Thanks to all the mongers who have helped me plan my upcoming trip (9.14.16 - 9.17.16). Received tons of responses, PM's, do's and dont's and made an itinerary based upon all your wisdoms! Flights to CR are extremely cheap. I was able to book round trip for $280, and off season rates at Zona II totaling $210 for 3 nights. That's 4 days in paradise for under $500! I've read enough of the forums, and think I will have enough willpower to not become a "cien boy". I'm sure I'll make mistakes, but think I am going in with a pretty solid plan. Please feel free to let me know if I'm missing something or making any mistakes...
Arrival: - Hit duty free for liquor, purchase exit tax. - Jimmy offered me airport pickup for $30. The thought of having a driver waiting for me and knowing my exact destination is looking more and more attractive. My espanol is limited and I don't want to haggle to save $5 and find Zona II after a long flight. - I will be exchanging 100,000 colones at the departures at the airport to get me started. Zona II accepts USD so I think $400 USD will be enough for my hotel, a few chicas during my stay, and bar money. The colones will be spent at other MP's. Who knows... I may end up loving the selection and pricing at Zona since I am staying there. - I will be dropping by SL to pick up my CRT VIP card. I hear there is a pharmacy nearby which I will use to stock up on meds, rubbers, etc...
Fun: - I have found contact info for Karen/Luna, and intend on booking dates with both. This is based purely off CRT testimonial, as the pics were not blowing my socks off. I will follow up with pics and a report - I will occupy my free time in the days at MP's (Monica's, 360, IDEM). I may do a day excursion to Arenal, but don't want to book beforehand as I only have 2 full days and who knows how tired/hungover I may be. - The nights will be spent at DR/SL. I may think about going to a strip club, but it's seeming like that's something I can miss. - I will be using the ATM at DR/Taormina. I still am not sure of how much colones vs dollars I will want, so will kind of play it by ear. I have read arguments for going with plenty of funds, and vice versa. I don't like to travel with large amounts of cash so will prefer to play it by ear. I am thinking that $400 USD, 100K colones should get me through day 2. I will re-assess from there.
One question... Where can I exchange colones to USD in CR? I will be playing poker and games run in colones rather than USD. If I were to win a large sum of money, I wouldn't want to be stuck with a bunch of colones!
I am only there for a few days so I will skip Jaco. I will also just be using WhatsApp on my smartphone if I need. Luna/Karen are on facebook, so between 2 dates, Zona II downstairs, a full itinerary of MP's, the DR and SL... I don't really see myself needing to buy a phone for repeat business.
Would appreciate any feedback on my itinerary! The knowledge on CRT is amazing and I will be sure to give back with TR/pics! I'm less than a month away!
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