www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Hey Guys, Whats the best way to call back home but not get called! Do I buy a phone card here , CR or use the hotel to dial home ?
Thanx Chaser

I have found the most reliable method is to buy the "tarjeta de telefono." (Phone card) You can buy these from virtually any street vendor. When I call to the states it shows up on caller ID as "unavailable" or "unknown." These cards can be used at any pay phone or from your hotel room. Your USA purchased phone cards WILL NOT work in CR. Only the ones issued by ICE (Costa Rican phone company) will work in CR. I think a 3000 colones card gets you 13 minutes. Not alot of time but cheaper than dialing from your room. At the Del Rey it's $1.00/minute without card.

dapanz1

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Paradise= Sitting outside the Bodega in Panama City about 1 am. Drinking cool Balboas with cool friends and blazin' hot Colombianas. I want to be there..RIGHT NOW!

Phone cards are far cheaper than calling form hotel.Most hotels rip you a new one when you call using the hotel phone.rbc100

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In Search of Fine Kittens,
Please... Bring back the Muff

Definitely use the ICE phone card. They sell them right at the Hotel Presidente and provide instructions that even I can follow. Just out of curiosity I checked the cost of calling home using the directions in the room and it was like $50 for a shorter amount of time than the phone card provided. I think I paid about 3000 colones for 20 minutes of time.

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Missing CR

One thing to remember is watch the Columbians with your phone.My first trip one used my phone in my room to call the k*ds sitter.Back then I knew no Spanish.Well when I checked out I asked about my phone charges .I did not know her sitter was in Columbia.She was a allnighter.So she talked about 20 min between sessions.After that experence I tell them to use their cell.I have taken the phone cord out of the phone and put in the safe before a all nighter. DOC

Once again thanks to all. You probably have all just made up my VIP sign up fee for this site back already .( AGAIN !) I was going to purchase one in US but know exactly where to get them from the vendors by the Plaza Morazan in the afternoon.

THANKS

Chaser

3 more days!

Dapanz says:

Last trip there was a table set up with a cute Tica sitting there right in the baggage area at the airport, where she sold me a $20 dollar card. I used to buy the 3,000 collone cards, but as Dapanz says, 13 minutes runs out fast and I had to keep buying more. The $20 card gave me about 3 times more time....so I did not have to keep switching cards.

Plus the Tica at the desk was a hottie!

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ASTROGLIDE

Hey Doc,
Same thing happened to me in Panama.
I was at the De Camaron resort. There policy is you have to put down $20
I thought that it would cut off when the $20 was up.....
What I did not know was that it is only a deposit.
Well my novia called her Madre in Columbia a couple of times. Not really that long of conversations.
But when I checked out I was hit with a really BIG bill
I am trying to remember but I was SOO pissed and the bill was sooo large I put it out of my mind.. I think it was about $165.00
I complained to no avail. I would think that the De Camaron being owned by a Columbian co. would be reasonable to call Columbia.....
Guy's ... DO NOT LET YOUR CHICAS MAKE PHONE CALLS
C.R. bound in 4 day's,, Nucknfuts

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Throughout the history of mankind there has never been one shred of evidence that supports that life is serious..........
Don't believe everything you think ............

I just used the ICE cards this week. 3000 colone card gets about 21 minutes adn the 5000 card gets about 32 minutes. I used both, no problem.

If you're making a lot of calls, get the higher value cards. Having your call cut off or rushing is frustrating.

However, many places only have 500 or 1000 Colones cards. I found 3000 C and $10 cards. Never saw the 5000 C cards.

With most cards, you dial 197 or 199, enter 2 for English, then enter a PIN from the card, then dial 001-(area code) - number.

Also, if you're checking voice mail and need to press * to access it, buy the card that has a chip in it. Ask for "cheep". With the 197 and 199 cards, * will disconnect you.

I learned more about the ICE phone cards this trip. For you crt guys living in costa rica, please add corrections if I made mistakes.

The two popular cards issued by ICE are: (colibri type with a barcode and slides into a slot on a payphone and can also be used with regular phone and just dial either 197 or 199 first)

197 (for local calls within costa rica only)
available in 500 colones and 1000 colones cards

and

199 (for local calls within costa rica and the ability to call back to the united states and other countries)
available in 3000 colones and 5000 colones cards ?

I seem to have bad luck with the cards becoming invalid on me.

I bought a 1000 colones 197 card three weeks ago and used less than five minutes of talk time for calls locally in costa rica.

I returned three weeks later and the card was invalid as confirmed at my hotel courtesy phone and the ice phone in the delrey.

I had the same thing happen to me with a 3000 colones 199 card a while back.

I do understand that these cards have a predetermined shelf life of a couple of months once the initial card is used but, WTF ? Why am I only getting a handful of local CR minutes ? There must be some sneaky tico snagging my pin numbers working for ice somewhere.

Dapanz 1 wrote

Your USA purchased phone cards WILL NOT work in CR. Only the ones issued by ICE (Costa Rican phone

This is a false statement.

Your US phone card will not work in local pay phones but it will work from home or business; ie Hotel phones.

Before you leave for CR, go into a Warehouse Store and buy a MCI Phone card $20.00 for 670 min's @ 2.9 cents a min.

When you use this card to make calls to your CR honey it will cost you 20 cents a min instead of $3.00 -$5.00.

THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART: YOU CAN USE THIS CARD FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOTEL ROOM TO CALL HOME OR ET FOR THAT MATTER. Calls from CR to USA are 57 cents a min.

You have to call the front desk and they hook you up with MCI; then just dial in all your numbers. I have never been charged for this by the Hotel.

VERY IMPORTANT FACT; You can only add min's to your phone card in the States, up to $60.00 worth. At 2.9 cents = 2068 mins. At 20 cents = 300 min. and at 57 cents = 105 min's of CHAT TIME.

If you have to talk longer then 105 min's to someone back in the states you should have not left home or work.

I also use my current PROviders cell phone to make most local calls.

Plus when out for dinner or a club they will always call a taxi for you. Can you say KICKBACK. just be sure if it is early to tell the driver MARIA Por favor. And thats not asking for his sister.

Good forum posts here. Thanks for the info guys.

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William Walker
8 May 1824 - 12 Sep 1860
Fusilado

Besides the phone cards, you can also use VOIP, which is available for pennies per minute at the internet place between the Morazon and the Presidente or for free at Zona Blue.

Which hotels will do this for you? And, how will it show up on caller ID for calls made to a local CR phone number?

dapanz1

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Paradise= Sitting outside the Bodega in Panama City about 1 am. Drinking cool Balboas with cool friends and blazin' hot Colombianas. I want to be there..RIGHT NOW!