Costa Rica-Real Estate Condos for sale in Guanacaste

To continue providing you guys with small guides to relocate or move to Costa Rica I came up with a few short tips about well developed Costa Rica beaches. These locations have everything right on sight and are also the easiest beaches to visit. Most of these are located very close to main cities and not only are you able to sit at the beach and sunbathe but also, you can find many activities such as spa treatments and shopping.

Jaco Beach: This is the most developed one. Some people in Costa Rica even compare it to San Jose as a joke. In Jaco, Costa Rica has a small downtown with an ocean view. You can find everything from a Pizza Hut to a couple of Malls and hardware stores; great shopping and tourist information offices. Even a Hilton hotel is being built right now.

Tamarindo Beach: This beach is known because of the great surfing. Tamarindo Beach, is located in Guanacaste, only 45 minutes away from the airport. The ocean side is filled with amazing hotels, some of them very luxurious. The main street has a lot of bars, discotheques, bakeries and grocery stores, also a few massage parlors and information desks. If you come to Costa Rica looking for surfing and nightlife, Tamarindo is a place you should consider visiting.

Manuel Antonio Beach: This one has a plus: It is also a National Park and not only you will be able to find nice restaurants where you can enjoy extremely good cuisine; you can also experience the breath taking beauties of Costa Rica nature. At Manuel Antonio National Park you can see wild animals and five different beaches extremely well preserved.

At all these Costa Rica beaches you are able to find the exact same things you would find downtown: supermarkets, pharmacies, stores, and even browse Costa Rica real estate at designated offices that have great property listings from each area. I will try and get more information about other well developed Costa Rica vacation destinations for you to take a look later on.

Whenever you are planning on investing on any real estate market there are certain things you should consider, including good research. In Costa Rica, real estate opportunities are everywhere and anywhere. Depending on what type of location you are location you are looking for whether it is a small town home or a beach condo, Costa Rica has something for every taste.

The availability for real estate in Costa Rica increases everyday and there is something for every budget; small town houses, apartments, villas, penthouses and much more. In my case, I own a nice villa in the Guanacaste area. This location gives me the possibility to drive to most beaches, some natural reservations and is only 45 minutes away from the Daniel Oduber airport in Liberia. If I had a dime for every time someone has contacted me to see if I rent it…this place is magnificent and I have absolutely no regrets about moving here. The peace and relaxation I get just from breathing the clean air every day is just priceless. It is also very common to find land for sale in Costa Rica and I have been planning on investing on a few square meters closer to the ocean, make a nice housing project and earn myself a few bucks.

In Costa Rica, real estate for sale can be found either through a real estate agency (which is easier) or just driving around the location you are interested in and look for properties sold by the owners themselves, cutting the middlemen from the deal (which is cheaper). The most expensive properties in Costa Rica are mostly near the beaches and close to highly developed areas such as Escazu and Santa Ana in San Jose. Another place that has become a favorite in real estate listings in Costa Rica is the Heredia mountain side like Monte de la Cruz, or even San Jose de la Montaña where the views area so stunning, people are going crazy for it. Costa Rica real estate is getting bigger, so I would say that this is the time for you to look for a nice Costa Rica home at a reasonable price, before prices skyrocket.

To get the best information, always try to find people that have gone ahead and tried to relocate in Costa Rica, talk to different real estate agencies and make a list of exactly what you are looking for, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a nice Costa Rica property to enjoy.

Usually, when you first arrive in Costa Rica, transportation is something you probably already planned out: either an arranged transfer, a friend to pick up you, or perhaps you just plan on taking a cab once you pass customs. Well, I have decided to put together a quick “transportation in Costa Rica” guide for newcomers. Hope this helps you out a bit:

First of all, you should know that in Costa Rica, public transportation is as reliable as it is in the U.S, in some cases even more; with the exception of some areas that are very secluded, you can get anywhere by bus. This is a small country, therefore, in Costa Rica, ground transportation is a very reliable and rather fast way of getting around. Let’s take a look:

• Public buses: They are anywhere and everywhere. Costa Rica has buses to get to most places arriving and departing all day long. In San Jose, Costa Rica transportation becomes a circus, especially in the down town area. The only thing you should be aware of is that, down town, there are a lot of robberies, so don’t leave your stuff unattended no matter what. The Mercado de la Coca Cola is the designated bus stop to get to most beaches, since there are a lot of tourists and local travelers with luggage, robbers are common. Just keep your eyes open and your stuff with you and you should be okay. In Costa Rica, travel can be easy, but like anywhere else, you need to be careful.
• Train: This is one of the most interesting and nice things in San Jose. Costa Rica has had this train for many years. About 20 years ago they closed it and after several discussions, they open the train services up again to help with the traffic jams issues. They train only works to cross San Jose from side to side and their schedule is only from Monday through Friday, yet the thing I like and amazes me the most is that they use the exact same carts they have since the seventies, so its like taking a ride to the past. Make sure to you ride it at least once.
• Taxi cabs: These are tricky: the ones set for airport transportation are orange and the drivers wear uniform; the taxi cabs anywhere else are red. Make sure you can see their taxi cab license on the side doors, shown as big yellow inverted triangles with their number. Do not get into any other taxi if it is not licensed, in Costa Rica, there is what they call “piratas” and they will take advantage of you for being a tourist.
• Costa Rica transfers: These have to be set up by your specialized Costa Rica travel agency; they are a bit more expensive but will get you to your destination fast and easy.
• Internal flights: Cheap, fast and reliable. Costa Rica flights go to Quepos, Guanacaste, Golfito and Arenal so this will make things easier for you since you can arrive to most places in 30 minutes. By land, it could take you about 4 hours.

I hope this quick guide to Costa Rica transportation helps a little. If you need more info don’t hesitate to comment, I will try and help as much as possible.

If by any chance you are planning on renting a car in Costa Rica, or you just moved in, I would like to share some driving tips with you:

• First of all take into consideration that the roads on the main cities are not in the best condition. Costa Rica roads are not taken care of on the areas that have most traffic: lots of holes and bad signing are the main issues so be very careful. It will be better if you rent a 4×4 just in case.
• Costa Rica travel can be easier if you carry a map. Asking for directions is easy since people are always willing to help, but be careful. They will not give you addresses the way you are used to. In Costa Rica, people are used giving address using reference points, and sometimes those reference points are not even there anymore. They don’t do this on purpose, remember that Costa Rica is a very small country, so people already know where everything is, or was located. If they say something like “From the old pulperia La Luz, two blocks south” don’t hesitate to ask what is located there instead the pulperia, they will tell you anyways.

• Costa Rica tourist areas are usually well illuminated and signs are clear, but other places might be missing one or two directions, so make sure exactly how to get to a location: ask for the best way to get to a place at your hotel front desk or rental office.
• Be careful when driving down town, in Costa Rica, drivers are terrible and most people are in a hurry, so be patient and polite, there is no reason to get scared or mad on the road.
• Like in any other place in the world right now, Costa Rica gas prices are high, so try and make sure you know exactly where you are headed so you don’t waste gasoline if you get lost.

I have been driving here for a few months now, yet I usually only drive through the Guanacaste area, which quite peaceful, most small towns have dirt roads, just be careful if its raining, worst case scenario, your car will get very dirty, but that is pretty much it. Costa Rica has nice sceneries in pretty much every road, so it is worth it to drive slowly and enjoy the view.

Lately I have read a lot of articles about how Costa Rica and Latin America in general are losing their jungles and forests. It worries me mostly because the articles were written from outsiders and they actually don’t have access to the true Costa Rica living. They can’t really see the amazing paradise in Costa Rica. I have to admit that there are huge hotels in Costa Rica and that bigger building and tourist facilities are being built everyday, yet I can see for myself that at the vacation retreats in Guanacaste, Costa Rica main tourist destination, are built in areas specified to hold building projects without harming the natural beauties of the area.

People in Costa Rica are very careful with their treasures and the jungles and forests in Costa Rica are their more valuable asset. They actually fight to keep their natural resources intact. In Costa Rica, rain forest is synonymous to richness and although it is shown as part of their main tourism activities it is being taken care of. I don’t think they are going to allow some rich man come and mess up what people in Costa Rica value the most.

On an article I read today, the writer was saying that there was a “rampant construction that environmentalists fear could balloon into noisy, sprawling resorts”. I would say there should be more investigation on the matter, since the Costa Rica tourism chamber is quite harsh whenever a new development project is offered. Just a couple of miles from my own house there is a natural resource that holds hundreds of hectares of Costa Rica jungles, animals, beaches and much more and I know for a fact they are not going to allow any kind of building going on there or in any other natural reservation unless the natural environment remains intact.

