www.CostaRicaTicas.com

As you know, your local (anywhere in CR) minutes are included and unlimited.

To call internationally, you have 2 options:

1. call using the rented sim @ $1.25/min to the US
2. buy a ICE 199 pre-paid calling card

They come in different denominations, including 3,000¢, and 5,000¢. The 3k card will give you about 20 minutes and the 5k will give you about 32, give or take.

Another good thing about these cards is that they don't have any maintenance fees and don't expire for 6 months. If you don't use up the whole card, you can save it for next time. I use a 5k card for 2-3 trips.

Here's what the calling card looks like: http://mysite.verizon.net/orangeCRT/fil ... e_card.jpg

Pre-paid calling cards work. I made one call using my AMEX or VISA and talked for less than 5 minutes, and the bill came to $45 or so. The next day, after speaking with a knowledgeable person, I purchased a calling card, and saved mucho dinero.

any info on where to ent the sim cards from

_________________
You can't drive me crazy I am so close i can walk

This is a good time to remind everybody NOT to use the public telephones that ask for your credit card. A friend of mine (CRT member who doesn't post) was with me during August last year. He used the phone in Sportsmens. It's on the wall on the right as you walk into the courtyard from outside, a few feet from the reception desk. His CC got charged $229.

I contacted Bill and he gave me the contact info for the company who own these phones. We contacted them, had a couple of emails, and they promised to refund a large chunk of that money, but NEVER did. These scumbags have phone all over the country. It's a relatively small public phone, usually hanging on a wall in a hotel. It says LOW RATES TO THE US on it, or something similar. The rates aren't posted, but they charge more than $5/minute. Then, when you ask for a refund, they say that before the calls is put thru they tell you the rates. If you continue, you agree to them. My friend said nobody ever told him the rates.

BTW, the one at Sportsmens is still there I believe, even though it is a known scam.

Read the story: https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=118501

Another option is to purchase an A.T. & T. prepaid phone card at any Target or Wal*Mart store. Not the most economical, but it's good to have one to carry in your wallet, as the card will also work Stateside.

To use the card, you'll dial the international toll-free access number:

0-800-04114114, then dial the U.S. toll-free number listed on the card, then your card number, then the area code and number you're trying to call. It's like 42 digits...

Sportsmen's: If you're a guest there, they offer direct-dial VOIP calls from your room for very little dinero... I think it's like 20 cents/minute.

I always carry the prepaid calling card, bought in the States. Works for me. The ICE cards also come in a version with an electronic chip in them; these can be used for instance with the pay phones at the HDR. No numbers to enter other than the phone number. Nice! Sadly, there aren't yet a lot of the new card-reader phones...at least few that I've located. YMMV.

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

Another option is using Skype or vonage from you laptop. Both work well and are cheap. Skype is good for travelling and you connect headphones right to your pc. You buy x amount of minutes. Vonage uses a box/modem and is better for a home office type deal. You also can choose your numbers from any US area code if you do not want anyone to know where you are.

BKTUNA
I am never going home

These guys also rent cell phones & sims @ $10/day:

http://www.cellulartelephonerentals.com/

Used him last trip and he was great. Will drop it off to you and pick it up. I just left it at the desk at the SL.

My only problem was with the phone. Going from a blackberry to a basic Nokia was a bit of culture shock.

Otherwise things were great. Highly recommend Rico and his services.

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[url=http://www.amishrakefight.org/gfy/]

Pac,

For travel i recommend Skype - no equipment required. I have vonage here in Escazu. You just buy a box in the US and bring it with you. They do not block IP addresses.

BKTUNA
I am never going home

Another cheap alternative is to go to an internet cafe and use the phone booth they have. I have called DC and talked for 20 minutes and the charge is less than 50 colones. I am sure they are stealing the internet service. Another good thing about this is that all caller ID's in the US just reads "out of area", and mucho chicas at internet stations emailing gringos are ripe for the picking....

Ive been really hit and miss with the credit card route. One hotel I used it at, the cost was very good, I think the bill was like 1$ a minute give or take a few cents. Another, it was insane like 120$ for a 5 minute phone call

I reccommed Yahoo Messanger. Plug a headset into any highspeed connection, call up your id and talk as long as you like. I spent two months in the States with my girlfriend calling me twice a day on my cell phone and the cost was less than ten dollars. Vonnage is okay until you try to deal with their customer service, it is outsoursed to India and the chances of speaking with someone with common sense is nonexistant.