Planning for a medium trip outside of the United States is a lot easier than a larger trip like the one in my last blog entry. You can go to very many places near the U.S. for a lot cheaper than you probably think. You can, of course, shop around and do your research on the countries nearest to you based on the type of country you want to visit. The cheapest places to visit from the United States depend on where in the country you live, but I live in Georgia, so some examples of the cheapest places for me are Mexico, anywhere in Central America, & Colombia. As for this blog entry, my example will be a week-long trip to Costa Rica and Panama.
These are different countries, so just like in my last blog entry, I need to check the requirements to go to these countries before I make any commitments, and if my flight stops in another country on the way, then I need to make sure I don't need a transit visa in that country too. I also need to make sure I don't mess up and get information for the wrong country of departure in my searches. For the simplest search, so you don't make this mistake, use the U.S. Department of State's website, https://travel.state.gov/. Luckily, Costa Rica and Panama don't require much for Americans to travel there. The requirements are listed below:
1. Costa Rica
*Passport must be valid for length of stay.
*A visa is not required for stays shorter than 90 days. However, a return ticket back home or a ticket to another country is required.
*No vaccinations are required, unless you are heading to Costa Rica from some countries in South America or Africa.
*For entry, you are not supposed to carry on your person anymore than 100 USD for every 30 days that you are in the country. Monies in excess of 10,000 USD need to be declared with customs.
*For exit, monies in excess of 10,000 USD need to be declared with customs as well.
2. Panama
*Passport must be valid 3 months beyond the date of arrival.
*A visa is not required.
*No vaccinations are required, unless you are heading to Costa Rica from some countries in South America or Africa.
* For entry and exit, you are not supposed to carry more than 10,000 USD on your person each way.
I already have a valid passport, and I received a yellow fever shot in 2010 when I lived in South America. Yellow fever boosters last 10 years, so I don't have to get another for 4 more years. The only reason I need to have a valid yellow fever shot for this trip is because I'm going to Costa Rica first, then Panama, then back to Costa Rica. Part of Panama has had trouble with Yellow Fever, so if I want to get back into Costa Rica, and then get back home to the States, then it's a good idea to get the booster. If you need to get the booster, you can really only get it from an urgent care center. Without insurance, a Yellow Fever booster usually costs about $75, but you can get it for next to nothing if you have health insurance. If you don't have a passport, you can find information about how to obtain one on the U.S. Department of State's website above or many government websites, including the U.S. embassy's website (http://www.usembassy.gov/).
Now, without the necessity of a passport or vaccines (since both of mine are current), this process is a lot easier. Next stop, where do I want to go in Costa Rica? I already know what I want to do in Panama - see the Panama Canal, of course! But there are a lot of things to do and places to go in Costa Rica which would interest me. My main goal in Costa Rica is to stay in a tree house. If it gets too expensive to stay in a tree house for very long, then I will only stay a few nights and stay in a hostel for the rest of the trip. I have spent all day researching the best tree house hotels all over the country, and I found the most beautiful tree house in the rainforest of Puerto Jiménez, which also happens to be on the coast of Costa Rica (beach!). It's called the Lookout Inn Lodge. Now, this is a very remote area of Costa Rica, nestled deep into the jungle, and will take a lot of effort and time to get to, so this trip is not for everyone, but it's exactly what I want to get out of my Costa Rican trip. If you want to stay in the city, then San José is most definitely the cheapest city to fly to in the country. I recommend going to Costa Rica during the off-season, so it will be less crowded with tourists, the prices for activities and lodging will be cheaper, and prices for flights should be cheaper too. I've chosen to take my vacation toward the end of September. Remember, Central America is near the equator, so the weather is similar (warm) year-round, so I can easily enjoy myself in the off-season. Remember, it is a rainforest, so there will be a lot of rain.
