Fast Facts

American Express -- American Express Travel Services is represented in Costa Rica by ASV Olympia, Oficentro La Sabana, Sabana Sur, in San José (tel. 242-8585), which can issue traveler's checks and replacement cards and provide other standard services. To report lost or stolen Amex traveler's checks within Costa Rica, call the number above or tel. 257-0155, or call collect to 313/271-7887 in the United States.

Area Codes -- There are no area codes in Costa Rica. All local phone numbers are seven-digit numbers. However, toll-free numbers are inconsistent. Some begin with 800, others with 0800. Moreover, some actually have eight digits following the 800 or 0800.

Business Hours -- Banks are usually open Monday through Friday from 9am to 4pm, although many have begun to offer extended hours. Offices are open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm (many close for 1 hr. at lunch). Stores are generally open Monday through Saturday from 9am to 6pm (many close for 1 hr. at lunch). Stores in modern malls generally stay open until 8 or 9pm and don't close for lunch. Most bars are open until 1 or 2am.

Customs
What You Can Bring Into Costa Rica -- Visitors entering Costa Rica are officially entitled to bring in 500 grams of tobacco, 5 liters of liquor, and US$500 in merchandise. Cameras, computers, and electronic equipment for personal use are permitted duty-free. Customs officials in Costa Rica seldom check tourists' luggage.

What You Can Take Home from Costa Rica -- Every country has rules stating what its citizens are allowed to bring back. Be sure to understand your country's rules before beginning your trip to Costa Rica.

U.S. Citizens: For specifics on what you can bring back and the corresponding fees, download the invaluable free pamphlet Know Before You Go at www.cbp.gov (click on "Travel," and then click on "Know Before You Go! Online Brochure"). Or contact the U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20229 (tel. 877/287-8667) and request the pamphlet.

Canadian Citizens: For a clear summary of Canadian rules, write for the booklet I Declare, issued by the Canada Border Services Agency (tel. 800/461-9999 in Canada or 204/983-3500; www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca).

U.K. Citizens: For information, contact HM Customs & Excise at tel. 0845/010-9000 (from outside the U.K., 020/8929-0152), or consult their website at www.hmce.gov.uk.

Australian Citizens: A helpful brochure available from Australian consulates or Customs offices is Know Before You Go. For more information, call the Australian Customs Service at tel. 1300/363-263, or log on to www.customs.gov.au.

New Zealand Citizens: Most questions are answered in a free pamphlet available at New Zealand consulates and Customs offices: New Zealand Customs Guide for Travellers, Notice no. 4. For more information, contact New Zealand Customs, The Customhouse, 17-21 Whitmore St., Box 2218, Wellington (tel. 04/473-6099 or 0800/428-786; www.customs.govt.nz).

Drugstores -- Called farmacias in Spanish, drugstores are quite common throughout the country. Those at hospitals and major clinics are often open 24 hours a day.

Electricity -- The standard in Costa Rica is the same as in the United States: 110 volts AC (60 cycles). However, three-pronged outlets can be scarce, so it's helpful to bring along an adapter.

Embassies & Consulates -- The following are located in San José: United States Embassy, in front of Centro Commercial, on the road to Pavas (tel. 519-2000, or 220-3127 after hours in case of emergency); Canadian Consulate, Oficentro Ejecutivo La Sabana, Edificio 5 (tel. 242-4400); and British Embassy, Paseo Colón between calles 38 and 40 (tel. 258-2025). There are no Australian or New Zealand embassies in San José.

Emergencies -- In case of any emergency, dial tel. 911 (which should have an English-speaking operator); for an ambulance, call tel. 128; and to report a fire, call tel. 118. If 911 doesn't work, you can contact the police at tel. 222-1365 or 221-5337, and hopefully they can find someone who speaks English.

Hospitals -- In San José try Clínica Bíblica (Avenida 14 between calles Central and 1), which offers emergency services to foreign visitors at reasonable prices (tel. 522-1000; www.clinicabiblica.com), or the Hospital CIMA (tel. 208-1000; www.hospitalsanjose.net), located in Escazú on the Próspero Fernández Highway, which connects San José and the western suburb of Santa Ana and has the most modern facilities in the country.

