The Costa Rica Gringo Blog | Part of the Gringo Travel Network

Best Place for Meat Lovers in San Jose

May 4th, 2009 | Costa Rica - Gringo Favorite, Costa Rica - Places to Eat, The Best of Costa Rica | 1 Comment »

The Brazilians have stolen my heart, as well as my stomach. I love food. Let me rephrase that, all kinds of foods, but especially those that involve meat. Since I’ve been living in Costa Rica, I’ve notice that you can’t find a decent piece of steak. They tend to be thin, flimsy and lack the juice I crave. I am happy to say that I have found a place where you can find the best red meat there is in Costa Rica.

Fogo Brazil is a Brazilian Churrascaria steak house where you sit and eat, and eat, and eat. At this Churrascaria they roast meats over an open fire for a delicious smokey grilled flavor. Read more

Review of Hotel Crowne Plaza in San Jose

May 1st, 2009 | Costa Rica - Places to Stay | No Comments »

One major hotel located in downtown San Jose is the Crowne Plaza. This is one of the nicer hotels in San Jose. The staff is very kind and helpful and most speak English. When you arrive at the hotel if you have a car they have a very large parking lot, though the lot is not gated there is twenty four hour security. The security staff is very friendly and love helping gringos with learning Spanish. Taxis are available right in front of the hotel and there are also tons of bus stops close by. When you go to the front desk you will notice that currency exchange is offered right in Read more

Renew Tourist Card in Costa Rica

April 29th, 2009 | The Best of Costa Rica | 2 Comments »

If you move to Costa Rica without residency one issue you may face is that you will have to leave the country every three months. Thanks to this many gringos travel to Nicaragua by bus because it is easy to travel to Nicaragua and it is cheap to do so, and it keeps you legal in the country.

Many people choose to travel using Tica Bus. An average round trip ticket on Tica bus is about $42 to $52. Though you may find that flying is more expensive in some

ways it may be an easier way to travel.

When I decided to travel using Tica bus, I was at first quite happy that the bus left on Read more

Indian Restaurant in Santa Ana

April 27th, 2009 | Costa Rica - Business, Costa Rica - Gringo Favorite, Costa Rica - Places to Eat | 2 Comments »

In the entire country of Costa Rica there are only two Indian restaurants. Out of the two my favorite is Taj Mahal restaurant located in Santa Ana. I wouldn’t suggest traveling by taxi to get there, since not many taxis travel in this area which may make it hard to get a taxi back to your hotel. (If you do decide to take a taxi, get their cell number and then just give a call when you are through.)

This restaurant offers many delicious Indian delicacies all made with the freshest ingredients. Their naan bread is made fresh in a special oven when ordered. You can sit outside

Using a Credit Card in Costa Rica

April 22nd, 2009 | Costa Rica - Best Shopping, Costa Rica - Business, Costa Rica - Tourist Trap, Costa Rica - Travel Tips | No Comments »

Often people think it is better to pay everything with a credit card. This is true in many cases because most credit cards have reward systems. So there is a benefit to paying with a credit card and then paying off your statement each month.

In Costa Rica you may find using your credit card to be a little more complicated than using it in your country of origin. When paying for different items in Costa Rica one reason you may not want to use a credit card is because most credit cards charge you a foreign transaction fee. What this is basically is your credit card company is going to charge you a percentage of Read more

Getting a Car in Costa Rica – Buying here or Shipping your Vehicle

April 20th, 2009 | Costa Rica - Adventure, Costa Rica - Business, Costa Rica - Relocation | 1 Comment »

When moving to Costa Rica you may want to think about bringing your car, but before you do that there are some important things you need to consider.

First of all having your car shipped to Costa Rica sounds like a bigger hassle than it really is. Normally the charge to have your car shipped from the United States to Costa Rica is around five hundred dollars. Once your car arrives at port it will be your responsibility to travel to its location and pick it up.

Cheaper Medical Care in Costa Rica

April 18th, 2009 | Costa Rica - Business, Costa Rica - Travel Tips, The Best of Costa Rica | No Comments »

Good news for all of you traveling to Costa Rica for the medical benefits: they are getting things ready for you.

News from THIS WEEK IN MEDICAL TRAVEL:

Costa Rican Medical Care Announces Health Care Seminar
“More than 100,000 medical tourists, most of them Americans, are expected to travel to Costa Rica over the next five years solely for the benefit of less expensive medical services,” says the Costa Rican Ministry of Tourism.

Lake Geneva, Wis. (PRWEB) March 15, 2009 — Costa Rican Medical Care (CRMC), a division of HSA Clearing Corp, will be sponsoring a health care seminar in San Jose, Costa Rica, May 12 and 13, 2009.

Health care costs in the United States have exploded in Read more

The Gringo Shares His Little Black Book…

April 17th, 2009 | Costa Rica - Adults Only, Costa Rica - Adventure, Costa Rica - Best Shopping, Costa Rica - Business, Costa Rica - Culture, Costa Rica - Family Friendly, Costa Rica - Gossip, Costa Rica - Gringo Favorite, Costa Rica - Gringo Owned Business, Costa Rica - Must See or Do, Costa Rica - News, Costa Rica - Nightlife, Costa Rica - Places to Eat, Costa Rica - Places to Stay, Costa Rica - Relocation, Costa Rica - Tourist Trap, Costa Rica - Travel Tips, The Best of Costa Rica | No Comments »

There are a ton of different ways to go about getting information regarding traveling to and living in Costa Rica. But how do you know the information is reliable? Plenty of you have e-mailed asking for information, but as you know… I don’t always find the time to answer, and sometimes I just don’t have the answers! I can, however, connect you with the people who do have the answers!

I, together with all the other Gringo writers (see my blogroll for affiliate sites) have worked to create a database that puts you in contact with the people you need to reach in Panama (and Guatemala, Costa Rica, Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador and more!)

If you are looking for legal services, Read more

Zip Line Adventures in the Costa Rica Rainforest

April 14th, 2009 | Costa Rica - Adventure, Costa Rica - Family Friendly, The Best of Costa Rica | No Comments »

Zipping through trees at a height of over five hundred feet is the only way to see the rain forest. What is a zip line? Well a zip line is essentially a long metal cable that stretches from one platform to another. Then a harness is hooked around your waist and a handle bar is provided to make the experience more comfortable. As you jump off a platform to travel to the next platform, there is nothing below you but the forest. You will travel distances of 2,500 feet at speeds up to forty miles per hour.

Your experience will most likely go like this. When you first arrive you will

Finding a home in Costa Rica

April 9th, 2009 | Costa Rica - Relocation | 1 Comment »

Finding a home is always the first task when moving anywhere. In Cost Rica this can be a lot of trouble yet very rewarding. Most people who move to Costa Rica rent a home rather than buy, since there are some property issues when buying here. You can normally find a one bedroom home for around 60 thousand colones a month. This is equal to around a USD $120. You can also find a three or four bedroom house with a Jacuzzi Bath for around 200 thousand colones or USD $400. Of course prices vary greatly depending on the area you want to move to.

What should you look for when renting a home in Costa Rica? Read more

Best Place for Meat Lovers in San Jose

Review of Hotel Crowne Plaza in San Jose

Renew Tourist Card in Costa Rica

Indian Restaurant in Santa Ana

Using a Credit Card in Costa Rica

Getting a Car in Costa Rica – Buying here or Shipping your Vehicle

Cheaper Medical Care in Costa Rica

The Gringo Shares His Little Black Book…

Zip Line Adventures in the Costa Rica Rainforest

Finding a home in Costa Rica

Get the real story about Costa Rica from a USA expat living there…

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