Now that I know where and when I want to spend my vacation, I'm going to pick a flight. Always check out flights in the middle of the week. All of these prices were found on Wednesday of this week, because prices spike for people who buy last minute weekend trips. Check out different airlines' websites for daily deals, sign up for their email updates, try www.clarkhoward.com for special offers, and download the Hopper application to your phone for price spike and drop updates. And if this doesn't yield anything, the best flight search engines are www.orbitz.com, www.cheapoair.com, and www.kayak.com.
Now, I only endorse Spirit Airlines for short trips closer to home, because I had a terrible experience with them when I backpacked through South America for several months, but for this particular trip, I should be fine. Their prices are half the other airlines' prices for this particular trip. I've chosen a one-way Spirit Airlines ticket from Atlanta to San José for $127.90 (one short stop, found on www.orbitz.com) + $26 minimum for a checked bag (no carry-on bag, unless you want to pay more). From there, I will take a quick nonstop flight, which leaves less than an hour after I arrive in San José, from San José to Puerto Jiménez for $79.00 (Sansa Airlines, found on Sansa's website). From there, if I want, I can take a 10-minute flight with an air taxi service called Alfa Romeo Air Taxi (www.alfaromeoair.com), which will take me directly to my tree house hotel for $180. This is a commercial aiplane, which I've never flown on before, so it's tempting to do this. If I want to go a cheaper route, I can instead take a Colectivo bus from the airport to Carate, which is $8-10, but it takes about 2 hours to get there. If you decide to take the bus on your trip, be sure to get there early, as I have heard the seats fill up fast. Colectivos are convenient, because they run every day, but the path isn't paved, so it's a bumpy ride; however, I hear the view is gorgeous, as the route takes you around the coast of that area. I'll probably just go with the bus ride, and if I decide last minute to take the neat, fast airplane ride, then I will.
You can either spend all of your time in Costa Rica, and then go back to San José the way you came, in order to make it back to Atlanta (I found a $258.45 roundtrip flight from Atlanta to San José and back with one stop each way, on www.cheapoair.com), or you can be adventurous and head for Panama. All in all, it will cost about the same amount of money, and it will take roughly the same amount of travel time and effort. I'm adventurous, love a fast-paced vacation, and want to show you guys what you can do with a medium-sized trip. When I decide to leave Costa Rica for Panama, I will take a Colectivo back to Puerto Jiménez ($8-10), a 30-minute fast ferry from there to Golfito for $6 (You can also take a slow one for $2, but it takes about 1.5 hours), a Colectivo from there to Paso Canos to go through customs ($8-10), and a 1-hour mini-bus trip from there to David, Panama (less than $2). These are some pretty fast, cheap options, and they're easy too. From David, I found a flight to Panama City with Copa Airlines for $59.70 (www.orbitz.com). It will likely take a half to a full day to travel from Costa Rica to Panama this way, but the only other option is to go from the tree house hotel all the way back to the San José airport, and fly from there to Panama City for over $300 one way. I'd rather do it the first way, because that is more scenic and much cheaper. Public transportation is all around you in many other countries, such as these two, and it's easy to navigate. Once I am finished in Panama, I will fly back from Panama City to Atlanta (one stop) for $233.64 with Spirit Airlines (www.cheapoair.com) + $26 minimum for a checked bag. My total transportation costs should be no more than $590.24, which is great for 2 countries.
You can always cut down on flight prices by applying for an airline credit card. Delta has really good deals with their credit cards, so you can earn sky miles to help pay for your ticket. I used that as an example for my trip to South Africa in my last blog entry, though, so I'm going to use the Spirit Airline tickets above as an example this time. I checked out Spirit's website, and they also offer a credit card called the Spirit World Mastercard. There is no introductory fee for the first year, and the annual fee after that is just $59. If I decide I don't want the card anymore, I can close out the account before I pay a single penny for it. However, if you like to travel with that airline or one of its sister airlines often, it can be worth it to keep the card open. After you make your first purchase with this credit card, you earn 15,000 sky miles. Then, for every $1 you spend on the card, you earn 2 sky miles. If I go ahead and apply for the card now, I can probably rack up 5,000 more sky miles by the time I leave for this trip, which will give me 20,000 sky miles total. If I trade all of those in for my Spirit flights, I'll pay $200 less for my flights. I think this is a pretty sweet deal! That basically gives me my flight from Panama City to Atlanta for free! That brings the total for all of my flights down to $390.24.