Language -- Spanish is the official language of Costa Rica. Frommer's Spanish PhraseFinder & Dictionary (John Wiley & Sons, 2006) is probably the best phrase book to bring with you. However, in most tourist areas, you'll be surprised by how well Costa Ricans speak English.

Laundromats -- Dry cleaners and laundromats -- be they full-service or self-serve -- are few and far between in Costa Rica. Hotel laundry services, which can sometimes be expensive, are far more common. For listings of laundromats, see individual city and town sections.

Legal Aid -- If you need legal help, your best bet is to first contact your local embassy or consulate. Alternatively, you can pick up a copy of The Tico Times, which usually carries advertisements from local English-speaking lawyers.

Liquor Laws -- Alcoholic beverages are sold every day of the week throughout the year, with the exception of the 2 days before Easter and the 2 days before and after a presidential election. The legal drinking age is 18, although it's almost never enforced. Liquor -- everything from beer to hard spirits -- is sold in specific liquor stores, as well as at most supermarkets and even convenience stores.

Lost & Found -- Be sure to tell your credit card companies the minute you discover your wallet has been lost or stolen, and file a report at the nearest police precinct. Your credit card company or insurer may require a police report number or record of the loss. Most credit card companies have an emergency toll-free number to call if your card is lost or stolen; they may be able to wire you a cash advance immediately or deliver an emergency credit card in a day or two. In Costa Rica, Visa's emergency number is tel. 0800/011-0030. American Express cardholders and traveler's check holders should call tel. 0800/012-3211. MasterCard holders should call tel. 0800/011-0184. For other credit cards, or for a local representative of the above companies, call Credomatic tel. 295-9898.

If you need emergency cash over the weekend when all banks and American Express offices are closed, you can have money wired to you via Western Union (tel. 800/777-7777 in Costa Rica; www.westernunion.com).

Mail -- The main post office (correo) is on Calle 2 between avenidas 1 and 3 in San José (tel. 800/900-2000 toll-free in Costa Rica, or 202-2900), and is open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5:30pm, and Saturday from 7:30am to noon. At press time, it cost 155 colones (30¢/15p) to mail a letter to the United States, and 180 colones (35¢/18p) to Europe. You can get stamps at a post office and at some gift shops in large hotels.

Given the Costa Rican postal service's track record, I recommend paying an extra 500 colones (96¢/48p) to have anything of any value certified. Better yet, use an international courier service or wait until you get home to post it. DHL, on Paseo Colón between calles 30 and 32 (tel. 209-0000; www.dhl.com); EMS Courier, with desks at the principal metropolitan post offices (tel. 800/900-2000, or 202-2900); FedEx, which is based in Heredia but will arrange pickup anywhere in the San José metropolitan area (tel. 800/463-3339; www.fedex.com); and United Parcel Service, in Pavas (tel. 290-2828; www.ups.com), all operate in Costa Rica. Note: Despite what you may be told, packages sent overnight to U.S. addresses tend to take 3 to 4 days.

If you're sending mail to Costa Rica, it generally takes between 10 and 14 days to reach San José, although it can take as much as a month to get to the more remote corners of the country. Plan ahead. Also note that many hotels and ecolodges have mailing addresses in the United States. Always use these addresses when writing from North America or Europe. Never send cash, checks, or valuables through the Costa Rican mail system.

Newspapers & Magazines -- There are six Spanish-language dailies in Costa Rica and one English-language weekly, the Tico Times. In addition, you can get Time, Newsweek, and several U.S. newspapers at some hotel gift shops and a few of the bookstores in San José. If you understand Spanish, La Nación is the paper you'll want. Its "Viva" and "Tiempo Libre" sections list what's going on in the world of music, theater, dance, and more.

Passports -- Allow plenty of time before your trip to apply for a passport; processing normally takes 3 weeks but can take longer during busy periods (especially spring). And keep in mind that if you need a passport in a hurry, you'll pay a higher processing fee.

For Residents of Australia: You can pick up an application from your local post office or any branch of Passports Australia, but you must schedule an interview at the passport office to present your application materials. Call the Australian Passport Information Service at tel. 131-232, or visit the government website at www.passports.gov.au.

