Costa Rica Tourist Scams - 7 Most Common Tourist Scams To Avoid When Visiting Costa Rica
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- Опубликовано: 25 окт 2024
- Most common tourist scams you want to avoid when traveling to Costa Rica. For the best and most reliable car rental company in Costa Rica follow this link: www.clkmg.com/... avoid the car rental scam that sadly occurs a lot here in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is a lovely country and if you are simply mindful you wont get scammed and you won't fall for any of these common tourist scams. I am a Dutch expat and I have been living in Costa Rica for the last 16 years. If you are curious how I make a living in Costa Rica and how I achieved my financial freedom? Click this link ➡️www.clkmg.com/..., watch the video and follow me in my footsteps. This same method could help you gain financial freedom no matter where you are in the world.
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I am a Dutch expat and I have been living in Costa Rica for over 16 years. I love my Costa Rica expat life and I love sharing everything I have learned.
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Costa Rica Tourist Scams
This is the car rental company I recommend: www.clkmg.com/wandadutchie/carrental
This link doesn't work :( Is there another one you can provide?
@@meganlipsmeyer5360 there was a linking problem but it's fixed now. Thx for letting me know www.clkmg.com/wandadutchie/carrental
@@WandatheTravelingDutchie Hi Wanda, the link works, but no matter what I put in, it says "No Cars Available". Do you have any other car rental source, suggestions?
Tico treachery taxi to Dennys San Jose 20 dollars maybe 2 miles😂
I'm Costa Rican living abroad and I have suffered myself the money exchange issue, especially when paying for food at "sodas" people come with their own exchange rates. The car rental it is an issue but still better than going around paying taxis. A taxi guy once tried to take us for a longer "ride" when I already knew the route (BTW, if you use the airport taxi you would be able to pay for the ride upfront at the airport and not have this issue). One more is to avoid to travel with expensive gear, wear your backpacks to your front as a kangaroo if you are on crowds downtown as there are sometimes handy pocket lifters (like in other countries ) and not to leave unattended items at the beach... or anywhere.
In general, the country is pretty safe and a great destination for the whole family to enjoy. People are very friendly and will be happy to help you.
How much is the rental insurance
Im costarican and I barely use cash, I always use plastic and sinpe transactions. As long as you have the chip on your cards and as long as you get an email after every transaction and if have quick access to your bank statements, there is no need to go bananas over scams.
Thanks for sharing!!
That's because you are not a tourist.
@@ksmith2852 well said, I am always trying to protect my dear wife, this people need to be put under control and called out! Thanks for your comments
Or never been scammed 😅😂
@@ksmith2852 I've travel to many places out of CR as a tourist and the best tip is to use common sense.
I love drama...I would love to join the scam by throwing a scene and make sure the whole world hear and see it right at the spot.
Can we say social media????? 😅😂😊
Thanks for these good tips and also your other videos on CR, they are very informative. I'll be heading to Costa Rica next week so this really comes in handy. Greetings from a fellow dutchie!
Also make sure that you are paying for the display for colones and not the display for liters. I was driving all night to catch a plane in Liberia and realized after that the attendant had me pay the liter # as colones and I probably payed twice as much as I should have. It was 35 liters and he told me it was 35,000 colones!
Oh woww that;s good to know. Thanks for sharing Doug
6 gallons for over 60 dollars ?
I should not feel sorry for what happened to me . I paid 20 dollars for 30 liters x 2 times by police presence !
About Uber... in my experience, it is the other way around. They ask you to sit in the front. Because it looks weird when "your friend" sits in the back.
for sure. Thx for watching
Ya we traveled to CR in 2018 and got NAILED by the car rental agency. This is valuable advice
Sorry you had to go through that
@@WandatheTravelingDutchie We're planning on relocating to CR within the next year or so. Having this boots-on-the-ground advice I'm sure will be useful
@@dmet5810 Exciting plans!!!
Hello Wanda ! I just came bacl from a 2 weeks vacation in Costa Rica; Quepos Manuel Antonio; After I watch your video, I consider I was lucky... Thanks a lot for good advise; you present it congruently and helps a lot. Thank you !
Hard disagree on asking to be charged in dollars. Many places will give you a receipt with the amount in colones but it also very "helpfully" have the dollar conversion on it. The problem is, that sum is way over the official exchange rate in every case I've seen. It might have been correct sum at some point, but it's probably outdated (if you want to give them a benefit of the doubt). But I bet it gets changed very quickly if the exchange rate swings the other way though. The solution is to get a credit card with no foreign transaction fee and use that to charge in colones every time. That way, you get the up to date conversion and pay what you're supposed to pay.
I m very happy for you this has never happened to you. That doesn;t mean it doesn't happen at all. Cheers
No captions yet - I'll watch this in a few days when the closed captions show up (I'm deaf) - gave an upvote. Thanks for your videos, very helpful.
I appreciate you watching. SOrry you have to wait
very good tips, I have encountered a few of these in the past
Thanks for watching. I'm sorry you had to encounter a few of these.