Next, I am going to compile a list of activities I want to do in Central America. In Costa Rica, the tree house where I want to stay can organize a lot of tours and activities around the area. For instance, I'd like to do a night-time frog tour ($5); the Stairway to Heaven tour ($35) to see pumas, tapirs, sloths, mama sea turtles, tucans, monkeys, frogs, and other animals; and take a surfing lesson ($55). There are many other activities to do, which are listed on the lodge's website: http://www.lookout-inn.com/rainforest-activities.php. I'll definitely be spending some time at the beach! I also want to take a canopy zipline tour, but there doesn't seem to one available near Carate, where I'm staying. However, there are a couple of zipline companies in Puerto Jiménez, so if I have time on this trip to do a zipline tour while I'm in Puerto Jiménez, I will. In Panama, the only thing I'm 110% set on doing is taking a northbound half-day Panama Canal tour on a boat with Pacific Queen Panama Canal Tours at https://www.pmatours.net/pacific_queen/panama-canal-tour/schedules/ ($135). This route of the canal tour will show me where the Atlanta and Pacific Oceans meet! Now, I was definitely originally planning to do a canopy zipline tour in Costa Rica, but the more I do my research, it seems more logical to do that in Panama, since I don't have much planned for the latter country, and I'd like to explore the jungle in both countries. I found a company called Panama Outdoor Adventures that does a canopy zipline tour about 1.5 hours outside of Panama City, and they can provide transportation for me if I choose to use it. They also have many other neat activities, including jungle camping, which sounds like fun. Aventuras Panama also has a neat canopy zipline tour, but it is closer to the edge of Costa Rica and not at all close to Panama City, but if I take a break from traveling and stay in David, Panama longer, then this zipline tour is only an hour from there. Also, this company has some really cool activities closer to Panama City on its website, such as canyoning, whale-watching, kayaking, rafting, diving, and taking an aquabus tour. If I decide to do something extra in Panama City, I will check out one of these companies and choose an activity. A canopy zipline tour should cost around $70, but I don't like to overbook my activities if I don't have to, so I will decide if I want to do these activities or not when I get there. In tourist areas anywhere, but most prominent in South & Central American countries, there are companies all over main squares and streets that provide tours and excursions for tourists, so it won't be hard to set something up when I get there. The total for my activities should around $230.
Now, where do I want to stay on my trip? As for Costa Rica, I've already made up my mind to stay at the Lookout Inn Lodge in a tree house (http://www.lookout-inn.com/). If this does not interest you, or you want to save quite a bit of money, you can always stay in a hostel, but my main reasoning for visiting Costa Rica is to stay in a tree house. If you look on their accommodation section on the website, there are quite a few options. I chosen to stay in one of the Tiki Huts, as they are very cute, and they are one of the cheapest options. The price is $155/night for a single occupant, but since I'm with a friend, we each would normally pay $125/night; however, since we're going during a super off-season, we get a 30% discount, so each of us only has to pay $87.50/night. And that's how you knock down a price and still get to stay where you want. I'll be there for 4 nights, so my accommodation for the tree house will be $350 (vs. $620 without the discounts). Again, if this number scares you, you can always stay in a hostel or go couch surfing - or only stay in the tree house for one or two nights. It's up to you. As for Panama City, there is a cheap, cute hostel called Hostel Mamallena near the Panama Canal ($12/night); however, I decided to couch surf in Panama. If you go onto www.couchsurfing.com, you will find people all over the world who serve as hosts in their homes to travelers for free. Sometimes it is nice to make a small donation to them, but it is not required. I found a reputable young woman right next to the Panama Canal, so I will stay with her. You could easily cut your trip down by $300 if you decide to stay in a hostel or couch surf in Costa Rica too, instead of a tree house, but I'm not going to make that sacrifice. You can always check www.airbnb.com if you want cheaper options to stay in the home of someone who lives in the area, but it's not for free like couch surfing is. My total cost for accommodation in Central America $350.
