www.CostaRicaTicas.com

did anything i say or write not sound true?

keep your head in the sand u ostrich u.

my posts are correct.

6 dollar fare? take the bus and get mugged. u mongers are not tourists ur cheap a holes who spend little money that is taxable in CR.
the girsl tax the health care system and u pay under 100 dollars in rtotal tax for your entire stay.

ur not keeping CR alive, ur keeping pu*sy alive.

there is a diference.

go fishing, spend in a good hotel, go whoring, eat out and spend some money...stop your 6 dollar bs trips.

btw, with the DJ in the shitter, CR is just another e coli based country.

get your shots ans buy your black market viagra.

cheap mfers.

Damn...Gambler11,

Did someone shoved a stick of dynamite up your butt this morning? I guess you got me figured out already. Yes, I'm so cheap that I paid $1,100 for a plane ticket to go to Brasil. Favor, eu gosto Costa Rica e Colombia, mas eu gostei Brasil muito mais. Vale, Tudo Bem.

_________________
Live today as it was your last day, for tomorrow may never come.

As a tip it would be outrageous but it is not a tip just as giving a transito 5000 colones to take to the judge for you is not a tip.

It is a bribe to let your extra bag slide just as it is a bribe to avoid the ticket.

It is the way things work in most of Latin America. The driver is happy you are happy it's a win win situation.

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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

about time someone stepped up. this bs with cheap fare from airport, cheap whores, come on now, u all know u get what u pay for.
my hats off to u.

i go to fago brazil and drop 140 for dinner. meanwhile you have gringos talking about cheap dinners for 2 dollars.

no wonder the girls gag on their C*m, it is full of e coli.
if they only knew the foo prep in those cheap places.

u sir are a king amongst cheap mongers. guys who put their most precious organ into puta's become so cheap. i have no idea why.

phucking is always expensive..and these cheap mongers seem to think they re-invented the wheel.

gunts, cunts, facial hair, non electrolysis pu*sy...shaving is pure bs..i like tender hairless pu*sy in my mouth and electrolysis is the way to go. whore in Brazil know that and spend the money.
but u mongers in cr always looking for cheap massage the bs 30 minute blow job...not happening..and the tight pu*sy..never here in cr with every pu*sy spewing out two Babi*s per 4 years. cr is dissapointing and pundits you can say what you want. every asshole has an opinion..i will beat u to the punch

I had only a carry on and another small bag and was in no real rush when I got to the airport so I went upstairs and entered the terminal walked over and paid my departure tax and asked for my change in colones. I then walked to the front of the airport to the bus stop. The first 2 buses were not going to San Jose but within 5 mins. the 3rd bus was a San Jose bus. I paid 420 colones and off we went almost non stop to the end of the bus line which was 10 or so blocks to the Morazan. Started to walk but caught a taxi and for another 500 colones was taken to my hotels door. So for less than $ 2.00 and maybe an extra 15 mins. than if I had taken a private taxi I had my departure tax paid and was at my hotel. Less than $ 2.00 for the transportation.

What's the standard tip for the interbus driver?

Note to anybody new reading this thread--Feel free to ignore Gambler11's rants and focus on the genuine info from others here. This isn't Craigslist. You're welcome.

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

My two cents worth.........whom ever first posted this way of connecting to the InterBus, I Thank You. It worked slick and smooth. Met by young man as I enter the Main Lobby with my name on a sign. He took my 2 bags. Outside we went for three minutes and off in van by myself with a driver that spoke english. Quicker and better then that Taxi desk. All for six dollars and a one dollar tip.

My dimes worth.......Gambler 11.......The kind we read about in A M Costa Rica when they can't find a friend to ID the.......

My quarters worth........Why MPs close early. It's becuase the girls get their required three in for the day and go down to The Del Rey and surrounding area. Talk about "Sloppy Fourths."

Pura Vida

...and let's not forget that this service provider does more than just book airport transports. Compare any of the costs at http://www.shuttlebus.co.cr/ and you'll find they're all more cost effective than InterBus. I thought I liked to use the public transport busses to go places outside of San Jose for day trips....and I still do. However, those FULL public busses present a ripe situation for pick pockets. One thing I now know from my last trip is to carry nothing in any pocket. One does not have to worry about that using a private transport service. The ability to use PayPal is great, too.

