A few driving rules

Driving here is a little different let us give you a few rules so you'll be safe and not too surprised.

Turning and signaling - If there is no oncoming traffic, a turn should take about 1 minute, longer if you need to adjust the radio. If you’re accused of not signaling, just say you “Saca mi lengua”. This means you slightly turned your head and stuck out your tongue in the direction you turned. Morally this is all that is required! We once tried using an arm signal to show that we were going to stop, upon seeing the arm and hand turned down, the driver behind us immediately passed us, pulled in front of us to force us to stop, and ask us if something was wrong!

Parking - Where can you park? Easy! Anywhere there is a good asphalt or cement road. However, you’re only allowed to park on the highway to answer your cell phone if it is an important call. If you are on a motor scooter the call doesn’t need to be that important, because your vehicle takes up less road space and cars can more easily go around you. If two cars, on each side of the road stop, totally blocking traffic, just pull over and look for something else to do.

Road rage - If you make a mistake and almost cause an accident, hope that the other driver gets mad because only then can you regain the moral high-ground (See previous section on Cultural Differences about getting mad.). As long as you have the high-ground, everyone around you will say it was the other’s fault.

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Orientation Tips from Our Visitor's Guide

Important Information for Visitors

Click the tabs on the left to reveal little known tips that can eliminate costly mistakes, help you romatic life, and generally help your trip go smoother!

costa-rican-woman-shower

For Men Only! Hint ... They Just Want You to Take A Shower!

Many women from Costa Rica, especially from the Gold Coast, are know to take 3-5 showers per day. If you're out-on-the town and notice one is sniffing you out, she just may be seeing if you are a viable candidate, as many have a uncanny sense of smell. Take lots of showers and wear good perfume and you might just cleanup in the romance department!

costa-rican-now When “Now!” is not “Now!”

Without being able to accurately convey the meaning of this important word, all kinds of things can go wrong! A big problem is not knowing how to tell someone they want something “now”. For in English, “now” means “now”. Mañana –Many people think it means tomorrow, but actually it only means some time in the future. So you can imagine the confusion when you try out your best Spanish and say, “Pick me up mañana at 9:30” To say tomorrow morning, say, “mañana en the mañana”. En esta momento - literally translated, means, “In this moment” Really does sound like it should means “now”!- But the best way to say “now” is just a simple sound, Ja! So, using Spanglish, you'd say, “Please reserve me a table, Ja! Saying it with more enthusiasm means you’re more serious!

tipping-rules

Tipping Policies

The question of how much to tip in comes up frequently. A native person with a run of bad luck will often show respect with a token tip, but if they don't that's OK. If it changess, then the rules change, and they're expected to tip. In San José generally people are expected to tip more and more often. The native people assume all tourists have a lot of money, so they are expected to tip all the time, at least 10%.

customer service

A New Meaning For Customer Service

People from other countries often assumed that a "Customer Service Desk" exists to provide, well ... "service". Here the desk symbolizes a position of power giving its occupant a power akin to the bouncer at an exclusive club. Providing good service is more synonymous with doing you a favor. So, be polite and your request will be eventually honored because if you lose your temper and you may be waiting forever!

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A few driving rules

Orientation Tips from Our Visitor's Guide