Costa Rica is a beautiful country worth visiting as soon as possible. I learned some valuable lessons during my vacation, and these tips will help you feel more prepared when you go!

Be prepared for bugs.

If you are a mosquito magnet like I am, come prepared with bug spray, garlic pills, or whatever works for you. While others in my group came away with zero bites, I counted close to 30 on me!

Reapply sunscreen often.

The closer you get to the equator, the harsher UV rays become, and it’s easy to turn into a lobster. Luckily, we learned our lesson in Hawaii years ago, so we managed to avoid the burn this time around. Shade and sunscreen are your two best friends.

I stayed sunscreened and shaded with a rented umbrella to avoid getting burned on our day at Isle Tortuga.

Bring baby wipes.

You aren’t supposed to flush toilet paper in Costa Rica. The internet tells me that this is because of a number of reasons including thinner pipes set at 90 degree angles and low water pressure. Instead of flushing, paper goes in the garbage in a usually covered can. Wipes simplify this process and wrapping is appreciated.

Know how to use the showers.

While I never had to use one of these "suicide" showers, my brother got one on the last night. Since I'm no expert, here's a link with more information.

Ask about the water.

Everywhere that we stayed had drinkable water, and we routinely ordered drinks with ice in restaurants. Out of 6 of us, one got sick, and it lasted the entire trip. We still aren’t sure what caused it, but some precautions you can take are washing produce, asking about the water in your hotel, and sticking to bottled water when you aren’t sure. It would be smart to pack some Pepto Bismol or similar in case you suddenly get stricken with a sick tummy.

Rent a 4WD.

I highly recommend having a car during your trip. While highways on the mainland are paved and easy to navigate, if you plan to visit the peninsula or any more remote areas, you will be negotiating rocky, washboard dirt roads up steep hills and through rivers.

On a similar topic, be prepared for long travel times on these roads because you’ll need to drive slowly. 15 kilometers can take 45 minutes on rough roads. Google Maps provided accurate times for us. (We had free international data through T-Mobile.)

Have GPS.

Roads aren’t always clearly marked, and it’s easy to get lost in remote areas. I would recommend using CityMaps2Go, which has a map of the entire country, and includes back roads. Download it before you get there and it will run sans internet. I've recommended this app before in My Favorite Travel Apps.

Keep coins for tolls.

Highways have tolls that vary from 200-600 colones ($0.30-$1.00). We kept our coins accessible to get through the tolls quickly. As soon as we saw the fee sign, the person in the passenger seat (me) would start counting so that we were ready to go!

Know how the ferry system works.

We were confused the first time. Here’s how it works. Arrive about an hour early if you can, pull your car into line, and park. Stay by your car and look for the guy with a fanny pack. He will give you a laminated pass for your car. As soon as you get this pass, walk up to the ticket booth to pay. Hand the pass over and tell the number of passengers to pay for your tickets. They will give you paper tickets.

Once it’s time to load (or unload) on the ferry, only the driver is allowed to be in the car. All other passengers take their tickets to walk on/off the ferry.

Passengers wait on the side of the road for their drivers to pick them up after exiting the ferry.

Don’t stay in San Jose.

We flew into the Juan Santamaria airport, and spent the first night of our trip in nearby San Jose. We quickly realized that there is not much there. Alajuela is another town only 2 kilometers from the airport and much more bustling. We spent a couple hours here on our last day before our flight home and loved it! There are pretty parks, a cathedral, a museum, shopping, restaurants, and lots of hipsters walking around.

We happened to walk by a restaurant called Cevichera Junior that was really busy at 2pm. We talked to a couple of guys outside waiting for a table, who assured us that it was the best, and quickly got a table. It was quite tasty!

If you do find yourself in San Jose, we found a great Cuban place called La Bodeguita Del Medio. Sit inside with live music, and look for my name on the ceiling by the bar!

Make sure your hotel has AC and a pool.

It was so hot and humid the whole time we were there. Without a shaded pool, I don’t think I would have made it through most days, and without AC in my room, I don’t think I would have gotten much sleep.

Be active.

Costa Rica is not the place to visit if you just want to sit on the beach and drink piña coladas all day. Yes, there are some beautiful beaches and you should definitely spend some of your time chilling in the sand. However, Costa Rica offers so much more. Volcanoes, nature reserves, surfing, and zip lining are just a few of the best things to do in Costa Rica.

For a list of activities for your upcoming adventurous trip to Costa Rica, check out this article!

In the words of the Ticos, Pura Vida!