For Residents of Canada: Passport applications are available at travel agencies throughout Canada or from the central Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G3 (tel. 800/567-6868; www.ppt.gc.ca).

For Residents of Ireland: You can apply for a 10-year passport at the Passport Office, Setanta Centre, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2 (tel. 01/671-1633; www.irlgov.ie/iveagh). Those under age 18 and over 65 must apply for a 3-year passport. You can also apply at 1A South Mall, Cork (tel. 021/272-525) or at most main post offices.

For Residents of New Zealand: You can pick up a passport application at any New Zealand Passports Office or download it from their website. Contact the Passports Office at tel. 0800/225-050 in New Zealand or 04/474-8100, or log on to www.passports.govt.nz.

For Residents of the United Kingdom: To pick up an application for a standard 10-year passport (5-yr. passport for children under 16), visit your nearest passport office, major post office, or travel agency or contact the United Kingdom Passport Service at tel. 0870/521-0410 or search its website at www.ukpa.gov.uk.

For Residents of the United States: Whether you're applying in person or by mail, you can download passport applications from the U.S. Department of State website at http://travel.state.gov. To find your regional passport office, check the U.S. Department of State website or call the National Passport Information Center toll-free number (tel. 877/487-2778) for automated information.

Police -- In most cases, dial tel. 911 for the police, and you should be able to get someone who speaks English on the line. Other numbers for the Judicial Police are tel. 222-1365 and 221-5337. The numbers for the Traffic Police (Policía de Tránsito) are tel. 222-9330 and 222-9245.

Restrooms -- These are known as sanitarios, servicios sanitarios, or baños. They are marked damas (women) and hombres or caballeros (men). Public restrooms are hard to come by. You will almost never find a public restroom in a city park or downtown area. There are usually public restrooms at most national-park entrances, and much less frequently inside the national park. (There are usually plenty of trees and bushes.) In the towns and cities, it gets much trickier. One must count on the generosity of some hotel or restaurant. Same goes for most beaches. However, most restaurants, and, to a lesser degree, hotels, will let you use their facilities, especially if you buy a soft drink or something. Bus and gas stations often have restrooms, but many of these are pretty grim.

Smoking -- While not as bad as most of Europe, a large number of Costa Ricans smoke, and public smoking regulations and smoke-free zones have yet to take hold. Restaurants are required by law to have nonsmoking areas, but enforcement is often lax, air-circulation poor, and the separating almost nonexistent. Bars, as a whole, are often very smoke-filled in Costa Rica.

Taxes -- All hotels charge 16.3% tax. Restaurants charge 13% tax and also add on a 10% service charge, for a total of 23% more on your bill.

There is a $26 departure tax for all visitors leaving by air. This tax must be purchased prior to check-in. There are desks at the main terminal of all international airports where you can pay this tax (colones, dollars, and Visa credit cards are accepted). Some local travel agencies and hotels offer to purchase the departure tax in advance, as a convenience for tourists. You must give them authorization, as well as your passport number, and pay a small service fee.

Time Zone -- Costa Rica is on Central Standard Time (same as Chicago and St. Louis), 6 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time. Costa Rica does not use daylight saving time, so the time difference is an additional hour April through October.

Tipping -- Tipping is not necessary in restaurants, where a 10% service charge is always added to your bill (along with a 13% tax). If service was particularly good, you can leave a little at your own discretion, but it's not mandatory. Porters and bellhops get around 75¢ per bag. You don't need to tip a taxi driver unless the service has been superior; a tip is not usually expected.

Useful Phone Numbers -- For directory assistance, call tel. 113; for international directory assistance, call tel. 124; and for the exact time (in Spanish), call tel. 112.

U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory: tel. 202/647-5225 (manned 24 hr.)

U.S. Passport Agency: tel. 202/647-0518

U.S. Centers for Disease Control International Traveler's Hot Line: tel. 404/332-4559

Water -- Although the water in San José is generally safe to drink, water quality varies outside the city. Because many travelers have tender digestive tracts, I recommend playing it safe and sticking to bottled drinks as much as possible. Also avoid ice.