How To Get Around

When talking about bus travel in Central America,  many people have a picture in their mind of an old, shabby, former school bus filled with plain-looking people and clucking chickens, meandering along a bumpy dirt road.  It may be like that in other countries, but NOT in Costa Rica.  The busses are made by Mercedes or Volvo, are beautiful, comfortable and efficient, have in-journey movies and snacks and go everywhere.  I can go from Jaco to nearly any place in the country, or travel to Nicaragua (Granada – round trip $44) or to Panama and back.  When I return, Jaco, Costa Rica really feels like home.  And the shorter trips by bus cost between 65cents and $1.50, and are pretty close to being “on-time”.  I’ll write about automobile ownership in a future blog, but many retirees can live comfortably without the cost of owning a car.

Here in Jaco, as in other Costa Rican towns, taxis are relatively cheap.  It’s nice to know that I can go out for a night on the town and take a taxi home…total cost $1.50 to $3.00.  And they come in all shapes, so if you need to haul surfboards or a huge amount of luggage, you’ll get a pickup taxi or a SUV taxi.  Same low fares.

For more information on traveling around Costa Rica, contact Gary Aptaker.