_________________
"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Ch. 16

I booked for December. Search Costa Rica was $9.50 and Interbus was $10.00. I guess the price of things is going up. Again I went straight through Interbus as the RT price was only $1.00 difference and I didn't go through a middleman. Interbus has always been good for me.

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Knowledge speaks...Wisdom listens

It looks like the prices on BOTH sites are going up effective 12/1/08 on ALL their routes. However, their airport transfer shuttles are going up most of all even though those routes are much shorter than those that take you elsewhere in the country. I guess its not just the high price of gas that is causing it but also the realization by those companies, other travelers and all of you what a good deal they WERE relative to taking an airport taxi. It is still a good deal compared to the airport taxis because those are going up in cost just as much. OTOH, the public bus / regular downtown cab combo is not going up nearly as much, making that an even better cost saving alternative.

Searchcostarica is usually a little cheaper but never more than $1-2. For that matter http://www.graylinecostarica.com is also often cheaper (although they haven't posted their new prices for after 12/1/08 ). All other things being equal, it is always good to save a little money, but if the 50 cents you'll be saving on the airport transfer makes that big a difference than maybe you should reconsider taking the public bus from the airport. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it if you arrive after dark or during the late afternoon commute rush hour, but earlier in the day the bus is never so packed that any potential pickpocket has to even get anywhere near you and it doesn't take much longer if at all to get to your hotel.

BTW, I also don't understand the apparent suggestion that using Interbus or any of these tourist shuttles is a possible alternative to using "the public transport busses to go places outside of San Jose for day trips." Aside from the airport, these companies only take you to places well outside the range of typical Central Valley day trips. Other than San Jose, San Ramon and Turrialba are the only other places covered by Interbus that are remotely in the Central Valley. However, if you use Interbus to visit them you'd have to wait until the next day to return because they only have one shuttle per day. Besides, those are also $50+ round trips which is much more than you should ever take on a day trip let alone are likely to lose to a pickpocket. Also at less than a buck per trip, you don't even need to use Paypal, so I don't see that advantage either.

Solid post, Prolijo, and, I essentially concur.

For me, the value of PayPal is that it is fairly instant....you don't need to jerk around with faxing cc data to InterBus and all the jive that can and does happen often with InterBus...delayed emails and confirmation. http://www.shuttlebus.co.cr/ is simply more personal given it's owner manned and operates out of the USA. I posted earlier that the owner of the outfit was the CIO for InterBus for 5 or so years and is on friendship basis with the owner of InterBus.

I understand what you write about the "day trip" remark I made. I just didn't want to go into inane details, but I shall: I took the public transport to http://www.rainforestrams.com/craintro.html which means I took the same public bus which runs to a city, name I currently spaced out. I was stupid and got pickpocketed....first time EVER...and that's in over 40 years of local style travel. I always thought my front pockets were secure. I was wrong. I was dumb....I was not paying attention and got hit with a classic. Long story short, it was simply resolved within 2.5 hours of the incident....but it was a headache a guy like me doesn't deal with well. I'll keep stuff in my man purse/back pack when on a bus.

The amount of money I would have paid for the "semi-private transport" provided through InterBus but booked through searchcostarica.com would have been worth avoiding the headache and anxiety I experienced and put myself through is all I was saying.

When last I checked the day trips on searchcostarica.com, I thought they were very much different than InterBus, but maybe that's all changed as I haven't looked as of late.

What I do know is that I grew disenchanted with the slow and idiot like replies I was getting from InterBus and will use the alternative, at least from the Airport to San Jose due to the poor customer service InterBus provided. Just one guy's view. And, I am anxious to take the bus from the airport, but not at 10pm at night....thus far that's when all my flights seem to arrive.

_________________
"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Ch. 16

I used the SearchCostaRica Interbus service last week and have nothing but great things to say about it!! Was met outside by Interbus rep and about 10 minutes later an empty bus showed up and took myself, my laptop, and two bags to SL. Driver didn't speak any English but that was fine by me. Well worth the $6.00 + 2000 colones tip!!