I am not saying that the articles are lying about Costa Rica, upcoming projects or anything but I do think they should be more assertive about the increase in real estate Costa Rica is experiencing and the fact that such a rich country will not compromise the value of having many of the most impressive natural locations in Latin America.

This past weekend, while I was driving towards San Jose and back, I realized how different Costa Rica is from other countries. It is amazing how many different types of weather, towns and people you can see just by driving from Guanacaste to San Jose, in 4 hours you can actually witness the places change and be the opposite from each other.

When leaving the Guanacaste area it is common to see dry sceneries where the cattle wanders around under the sun looking for something to calm their thirst, the people have dark skin, since they spend so much time under the sun and the kids run around in sandals. When you are getting closer to the ferry, Costa Rica tourism is widely seen all over, so the people in these areas are more talkative and dress a little bit nicer, mostly because they work with travel agencies or sell souvenirs.

After getting off the Puntarenas Ferry the view doesn’t change that much, yet the place is full of vendors and restaurants. Costa Rica has plenty of crafts and it is really easy to find cheap souvenirs on the street. Someone on the ferry told us we should stop and have a “pescado entero” in Puntarenas, Costa Rica traditions have this “delicacy” on its list but it was too early to have lunch.

Arriving towards Atenas I noticed a sign that read: Welcome to Atenas, the best weather in the world. It is true: the sky was sunny and there was very refreshing breeze in the air. I have to make sure I do some research about this place when I am on my Costa Rica real estate search mode. The best thing about the place is that is close to both beaches and mountains as it is close to San Jose and the airport!

When we were finally arriving to San Jose, Costa Rica became a whole other country: not only was it raining a bit, but also all the peace of the road was left behind. People just don’t know how to drive, although they were very nice when giving directions. We arrived at our hotel at noon and some of the concerts had already started, so we had a quick lunch and went ahead to look for the best spot to enjoy Costa Rica music.

Today I’m leaving to San Jose to enjoy a very nice celebration that will be taking place this weekend: Fiesta de la Música (also known as World Music Day) which is a lovely festival that celebrates all kinds of music sponsored by the French embassy in Costa Rica. The festival mostly celebrates the summer solstice (which is known as the Veranillo de San Juan in Costa Rica).

This is a very big deal in for the art in Costa Rica. There are going to be outdoor and indoor live shows all day tomorrow and it is worth it to go check them out. This festival takes place every year in 250 cities all over the world. There is going to be everything from folk music, to belly dance to hip hop and so much more I’m still trying to figure out what my schedule is going to be. In Costa Rica, music is a very deal and there are all kinds of genres to choose from. Music in Costa Rica is everywhere and people love partying and celebrations.

The World music day first took place in 1982 and its purpose is to promote music all over the world. The Fête de la Musique is one of the few nights of the year where, under French law, there is no noise restriction. Although in Costa Rica, celebrations take place mostly during the day so everyone no matter their age can attend.

I was kind of bumped to see that were not going to be celebrations outside of San Jose though. Costa Rica has that flaw, a lot f the cool events only happen in San Jose, Heredia or Alajuela. The good thing is that it is not hard to move from one place to the other.

Apart from the World Music Day, Costa Rica was also one of the countries included into the very well known Cow Parade and all the cows are placed all over downtown San Jose! So, this trip to Chepe will also be a tour through the nice pieces of art.

If are in Costa Rica right now, make sure you catch some of the Fiesta de la Musica celebrations. Schedules and information are available all over the net. Right now, I am leaving Guanacaste for the weekend and find deals in downtown hotels. Costa Rica is just more and more exciting everyday.

Yesterday I was talking to a Costa Rican friend of mine and he was explaining to me how traditional families work. It is quite different to what we are used to. In the rural areas of Costa Rica, families have the tendency to grow big and fast, usually a newlywed couple has their first child within the first year of their marriage. In Costa Rica, traditions are strong, and like in any other Latin American country, they have a bit of a “macho” attitude.