Now, in these blog entries, I always remind everyone to bring their street smarts with them. You can walk around this area of the world, and you shouldn't have any trouble. It's pretty safe, since there is currently no unrest in these areas, and Panama City in particular is a tourist area. If you want to take a taxi, bear in mind that there are plenty. There are also Ubers now! Always figure out how much a normal cab or Uber ride should be before you agree to the ride, in case the cabby is planning to trick you. In both Costa Rica and Panama, if you take an Uber, expect for there to be about a 400 colón initial charge (74 cents); in Costa Rica, expect for each kilometer after that to cost about 116.59 colónes (22 cents), and in Panama, expect for each kilometer after that to cost about 57 cents. (The currency in Panama is USD.) You can find out the expected taxi or Uber fair in any country on https://www.taxifarefinder.com. Remember that exchange rates are ever-changing, so these calculations only apply at the time this blog entry is written. You will need to check up on current exchange rates before your trip. You can also try to take buses, the local Colectivos (trucks with a tarp), or hitch-hike if you're brave enough. Just be safe and smart about your travels.
In Costa Rica and Panama, some things are more expensive than in the U.S, and some things are cheaper. Find this kind of information out before you go on your trip, so you know how to plan for expenses. In both countries, a gallon of milk is over $5 USD, whereas it's about $3.50 USD in the U.S. However, a meal out at a decently cheap restaurant is around $7 in both Costa Rica and Panama. You see this kind of phenomenon in many countries in Central and South America. It's cheaper to eat out at a restaurant than to buy your own groceries, in many cases. It was like that for me when I lived in Ecuador. Plan accordingly. You'd probably rather eat a cooked meal at a cheap restaurant than to buy groceries in countries like these. For this reason, I expect it to cost no more than $20/day at the most for food. It's good to overshoot, so you're prepared, in case you do spend more than you expected. My food budget for this trip will be $160. You can look up the cost of living in many countries on www.numbeo.com.
You will inevitably have some expenses in preparation for your trip. Maybe you need a rucksack or plan to go camping on your trip and need camping equipment. Maybe you want to buy a GoPro camera or a professional SLR camera. If you don't speak Spanish, it might be a good idea to get a Spanish to English dictionary for this particular trip, if you don't speak Spanish. And never forget your outlet adaptor! They even have some universal outlet adaptors. Looking through this list, I have everything I need. I already have a rucksack, a GoPro camera, an SLR camera, and a universal outlet adaptor. And I speak Spanish, so there shouldn't be much of a language barrier for me. If you don't speak Spanish, don't worry; plenty of people in tourist locations speak English, and you can always buy books with pictures to point at if you're not good with languages. It's always best to try to learn the basics of a country's language before you visit that country, though. The locals appreciate the effort.
Itinerary:
9/17/16 - Fly out of Atlanta; arrive at the tree house in Carate in the afternoon
9/18/16 - Stairway to Heaven tour; night-time frog tour
9/19/16 - Surfing lesson
9/20/16 - Relax on the beach
9/21/16 - Travel from Carate to Panama City
9/22/16 - Explore Panama City
9/23/16 - Panama Canal tour
9/24/16 - Explore Panama City
9/25/16 - Fly out of Panama City at 2:07am; arrive in Atlanta
Notice I have some free days in there, which I left open on purpose. You never know what you will find on your trip and decide to do last minute. Sometimes the internet doesn't know everything, so when you get there, there will be signs, people, and companies which point you to certain activities you had never realized existed here. Hostels and hotels often have information desks for guests to find activities to do on their vacation.