Thank you, Wanda, for sharing this, I would love to share this with my Online Spanish Students when they are prepping to come. Especially because they have a perfect "happiest" country idea with no Scams. Which is not the reality! Again, it is best if you know that if you don't and then have a safe trip with the necessary cautions!! Gracias Wanda!!!!!!
my pleasure. You probably wanna check out the other video on my channel that will be very helpfull. Here is one of them: ruclips.net/video/TAnNcuj8ti8/видео.html
@@WandatheTravelingDutchie muchísimas gracias Wanda!
Thank you so much 😊
Do u offer spanish lessons in person in San Jose?
Beware of a place called "La Paz Waterfall Gardens". It is expensive to enter and they ask you in English for a tip when you are paying the cost to enter. I heard it is owned by a man from the United States. Don't pay it. You can tip the workers inside the property if you bring small bills either in colones or dollars or euros.
Great, great advise, it happen to me , I never give my credit card to anybody or let out of my sight
Watch out for rip-off tour guides too. Don’t hire just anyone, use a reputable agency through your hotel or with a storefront.
Dollar Rental Car is much more reasonable and they never try to overcharge me. No charge for the shuttle from the airport to their Belen office.
Once again great info☺️
Glad you think so!
On the credit card scam, usually i wont tell my credit card banks that i'm in CR.
Since they all have the chip they all work fine with the chip reader but once the get swiped or order online they get block right away and i get a text and email, i'm in CR now on vacation and only called my bank on one of them to be able to use online to order tickets for the Puntarenas ferry but i wont use it for anything else.
Never had a credit card scam in the last 18yrs. We travel to Costa Rica at least twice a year except the last 2 due to the pandemic.
Thats great to hear
Was in Costa Rica a month ago. Took taxi to airport from hotel. On the way the driver "switched" something that added considerable more to the meter. Pay close attention to this scam. I confronted him when he did it, and he said it was simply a fault with the meter. Adjusted back down when I paid. Still not sure if I was ripped off or not?
You did an amazing job 👏 this is well known even among the locals and not only is illegal but also very commonly done! And many people wouldn't have confronted him, ¡Bien hecho! (Well done!) :)
Thank you for these informations 👏
My pleasure!
Thank you so much 🙏🏻❤
thanks for your info.
also , Dollars are widely accepted . you`ll get change in Colones . No need to buy at the Airport . check the ATMS for a plastic device called a scanner , before using . Better to go inside the Bank . especially in La Fortuna or big Tourist towns .
Problem is, the lines at the banks are L-O-N-G and S-L-O-W !
Thanks so much for sharing Tim
trueee
Don't change money at the airport its SUPER expensive!!! Just go to any public or private bank.
Thanks for sharing! One question: I know traveling to avoid September to October. How about mid August? Is it going to be too wet as well?
Yup, totally helped us on the trip!
I don't even want to go to CR now.
Wanda, so do I have to pay the extended insurance for the rental car? and if I do, how can I confirm that they are not charging us more than the actual mandatory rate?
Don't rent car from Enterprise they will accuse you of stealing car
Thank you.
Do you have a detailed video for new visitors, which places older people should stay in? Many people say not to spend time in San José or even Jaco. But if you don't want to drive and be close to amenities where should you be? Escazú? Where else?
Awesome info
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you so much ❤
Thank you for watching
What are your thoughts on a day trip to Corvocado National Park from Sierpe? Worth the drive from Manuel Antonio?
Thinking about canceling our trip to Costa Rica. Sounds like too much work to avoid scammers.
oooh nooo I hope not. :-(
LOL!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Then don't travel anywhere! Scams are everywhere. Literally everywhere! Locals anywhere always know when you're not from their country, therefore scams are common no matter where you travel to.
@@moonlightj0y ight.. that's why I like to inform people to be aware of the most common ones. cheers
@@WandatheTravelingDutchie I booked a trip to CR on rainy season lol Only because my birthday is in September and I wanted to be in CR regardless of the rain 🌧 I'll just pack appropriate attire. 😅
As a fact! I am of color and biracial German, and an American expat. I have lived in Costa Rica for 14 years. Fortunately, I have not encountered any of these situations. I tend to blend in. It was difficult at first, before I learned some Spanish. However, in short, the Ticos and Ticas just assumed I was Costa Rican.
Hola. I really enjoy your content, thank you very much 🙏. I just have one very important question; how do i meet local Tico/Ticas in a respectful way where they don't think I'm a Multi-millionaire ?? I don't flaunt and try to blend in etc.. Traveled to 25+ countries, but it seems obnoxious here. I am in the process of moving and it's inherently frustrating.. 🙄
I don’t know if you tried Moroccan county . I am not from there but you have options to go easily to Spain or Portugal if you got bored or wouldn’t like there 13:40
I been there 3 times and it is not hard to communicate in any language you like, English, Spanish or French !
Do you have tips for puerto jimenez?
I have been watching your videos and I wanted to say they are very helpful and informative. Thank you
We are going to Costa Rica at the June with our 3 boys and it will be our first time. With your recommendations we will be booking our car rental through adobe 😊. I made our reservation last month through the link you provided. However, I just the reservation I made yesterday and now it doesn't exist anymore. I have emailed but I haven't heard from them. Should I just make another reservation?
