|
Despite my rather cheapskate image, I really only rarely stay at the Nuevo Johnson and usually average between $100-150 per day BEFORE including airfare. I'm sure that is still not as high as many guys around here, but IMHO is hardly the pennypinching austere barebones approach that some people seem to think I always take and I'm CERTAIN that if I really HAD to I could DEFINITELY do it for MUCH less without really sacrificing that much convenience or comfort.
Actually, I think that Junky's original question needs to be refined. He seems to already pretty much know what his lowest airfare cost will be, so what he REALLY should be asking about are LAND costs ONLY. Besides, while airfare costs represent a significant portion of any total trip cost and therefore SHOULD be included in trip budgetting, they greatly complicate any sort of comparison analysis, which is what this is. First of all, airfare expenses can vary greatly depending on where in the US each individual is coming from and what airfare sales may be going on from one time of the year to the next. Secondly, since airfare is a fixed cost regardless of trip duration, any time someone gives an average daily cost estimate one would have to know and factor in the length of their trip on top of where they were coming from and what type of airfare they were able to book (btw the title question in that other thread was really off a bit too for this reason).
Of course there are a few other fixed costs (the $26 departure probably being the biggest and least avoidable), and those will have to be amortized along with the airfare over however long the trip, but (apart from the $26) those either dont amount to much or else can be fairly easily avoided.
I think Junky's question also needs to be refined even further from the rather simplistic "How MUCH DOES your trips cost?" to "How LITTLE CAN your trips cost?" Since he prefaced his question with the personal remarks "I'm really kinda broke right now but I really NEED to come down.", I don't think he was really all that interested in guys telling him how much they spend on colombianas, luxury suites and shrimp dinners. So let's look at this question instead: How much PER DAY should Junky budget if he's trying to keep his costs as LOW as is COMFORTABLY possible? Unfortunately, 'comfortably" is a relative and subjective term. The only one who can really answer this question is Junky himself since only he knows how much economizing HE would still feel comfortable with or how much he'd be willing to trade off comfort for savings. I believe it was JOsie in the other thread who claimed that if he had to penny pinch that much he'd rather not travel at all (or something to that effect). Most of us would certainly PREFER not to have to economize, but we do it out of necessity either to enable us to take more trips or to stay longer, etc. But I have to believe that even for JOsie the type of economizing that most guys are talking about here is not so austere or uncomfortable that he'd REALLY rather stay home and pass up all the other joys of travel than to travel that way.
------
So without further ado here are my calculations/suggestions for Junky
PRE-TRIP:
1) Try to book flights that leave for CR EARLIER in the day and that depart for home LATER in the day (assuming of course your low airfare doesn't necessitate you do otherwise). So, for example, if you leave for CR early (arriving by midafternoon at the latest) and depart later in the day a week later, you will have 7 full days in CR but only have to pay for 6 nights of hotel. OTOH, if you do it the other way around a higher proportion of your time in CR will be spent sleeping and paying for your hotel room. PLUS if you schedule your flights this way it also opens up less expensive ways of getting to/from the airport in CR.
2) Try to find someone who can give you a ride to the airport in the US and also pick you up on the way back. US taxi fares are ridiculous and those daily airport fees will typically add $6-10/day just by themselves.
3) Pack some snacks for the flight down. I don't know about you but I'm a sucker in the morning for those overpriced Cinnabuns that they sell on the airport concourses. Naturally, you may be stuck for expensive airport convenience store liquid refreshments because of security regulations regarding carry-on liquids (btw, if you go through the MIA airport, you have the time and its not far out of your way, there is a soda vending machine on the 2nd floor of the airport hotel selling cans for 50cents)
4) No matter how long you go for, if you know what and how to pack it is always possible to get away with just a carry-on bag and that will help you avoid porter fees, delays at the airport and make it much easier to get around at your destination.
FIXED COSTS:
$300 Airfare (amount given by Junky)
$ 26 Departure Tax
$ _4 Bus transport to/from the airport (including taxi from the bus stop to your hotel). I know some guys think this is overeconomizing and will settle for the $10 shuttle (which really only works well inbound) BUT as long as you're coming in during the day and only have carry-on (see comments above) it is perfectly safe, doesn't normally add much if any time getting to your destination (maybe 10 minutes more on average) and really is not that uncomfortable. And those extra 20 minutes saves you enough for an extra half hour session at a tico MP, which is well worth the exchange in my book. Besides when you're just gonna wind up sitting around for a while chilling out after your flight anyway what is an extra 10 minutes sitting on a bus?
