www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I am going with a friend who is completely bilingual and I speak a little Spanish as well. We are hoping to hook up with some local girls to keep the cost down and use the HDR as a last resort if we can't play for free.

Magic,

Your best bet would be "El Pueblo." It's a hodge-podge of various buildings with a hodge-podge of bands playing different types of music; disco, rap, etc. By day it is a "tourist trap" of many souvenir shops, pizza parlors and restaurants; at night it transforms into a hopping music and dance venue with hundreds of young people in attendance. It's about a 5 to 10 minute cab ride from the gulch. When you are ready to leave, there are dozens of cabs waiting in front of the place. Even this 52 year old gringo had chicas half his age flirting with him. I believe that either Wednesday night or Thursday night is designated as "ladies night," prabably the best time to go. It's well worth a visit, if for no other reason than to say you experienced it. Do a search on this website for further info.....you will find a lot.

Zebra

Castro Disco in Barrio Mexico is a short cab ride from the gulch.

Great Latin dancing, cheap food and drinks and a well managed place. The crowd is a little older, but still lots of younger girls. Dance skills and Espanol are a big benefit here. Great place to go with a group including Chicas, they almost all love the place.


LaQuinta at the Best Western Iraszu in Uruca which is just north of LaSabana on the highway. looks and feels like a Hotel Disco in the states, Two for one drinks on Friday nights 8-10 I think, lots of local girls in groups. They also have a Casino there. Lots of fun, DJ spins all types of music.

Play for free???? So you think the local girls will allow you to bang them on the first date?? You better think twice. Your talkin wining and dining first. You will probably end up paying more for your muff this way and your stuck with a bad atitude all night if it doesn't work out.

Yeah--play for free? Del Rey as last resort? Sorry, that's just too funny. If it were that easy we'd already be doing it. No, if you wanna play you gotta pay. Now, if you just want to dance then by all means, go to the clubs.

You'll pay one way or the other......no free ride.

A couple of thoughts on this subject.

First of all, I too like El Pueblo but just be aware that not only does it draw a young crowd it also draws a very young crowd. There are a lot of und***ge chicas there. Many hang out between clubs but also many clubs are not so good about checking ID's. So be very careful who you try to pick up.

Secondly, El Pueblo is also popular with some working girls. Those girls who appear to be so friendly might just be intrigued by the relatively unusual site of a gringo that likes to party with the locals or she might be a moonlighting pro or semi-pro that sees an opportunity to pick up a little extra cash. Don't be surprised if the subject comes after you've been buying her drinks and suggest that you both head back to your hotel. OTOH, you have to be careful about raising the subject yourself to clarify her intent because you don't want to offend a chica who doesn't see herself as a prostitute.

Zebra, not to burst your bubble, but flirting is what chicas do. Add to that the fact that you are an unusual and therefore intriguing sight for them. Their flirtatiousness doesn't necessarily mean that you have a real shot at actually scoring. Maybe you would or maybe you would with some additional investment of time and entertainment money or maybe they were the semi-pros I was referring to earlier that could be turned if an offer of a little financial assistance ("por su ninos") or maybe you'd run into a dead end. Still if nothing else, its good for the ego to have young chicas even just flirt with you, gringas that age wouldn't even give you a 2nd look or if they did it would be a look of disgust at you as some dirty old man trying to score with girls young enough to be his daughters.

Spanish skills and dance skills will certainly make a big difference. Being somewhat closer to their age (mid-30's or younger) would help some more. But beyond that your main appeal, whether they are pros or not, will be that you are a gringo and thus probably much wealthier than anyone else they know. Therefore your appeal will be your ability to wine them and dine them in the shortterm and/or hopefully wed or at least help support them in the future.

