www.CostaRicaTicas.com

If anybody is seriously considering not going to CR again because of the $4 increase in the taxi fare or the proposed entry tax, they shouldn't be going in the first place.

Agree with that! You can afford a flight in the first place, but not a few extra bucks for the taxi? And since I always have three pieces of luggage--checked bag, carry-on bag and notebook case--no way in hell will I ever take the bus. I don't care if it's $30, it's a small price to pay for the huge convenience of going straight to your hotel in downtown SJ.

Well, I'd like to do an el cheapo sort of trip, what Californicationdude would call a gutter and shower drain crawl trip.

Sadly, I'm not very good yet at independent travel vis-a-vis the blindness, and even a faiirly simple bus route is a bit beyond me. Well, eventually the f*cking State of Minnesota will provide me adaptation to blindness training (I've only been waiting six years) and I'll figure it out.

In the meantime, I'm sort of stuck with a more "Hollywood" sort of trip: Taxis, good hotels that have Internet and in-room phones (essential) and a fairly high level of service. Even so, sixty cents looks a helluva lot better than eighteen bucks.

My first tirp, I got taken, and I mean taken. I had hired a guide through a Spanish language school I was interested in. The driver charged the low, low fare of something like fifty bucks from the airport to the Hotel Don Carlos. This was before I was as educated as CRT has helped me to become. I guess when compared to fifty, eighteen isn't so bad. Shrug. No, the higher fares won't discourage me.

I'm wondering if the regulatory agency that licenses airport cabs approved this, or if it was a taxi syndicate move. Either way, it is indeed around a 40% increase over the old fare. Ah well... the high price of the ride to vice.

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

humm...when I arrive I want to get to the hotel fast. I normally have some cash with me and other items for which I want to make sure arrive safely at the hotel. So, having a trusted driver and friendly face meeting me at the door is worth the fare to me.

No sense in starting off the trip on a bad note trying to save $5 or $10 dollars.....

The taxi's at the airport may be fine. I just feel safer knowing the person. It makes for a stress free arrival....

Well I for one am not going ever again! I will just stay here in the States and go to the local strip clubs, where I will spend $500.00 and get nothing but blue balls! Doesn't that sound like a better deal?


Xman

Don't you worry about those U.S. strip clubs! You are now just days away from becoming a hansum man. You lucky bastard!

PS> did you get the cab lined up w/ Toom?

My two cents. As a local it starts to add up. My fare last week was $24 from my house. Both ways it's 48 plus tip. Now add the $26 departure tax. My total exits over the past 8 years are 80. I have paid over $1500 in departure taxes. They should build a highway door to door for me. Having said that though, the airport cabs are the best in the country. I have never had a problem with them. I spoke with the driver last time and he said that the drivers were against the last price increase. Local cabs went up in price also. The fare starts at 365 now. What used to be a 1400 col. ride to downtown is now an 1800 ride. I think that Greyline offers a shared ride program.

I just arrived in San Jose last night and negotiated $15 to my hotel. They will say $18 but when I told them that my friends tell me $12, they go through the whole it increased routine which is true. I didn't make it a big deal and said a polite no and started walking away. He said, how about $15. I said that's fine. I do speak Spanish fluently but it seemed like he spoke good english too. Anyway, it's $3 bucks but it's my job to keep my money when I can and it's their's to get it from me. Sometimes they win, sometimes I win and sometimes we both win...that's what I go for.

How do I go about booking the Greyline service ? (I need to go to the Bestwestern downtown.) ? Is it $6 ?

http://www.graylinecostarica.com

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I don't care if the frickin' cab fare goes to 20 bucks. I'm not riding the damn bus that takes forever even if it was 500 colones. I want to get to the hotel ASAP... unpack... take a shower and FIND SOME POOSY.

Cab fare has risen 6 bucks in 2 years since I have been coming to CR. That's 12 bucks total. Geez.... with the increased high price of fuel being paid out of the pocket of the taxi man these days I thinking 6 more bucks to get you sorry cheap bastards to the land of T & A is not asking all that much.

I'm bettin' you moaners on this issue collect a paycheck from an employer and don't work for yourself.

Berk.......

..

For the really cheap guys......you can get on the public bus in front of the airport and ride into San Jose for a few hundred colones.

Since I am a newbee, I'll pay the $18 without complaint.

I have read about a "Departure Stamp" but don't understand what it is. Is it a stamp on your Passport or what. And I should get it when I arrive? Where, at the Airport?

Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Mag,

It's not a "stamp" per se, but a form that indicates you paid the tax. Certain banks will also sell you the departure "stamp." I always get mine at the bank on the 2nd floor of the INS BUILDING.

You can also pay the departure tax at the airport. Some guys pay it as soon as they arrive, others wait until they are leaving.

HINT: Be sure to bring your ORIGINAL passport with you to the bank, not a copy.

Zebra