The husband is the provider and usually older than the wife. The woman is a housewife, but ends up being more like a house manager, sort of speak. Traditional Costa Rica homes may have more than 2 or 3 kids, in some cases there may be even more than 8 kids. Everyone has to help around the house whether it is helping with the house chores or working outside and help bringing food to the table. In the Guanacaste area it is very common to teach kids to do all kinds of work: house chores, agriculture, selling the goods they grow, etc and they also go to school. Boys usually will go to work with their father when school is out and girls learn everything there is to know about house chores since they are very young.

Yet, it is quite impressive that Costa Rica customs and traditions change from location to location, for example in the main cities like San Jose, people don’t marry young anymore and usually they get university degrees before learning how to cook or clean a house. What is still very common regardless the location is the fact that kids don’t leave their parents household until they get married. However, in Costa Rica, wedding traditions are very similar to what we Americans are used to.

Also, an interested fact is that in the rural areas of Costa Rica, properties are passed on within family members. In many cases, when a couple gets married, their families will provide them with a home already.

I found all these very interesting, I wonder what would have happened if I didn’t leave my parents’ house at 18? I got married when I was almost 40 years old! This is another thing that amazes me about Costa Rica: how is the traditions are so colorful and different in every area.

As always, I keep looking for nice and easy ways to help you with your relocation to Costa Rica (or convince you to do so). A lot of people move to Costa Rica for business or just stay for a while and just sell everything when they leave, and when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING, and I have even found houses for sale in Costa Rica in small ads placed on supermarket boards.

People will sell nice furniture, most of the times they even have the receipt and the warranty is still good. Land sales are a little more delicate, yet it is possible to find nice deals if the property is in for sale by owner, in Costa Rica properties you can find anything for small studio apartments to huge farms.

Normal items found on garage sales are bedroom sets, TV sets, kitchen ware, garden furniture, living room items and such. And these sales are everywhere from Guanacaste to Monteverde or San Jose. When I first got here I had nothing, on my first days in Costa Rica, I browsed some garage sales and I got a few interesting items like a dinning room table, a grill, a coffee table and kitchen ware. My current home I found through a company dedicated to real estate for sale in Costa Rica and I got a pretty good deal, although I have seem some interesting ads for other types of properties I have become interested in. Just the other day I found hotels for sale in Costa Rica! There is money right there.

Farms for sale in Costa Rica: The most interesting ones are always in Guanacaste, I have found about that through experience. The main reason is because since Liberia is becoming such a well organized city, land owners sell their farms not only for agriculture, but also to be used as housing projects. Also, business are expanding quite fast on the area, meaning that finding a nice farm for sale in Guanacaste is a very profitable business and a more relaxed way to live.

If you are moving to Costa Rica, make sure you check as many deals as you can: from furniture to finding the best properties for sale. In Costa Rica you can definitely live well but being wise can help you live better

Starting this Friday, the Guanacaste beaches will experience the very famous “Veranillo de San Juan” (well, very famous in Costa Rica, I personally never heard of it until I got here). This weather phenomenon lasts about 5 days and happens mostly in the Guanacaste region.

This change in the weather is known since it happens in the middle of the rainy season and what happens is that there an increase in the trade winds and the rain activity declines, providing nice lovely days of summer. In Guanacaste, beaches get a little crowded and the ambience gets nicer during these days. I am going to take advantage of this nice weather and go check out the secluded areas of Guanacaste. Real estate in those areas is a bit cheaper and I was thinking of maybe opening my own villa rental business in the near future, so I am going to browse some properties. Costa Rica has many natural resources and even hidden areas have amazing views and thing to explore.

Sunset in a Guanacaste beach, you want to be there

If you were planning on a weekend getaway, this is your chance: travel to Costa Rica is really cheap right now and you will get to experience high season weather on green season prices. You can actually experience nice ATV tours and Canopy; just get in touch with one of the many rentals, Costa Rica has that advantage: resorts, hotels and rentals can actually help you plan your entire vacation with tours and all kinds of activities.

My personal recommendation is heading as north as possible. I have learned that the best beaches are heading north in Guanacaste: Playa Real, Playa Rajada, Playa Panamá and such are very peaceful and you can actually rest and cleanse all that stress out in those beaches: pristine blue water, fresh breeze air (I have to admit, it always smells flowery).

Trust me; nothing beats a nice piña colada while watching the sunset in a Guanacaste beach.