Changes

The border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua has one particularity : the boarder authorities make it close to hell for any vehicle to cross from Costa Rica to Nicaragua, and trucks bearing a load often have to wait 3 days at the Peñas Blancas border before the paper work get's through to allow them passage. The cue of vehicles in Peñas Blancas is at best several miles long. Entering Costa Rica from Nicaragua takes about 1 minute on the other hand.

For hitchhiking the [[Panamerican highway]], waiting times may be longer than on the beaches but are still not bad. Trucks are definitely the best and fastest way to cross the country on the Panamerican, as they travel this road a lot and are almost always going long distances.

If you are hitch-hiking through Cost Rica on the North-south or South-north rout, it is well worth while not going down the Panamerican (highway 2) all the way and instead taking the 34 along the pacific coast. A lot of truckers go that way anyhow as it is less hassle and not so mountainous, so if you are lucky enough to find a ride that is crossing the country you might just go that way without having to ask.

Like in all of Central America, the dirty-hippy look is not appreciated at all! People here wash every day, wear clean clothes and change them as often as possible. Not doing so is seen as a sign of the utmost disrespect and bad education, and is not recommended if you hope to get anywhere hitch-hiking, however hard it might be to find a shower and some place to dry clothes every day!

Compared to the rest of Central America, life in Costa Rica is very very expensive! This is due to the fact that Costa Ricans pay very high taxes on all purchased goods, and in exchange have good social services and pay hardly no taxes on anything else, including their salaries. Of course, it's a pain for the tourist who never uses anything else than purchased goods...

* [[San José (Costa Rica)|San José]]

* [[Liberia (Costa Rica)|Liberia]]

* [[Heredia (Costa Rica)|Heredia]]

You can get simple roadmaps with gas stations for free in the tourist information in [[San José (Costa Rica)|San José]]. Other recommended maps: ''Reise Know-How "Costa Rica/Panama"'' scale: 1:550.000 (world mapping project). There are various maps in the ''Libreria Lehman'' in the pedestrian zone (Calle Central, in [[San José (Costa Rica)|San José]]).

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Image:Fabzgy_costarica.JPG|[[User:fabzgy|Fabzgy]] hitchhiking on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica

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* [[:Category:Plains of the North|Plains of the North]]

* [[:Category:Guanacaste|Guanacaste]]

* [[:Category:Cocos Island National Park|Cocos Island National Park]]

''"Man, I had a blast hitching Costa Rica. Easy as blackberry-crumble. If you're lucky enough to cross mount Cerro de la Muerte without too much fog, you can see both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans at once (or so they say). Don't get leichmaniasis!"'' - [[User:Kalan]]