Ok but if you made a reservation you should have a confirmation nr they emailed to you. If you don't have that I'm afraid something didn't go through so you want ot make the reservation again. Which email did you use? I can aks them
Typical. If you rent a car you will be ripped off. And they will find damage because the roads are going to damage the car. You will most likely get a car that already has damage. They charge the tourists for damage..and do not repair the damage.
I got scamned and extorted by a nail salon owner. WATCH your wallet. Watch who you rent anything from....cars, houses, etc. I never got back any deposits.
What area on the west coast of costa Rica is the better location to live in
Isn't it a pain in the neck to deal with colones because it involves many thousands of colones for just a small amount of dollars??
Take the beginning number and double it and you get the price
$1= 500
$10= 5000
So 45,000 will be $90
A tico taught me this one
So how much is a cost of bottle of water? And how much is a dollars difference in colones?
Ive been around but not to CR. Going 12/23, Tamarindo, 10 days. Theres scammers everywhere but im a little wondering about this.
Check your restaurant bills too, they add on more drinks and hope you don't notice. If you do catch them doing this certainly do not tip. Check EVERY bill
To much scamming don’t want to go country like that
Its not like that in person this is just a video about scams
Can you recommend a good Shuttle service to use between cities in costa rica? We are going from San Jose International to Fortuna, then Guanacaste, and back to San Jose International.
Would it not be the front seat of Uber? Nice 👍 Video.
yes the front seat. Thx for watching
Hi Wanda, I am trying to book a car rental and you were saying that there was a family run business for over 30 years. I would like to look into it could you please send me the information/link? Thank you so much maybe I’ll bump into you in Costa Rica.
sure! Here it is: www.clkmg.com/wandadutchie/carrental
Wow... giving some bad info here. Always ask for USD. wrong. in every country in the world always ask to be charged in the local currency, any other way and you will be nickle and dimed over time. Your bank and only your bank will give you the best conversion rate, allowing anybody else to perform the conversion is going to result in lost money. Period.
uhmmm I think you misunderstood. I did not say "always ask for USD" but thanks for your feedback.
@@WandatheTravelingDutchie Nope. "I suggest you always ask to be charged in US Dollars" quote from the video 8:40. You did. otherwise i wouldn't have said anything and the other person below wouldn't have said anything. It's a bad idea.
Actually as a counter example in Argentina there is an unofficial exchange rate for the dollar that is near double the banks rate..so paying cash at most places is like 50% off what it would have been with card. This is caused by rapid inflation of the local currency.
I wish u did a video about Medellin, Ciudad de Primevera
I will next time I am ther e:-)
This doesnt happen everywhere, actually. Too bad they can't just be honest humans.
Hallo. I want to travel to Costa Rica. I live in Greece. As i see it, it will be a solo travel. I am a bit afraid because i have never travelled solo for so far away. I have found the destinations i want to visit. Can you suggest me some travel guides or agencies i can refer to start creating an itinerary plan?
Hi I´m from The Netherlands and I´m planning to visit CR upcoming december. It´s my first far away trip by myself, which is a bit scary. I signed up for a single travel group from Sawadee, so I won´t feel alone all the time and have some social contacts nearby.
Perhaps this will be a solution for you too?
do u know the company Budget? is it good??
I dont recommend it
@@WandatheTravelingDutchie What about Adobe in Limon, cruise port?
Sorry, I did not see the car rental company that you use?
No worries Larry, It;s in the text box below the video but let me add the link for you right here: www.clkmg.com/wandadutchie/carrental
I am a German/American. I'm a permanent resident, and live on the Pacific side, in Guanacaste. I have lived in Costa Rica 14 years. I have a method when I use my U.S. credit cards. When I want to use them, I use the app or go online and Unblock The Card. When I am done using the card, I reverse and Block The Cards. Even if someone has my credit card info, they can't use it because the cards are blocked! And, I get an email each time my card is used.
What card allows this feature? Thank you.
I"m coming to Costa Rica to do some wildlife photography. Was thinking on the Osa Peninsula. Is it easy to get there by plane from the main International airport? Thx- PS: I think the town's name at the resort is Puerto Jimenez.
Yes you can fly easily from San Jose to Puerto Jiminez or you can drive which is 5,5 hours
Did you know , getting robbed in CR is known as a 'Colon-oscopy' . just joking
lol
LOL I love it
Why anyone bother to go to Costa Rica ? ! It is not worth a shit . Mexico worth tons of Costa Rica . I don’t know why I don’t like people I don’t like to talk bad about but I don’t appreciate em . Few really nice . About rental cars , outside Santa Maria airport , they are guys you can rent cars or USV for cash less than it cost at
of rental car offices on ur credit cards , and it is about the same . Most SUVs or sedan cars are around 100,000 miles less or more . So why rent a car on credit card to find piles of charges on ur card when you come back ?
I don’t want to talk about the worst foods and how much expensive and rotten
Gas station attendant brought police right a way to me at the pump cos I was trying to protect myself from scamming after I paid him
My mistake I went to the restroom while he was fueling the car after I paid him . The police was a kind intimidating w no understanding for my situation , only Believed his story !his