VARIABLE (DAILY) COSTS:
$ _0 Airport Parking (see above)
$ _2 Breakfasts (or free if included with hotel bill)
$ 10 Lunch AND Dinner (eaten mostly at sodas, which serve perfectly fine if not ultra fancy food) BTW, you can bring the cost down on this by going for the occassional slice or 2 of pizza for lunch (for about $2 with a small fruit drink) or by purchasing some of your food at markets as some others have suggested. Personally, I prefer to spend a bit more and get prepared meals rather than fixing something myself given how cheap soda meals are in CR. But IMHO one COULD also do this to offset the occassional meal at fancier restaurants like Machu Pichu or Cafe Mundo if those are your things and still keep the average cost for these meals to not much more than $10 combined.
$ 10(?) Drinks - this cost area may be subject to as much debate as any thing else and it really depends on the individual. Not knowing Junky, I can't really give a fair estimate for him. I know some guys would consider not being able to get shitfaced every day on a trip to be an unacceptable compromise in enjoyment. However, speaking personally, I've always felt that allowing oneself to get too drunk is acutally inconsistent with safe and enjoyable mongering as it increases your chances of making bad decisions, getting ripped off, etc. If you drink 3-4 Imperials per day at the HDR (which is already on the pricier side for drinks and which in any other context is considered heavy daily alcohol intake) that still comes to well under $10. When I'm at the HDR I can nurse a mostly empty bottle for quite a long time. Alot of the time I just drink bottled water (which is healthier for you anyway) or coke (which isn't) and those I can pick up at the corner store (e.g. Chelles) for a much more reasonable amount and bring in with me to the HDR for at least my first drink. Frankly. I think this $15 estimate is actually generously on the high side for me, however rehydration with various liquids (though preferably simple water) is important in warmer climes like CR, so lets stick with the $15. BTW, pick up a large bottle of water when you arrive (to keep in your minifridge of your hotel room has one) and use it to refill the smaller bottles that you carry around with you. In addition to saving you money, that is also much better for the environment since you end up with fewer empty plastic bottles.
$ _4 Taxis - walk everywhere during the day since, again, it is healthier for you and split rides with other mongers whereever you can when you take cabs at night. For these calculations, I've allowed for 2 $2 cab rides (out and back) in the evening
$ 40 Hotel - a standard room at the Castillo is just $50 or less than $40 if you stay for a full week. The Freebird also has suites (w/shared bathrooms) for under $40/nt. OTOH, if you're planning to doing all your mongering at MP's you COULD stay at the Doral for just $30/nt (which has perfectly fine accommodations though further from our more popular meeting places but it gets pricier with chica fees and thus not as much worth the trade-offs) or even the Nuevo Johnson for $10/nt (though even I will admit that would be too much compromise in quality and comfort for most gringos). So, even with a $2/day tip thrown in for the maid, $40 is certainly doable without unacceptable compromise in quality (particularly if you're planning to stay a week or more).
$ 60 Chicas - IMHO, Mr. Blacks estimate is still a pretty good one. That is one session with a HDR or SL chica or 2 sessions per day at TICO MP's. For some this won't be enough phucking around so they will need to spend more. One could also do less or skip a day here or there but then you'll wind up spending at least a little doing something else or if not, I'd have to go with JOsie in "what's the point of even going to CR if you're just gonna sit around trying not to spend any money at all?"
Total Fixed Costs = $330. Total Variable Costs = ~$125/day X 7 days = $875. TOTAL COSTS FOR A 7 DAY TRIP = ~$1200
If that is still too much and you want to keep it to just a long weekend to keep down total costs then a 4d/3n trip (staying at the Doral and only doing 1 MP session the day you arrive and the day you leave) then the total cost could drop to ~$700 but the high fixed cost of airfare will keep your total costs still pretty high. Also, while Xman's post doesn't make a lot of sense (or at least not the grammar and incomplete syntax) but I did get one thing out of that which I do agree with. No matter how much you budget, you should figure that you'll probably wind up going over that amount for both unforeseen amounts as well as underbudgeting on certain items (prices are always going up and hot chicas will always be able to entice you to spend a little more)/
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
Calendar