Being able to score with young non-pro chicas in the shortterm is not completely out of the question. Some chicas are outwardly wild but fundamentally traditional (meaning at least several dates and a meet the parents before you have a prayer of actually getting between their legs), some are just good catholics through and through, but you might get lucky and hook up with the real sinners. MORE LIKELY if you have any hope of scoring with the non-pros it is going to take either spending some money and/or spending more time than a one week visit allows.

My bet is that we'll see you back at the HDR/BM by the end of the evening. It doesn't hurt to bet a little on the long shots every now and then but if you're time is short the bigger payoff will come from sticking mainly to betting on the sure things. In just short trips it will probably wind up costing you much fewer chips.

If you're down for a longer timeframe or visit frequently enough to chip away at your target over several visits the equation shifts

So it wasn't my charm and good looks after all ??

As usual, Prolijo....lots of good points.

Zebra

on my last trip ...my wingman gets me to go and check this place out...our mistake was 1. we went to early...
we got there i guess about 8.00 pm and even though we could walk around and look inside every bar (without paying a cover) the places were dead...2. we went to a sea food place for some dinner, the food and service was great but after dinner , we hit the road as the area was still dead.
Next trip i am going back but much later maybe 12.00 or 1 am , thanks for the info on the ladies nites, must say the places were very nice and with a little buzz on i could see having a great time there ....i am in my 40"s but thats what we love about san jose ....if i go to the same bars in the us...i would leave after 5 mins feeling out of place ..but in san jose we fit in ...

No exception unless you look like Tom Cruise, then you can get laid everywhere....
Gentleman, let's not K*D ourselves, the best thing we have going for us in C.R is our wallet... If you only have a few days at a time, why not just pick out the hottie of your choice, pay what you want, and enjoy it every way you can.... Half the fun is the adrenalin rush of the HDR/BM and feeling like a rock star for $50-$100 bucks... That's the fun part.... No hassle, great sex, and NEXT....

Back in 05 my wingman and I took 2 working chicas there. We later found out his chica was a crackhead. She totally changed attitudes and demanded money to buy some rocks. We bailed without her. What an experience.

After reading what you all have said about having spanish and dancing skills it sounds like I shouldn't have too much trouble meeting up with some chicas outside of SJ. My question though is this: is it easy to find clubbing/partying chicas in most places or do you have to be at certain clubs/bars in each town to really find some fun? I have done a lot of reading around the board so far and am taking notes as I go, but I am just curious how hard it really is to find fun, easy girls all around CR, not just in SJ. To reiterate I am 23, speak spanish pretty well, am fairly good-looking according to the latest polls, and have good rhythm (though I don't know any formal dances like salsa or merengue). Also, forgot to mention I am traveling solo, so no wingman to have to take a grenade if it comes to that. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Gotta agree with El Pueblo. Several years ago Me and Some Buddies went there and had a great time. I met a Local Tica, She spoke perfect English and worked at a Travel agency. Gorgeous 24 year old. Very Intelligent and playful. I was in my early 30`s but generally passed for late 20`s and in great Shape. I did not "Score" however I did gets lots of Play. Don’t know how things would have gone if I hadn’t been drug out of there by my buddies and we were flying back the next day. My Buddies were not so happy though because her Friends had no interest in them.
If you have game, It is definitely possible (And I don’t even speak Spanish). She actually approached me. I doubt I will get that lucky again long as I live but it was a GREAT Night.
Even if you don’t have game, The dance clubs are something to see. Super high energy with MC`s and Hostesses keeping the crowd pumped. Most of the clubs were PACKED when we were there and it was one of the best parts of the trip. Lots of fun if you enjoy that type of scene.
Worst case, You strike out and then head to the Del Rey to drown your sorrows.

El Pueblo also can be very dangerous. Lots of drugs and guys pimping girls there. be very careful.


BKTUNA
I am never going home

Word of advice... do not go to these places alone, especially El Pueblo. Like BKTuna says, it can be a tough crowd and things can happen fast when alcohol and young punks are involved. Always make sure you go with somebody who will have your back in the unlikely event that anything jumps off.