon interface suits me. It is a smart design which to me means that its easy to use. The quality of the videos blows my mind. Its such a step above the older generation of camcorders. There are presets in the camera for certain filming conditions(nightime, far away, the beach, etc) and this is an incredible time saver. There’s a lot more to filming than just pointing and shooting (as I am quickly learning).

I took the smart card out, inserted into the card interface in my Dell (quadcore pentium, 4 gigs RAM) and transferred the files to my hard drive in less than a minute. The files opened up with no problem in Sony Vegas. Modern technology is such a marvel. Ten years ago all this technology was not available and anything similar would have been out of my price range. Twenty years ago I would have had to go down to Costa Rica with a camera team and miles of film. I would have had to come home, develop it and edit it with a razor blade. If there was any digital editing sofware back then it could only have been affordable to major Hollywood studios.

I also got a telephoto lens, wide angle lens, filters, tripod, etc. I’m going to Costa Rica on Dec 22nd and I’ll be taking lots of pics and filming tons of stuff. You’ll be able to see the results here in my blog and I’ll put some stuff on Youtube. I’ll give you a full review of how it all worked out and what I used. I love to travel but I’m also a technology geek and I appreciate it when people post reviews of new gadgets.

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I’ve set up an subscription form for a newsletter on my blog. You can see the sign up form on the right hand side. If you’ve read my blog then you know I’m a huge fan of using internet and computer technology for organization and efficiency. The newsletter will allow me to communicate with readers in a less messy and crude fashion than a mass email.

I am traveling to Costa Rica in late December and I am taking an HD camcorder. I will soon send out a questionnaire asking people what they would like to see and know about in Costa Rica. I want to put together a travel video of sorts when I get back and I’d like some input there as well.

Thanks in advance
Jim

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