www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I am looking for the best places in C.R. to buy appliances: refrigerator, washer/dryer, pizza oven, slow cooker ("crock pot").

I have heard that a trip to Golfito to the free trade zone can save you some money on these big ticket items, as the appliances are sold duty free. However, Golfito is about 5 hours overland by bus. I am also concerned about shipping the appliances from Golfito to Cartago, presuming that their warehouses are in Golfito and not elsewhere.

Anybody who has experience and knowledge of this, and who can give advice please reply to this topic. Thanks in advance.

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

El Ciego; A number of years ago, I purchased a full set of household goods in Golfito. Frige, stove, ,dryer, chest freezer ,televisions and other electronics as well as 48 1.75 bottles of Smirnoff vodka.

That being said, you mist spend the night there. You only get $500.00 exemption per passport.
There are people there that will :rent : you there passports. As for transport, there are many companies there that can help you out.
T did not find it a real fun time, but you can save a shit pot full of money depending on what you buy.

Hope this helps.

.

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not as good as I once was, but as good once as I ever was

El Ciego,
She must be hot!
Regards, 911 Driver

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The happy hour is a device either for getting rid of social obligations hurriedly en masse or for making overtures toward more serious social relationships, as in the etiquette of whoring.- Brooks Atkinson

I just got back from there a couple of weeks ago. If you have a resident or national go with you the exemption is 1,750,000 Colones. You will need to register the day before you go in to buy. We stay at a place called Samoa del Sur but I think it has a new name Sea Breeze Hotel. It is on the left side as you drive in and has a car rental sign out front as well. The price was 32,000 colones per night and included breakfast, nothing special mind you eggs, pinto, plantains, and coffee/juice. They do have a pool which is nice for when it gets hot and the A/C will freeze you out at night. You will want to get inside the Duty free area early as it gets very busy unless you are midweek. You need to hang onto all your paperwork and do not be afraid to ask for deals. I have bought major appliances, tools, Alcohol was priced best at the Florida Beverage store there. There is a great selection of items and you will get pounced on by salespeople. Know what you want and make sure you shop all the places before committing to purchase. You can have your items trucked up to San Jose for reasonable amounts. About 14,000 colones and figure a few days for delivery but they bring it to your door. Some things are still better to bring from the states. To give you an idea I have purchased 11.5 Cubic Foot whirlpool chest freezer 160,000, 6 burner Samsung gas stove/oven 220,000, Samsung microwave 1.2 cu ft 1200 watt 64,000, one store had a Cuisanart 7qt cast iron dutch oven for 48,000. Best price in the states is about 85.00, the thing weighs 13lbs though. Had to buy that though. Kitchenaid mixers there range in price but you can figure 245,000 - 350,000 for them so that is something better to bring from the states if you want one. They have great deals on TV's as well. There is a place in there that we buy shit loads of shampoo and conditioner for 1000-1200 per bottle and they have a ton of other things as well but you need to know prices in San Jose as some things are more expensive, just because they are there does not mean they are cheap. The other thing I would suggest is take a drive to Paso Canoas at the Panama border and buy things there. Just before you would get in line to cross into Panama take a left and drive up the street until you get to a big red building on the Right side called City Mall. There is a McDonalds inside it as well and you will see the ice cream stand out front, really you cannot miss it. Park your car in front and there will be the typical hustlers that will watch your vehicle for a tip which will be less than the parking lots around there. Do not try and drive your car around the building though as you will enter Panama without going thru their checkpoint. I accidentally did that and luckily I was able to make a uturn and get back into Costa Rica but there was a truck of Panamanian Soldiers that pulled up behind me when I was making the U-turn and it kind of freaked me out as I really did not want to deal with that bribe. Inside they have all kinds of things from Appliances to clothes, shoes, food beauty products etc. In the food section you will find a ton of items that you do not find in San Jose. I like to cook and one of the things I always buy is bread flour (Bobs Red Mill) brand even. Probably 20-30 different products from that company. Condiments, hot sauces, Cheeses. Meats, all kinds of stuff that the Auto Mercado gets a fortune for in San Jose. I always take a cooler and cooler bags with us since I know I will be buying a load of stuff there. They do give a great rate on colones there but using dollars is the way to go in Paso Canoas and colones in Golfito. If you want more info on shopping down there I will be happy to answer whatever questions I can for you. For the record I have made 6-7 trips down there and have learned the better ways of doing things from my first trip. Try to stay away from Friday-Sunday if you can avoid it. Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best. On the Drive back if you can get to Uvita by 2:00 there is a BBQ place called El Toro Loco that I highly reccommend. If you do not want to make the drive back in one day and want a nice place to spend the night check out Coconut Grove http://www.coconutgrovecr.com/ very nice quiet place and a short drive to Dominical for drinks and food open late.

I forgot to mention they sell portable and hard wired air conditioners at decent prices in Golfito as well. Do not try and buy a toaster there though, as the prices were ridiculous, bring that from the states if you need one. If there is a lot of people there make sure you get to the Checkout lines no later than 3:00pm as it will take some time to get checked through. Every box is matched with every receipt, along with it being marked on your main page. If you are missing a receipt you are going to be in for a long delay. We generally get there about 9:00am and depending on the amount of other people there, get out about 2-3:30pm There are places to eat outside of the Duty Free area but you can buy some food and drinks inside plus there are a couple of restrooms as well. I know there is one bank inside maybe 2 with a couple of ATM's as well but BCR is one of them.

Excellent information, Thank you -I can use a place to buy goods other than San Jose. This is a real eye opener for me.
Propman48

isn't he otw to his first trip in years?
must be planning ahead...

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im way deep into nothing special
riding the crest of a wave breaking just west of hollywood

If you have a decent amount of goods to buy and want a road trip it is certainly worth the trip. We usually go 2 times a year to get clothes for the K*ds and misc household goods that we buy at least a 6 month supply of as things can be much cheaper down there. It does pay to know your prices in San Jose to make sure you are getting a good enough deal. The city mall in Paso Canoas is where I do the most damage to my wallet down at the border as I have found they have great selection, wide variety of goods and the turn their product over where some of the other stores I swear are selling stuff from the 1980's. There is some fishing supplies down there as well and sporting goods items but they are hit and miss on what they have in stock. I have bought some good large trolling lures for marlin, dorado and tuna plugs down there as well. Tools a cheaper in Golfito for the most part but it does not hurt to look upstairs in the city mall and make sure you walk across the sky bridge to the panama side as well to see what they have over there. It is easy to spend a whole day at the border but I get tired of all the people there and try to be on my way back to golfito no later than 2pm so I can grab a couple of beers and soak in the pool.

No she is not hot. Maybe once, years ago when she worked at old Zona Blue. No, in this case, the lady has cancer (I accompanied her to two separate consults with her oncologist at Calderon Guardia, it's fact). She's not fit for pro work anymore, and I'm just trying to help her get a leg up. She's trying to start a little soda in her home.

Problems I'll encounter regarding either Paso canoas or Golfito is that, being blind I don't drive, and neither does the lady. Oh, and Il Foreplay, I love Coconut Grove...Richa dn Diane are great hosts, and I really like the food at Roca Verde. I have also eaten at El Toro in Uvita...and thanks for reminding me. It's a great place.

Anyway, I hope this clears it up. Thanks to all for the information. And L.A. Diablo...I was just down last September for 29 days...

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

Computers, tablets and smartphones here: https://innovacellcr.com/

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If you lose your temper you’re phucking yourself - Garcia Marquez