SK

You misunderstand. The Paypal is probably some advantage when dealing with searchcostarica vs. Interbus. What I was saying was that neither Paypal or a credit card is even necessary at all when you take a public bus that you can just show up for and whose fare is only a buck or two. I also said that "everything else being equal" the $1-2 difference between searchcostarica and Interbus is no big deal. Those other things you mentioned mean that other factors besides just price actually weren't equal.

So searchcostarica may be a better way to go than Interbus, but we were comparing it to taking the public bus, and the simple fact remains that using a shuttle is not even a plausible alternative for the trip you described. The bus you took was probably heading to Limon or perhaps Guapiles or Siquirres. Using Interbus is not a practical alternative. There is a return shuttle that same day but wiith only 2 shuttles per day your choices are really limited. The morning shuttle picks up in the SL area around 8:25AM and the afternoon shuttle picks up at the Teleferico at 5PM arriving back at the SL (after making the usual round of hotels) at 6:20PM. That's a long day if all you're going to do is go on the $55 Aerial Tram Tour which probably only lasts a couple of hours if that. If you really make it a day and get the pass for the zipline tour, guided hikes and stuff then the "Atlantic Eco-Pass" costs $99 starting "at the gate" (w/o transfer from SJ). That pass WITH round trip transfer from SJ costs only $5 more (or $104 total), which isn't much more than the bus. In contrast, starting in December, Interbus goes up from $66.50 to $74.10 both ways. That is more than the Aerial Tram tour alone costs. In fact, if you only do the $55 Aerial Tram part (and don't mind sitting around most of the day while you're not on the actual tour) and use Interbus to get there for $74, it will cost you $129 total or $25 more than the FULL day pass WITH transport from SJ. The figures look even worse if you add that $74 on to the $99 full day rate.

So this is really an example where the best approach is probably NEITHER Interbus or the public bus, but utilizing the pick-up and return service that comes with most such organized tours.

OTOH, if you're going on a "disorganized" tour (independent) such as simply wanting to visit Heredia, Cartago or the small towns like Grecia, etc., or even go on some organized half day tours (like the Aerial Tram only), then using the tour transportation is normally not an option. Using Interbus (assuming they even cover the route you're interested in) is very expensive and has very limited schedules that mean sitting around a long time waiting for the return shuttle (if there even is one in the afternoon). Using the bus, as you have been costs only $1-2 each way and usually has a wide choice of schedules. Buses leave for Heredia every 10 minutes, Cartago every 15, Grecia every 30 and buses that go through Braulio Carillo and right by the tram run every 30-60 minutes. For that $60-75 savings, you trade off the once in 40year chance you might get careless about your personal belongings. That seems pretty worth it to me.

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SpecialK,

Doesn't that nearly $4 tip on a $6 fare seem kinda high to you? Also bear in mind that starting next month that fare BEFORE any tip is going up to about what you paid WITH your tip. Will you still tip as much then or will you continue to tip at the 60% rate making your total cost over $15? At that point, the cost is more comparable to the airport taxi than it is to using the public bus.

Again, IMHO, the Interbus Shuttle (booked thru searchcostarica AND without an excessive tip) is a VERY WISE alternative to using the airport taxis. However, IF you arrive in CR BEFORE say 4PM (when traffic volume and ridership starts to pick up) or later (when things get dark and more dangerous), using the public bus/city cab combo is wisest still. It is "muy tico", doesn't require you book ahead or prepay (with Paypal or anything else), doesn't take much longer than the shuttle if at all, is perfectly safe if you use the same common sense caution that you're already accustomed to using from walking around the much more dangerous Gulch, and is less than 1/5 the price. I think more of you ought to try it.

I'm not going to get into another tipping debate on this forum, that's been hashed and rehashed far too many times to count. When you go out to eat and your bill comes to say $11, do you tip 20% on that $11 or just round up to $15? Whatever you do, I'm sure we're both going to have differing views on tipping no matter what. Bottom line for me was, it's still cheaper than a taxi, the guy took my extra bag without any problems and the total ride cost me $10