Compiling all of this together, I calculate that my trip will cost approximately $1,130.24, so I'll add some cushion there for short taxi/Uber rides, souvenirs, and last minute activities (should I need any) last minute expenses, emergency problems that may arise, traveler's checks, or ATM fees, so I'm going to make a budget of $1,350. Even if you decide not to get a Spirit Airlines credit card, you will spend around $1,330.24 with a budget of $1,550, which is still pretty decent. If you decide to stay at a hostel or couch surf in Costa Rica instead of springing for the tree house hotel, you can drop your budget down to around $1,250 without the Spirit credit card, or $1,050 with the credit card! And you can take off an extra $100 or so if you skip out on Panama and just spend your whole vacation in Costa Rica. If you do that, use the credit card to earn sky miles for the trip, and stay in a hostel instead of a tree house hotel, then you can go on your Costa Rican paradise trip for as little as $730.24 with a budget of $950! Any way you slice it, you can likely make this vacation happen. Just make sure to have quite a bit of cushioning in your bank account (not including the budget I have calculated for you), in case of an emergency while you're away. That's 2 countries and a lot of activities knocked off my Bucket List!
As for your money situation, you can always take money with you to Costa Rica and switch it out for Costa Rican colónes at the airport; however, it is a gamble taking that much money with you on your person. You can always order traveler's checks from your bank before leave. However, I usually just take my bank card with me (after letting my bank know I will be using my card in another country, so they don't lock the card) and use ATMs to withdraw money when I need it. There is almost always a small fee involved when you use ATMs in other countries, because that country most likely does not accommodate your U.S. bank. Beware of rigged ATMs, which can steal your bank information.
I explained this in my last blog entry, but I think it's still a good idea to mention it here briefly. Whenever you visit a foreign country, it is smart and respectful to learn some of the language before you go (the basics), as well as some of the country's social norms. It will help you and everyone else along the way, and it is courteous to show you care about the country you are visiting and the people who live there. Also, make sure to research the dangers involved in the country you plan to visit. Is the country in any kind of political unrest? Are there dangerous neighborhoods you should avoid? Knowing this information will keep you safe.
I always want to mention this in all of my similar blog entries: Always, always, ALWAYS hide your passport and visas. Sleep with them under your pillow or in a locked safe at night if you share a hostel room with other people. Do NOT take this paperwork out for any reason other than to get into a country. Thieves are everywhere, and if you lose your paperwork or it gets stolen, you will be stuck in that country for quite some time until you can get the U.S. embassy to verify that you're allowed to be in that country, and to send you new paperwork.
Pack light! Many other countries, particularly poorer countries, have laundry companies that will wash your clothes for you while you enjoy your day. I doubt you will need to do laundry on a trip this short, but if you need to pack half as many clothing items and do laundry while you're there, then that's great. Keep your load light, particularly with Spirit Airlines, because you don't want to pay extra baggage fees, and it's hard to lug a bunch of clothes around everywhere you go. Make sure to leave room in your luggage for souvenirs. Rucksacks make it easier for you to backpack through rugged terrain, such as through rainforests. Don't take your Coach suitcase to the rainforest! Don't forget all of your paperwork (passport, visas, proof of vaccines), money, traveler's checks, debit card, and/or all of the things you bought in preparation for the trip (a camera, for instance). Either pack travel-sized toiletries, or buy toiletries when you get to your destination. Bring BUG SPRAY and sunscreen. You will be in the rainforest and on a beach, so pack accordingly. Check your airlines to make sure of what you can take with you on the plane and how much your bags will cost (if they cost anything). I believe you are ready for your Central American rainforest extravaganza; I know I am! Have fun, and stay safe!
The Tiki Hut tree house at the Lookout Inn Lodge in Carate, Costa Rica.
The bedroom in the Tiki Hut tree house at the Lookout Inn Lodge in Carate, Costa Rica.
Panama Canal cruises.
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