Nikki Solano

Hello Linda R Borshay!

You’re 100% correct! I have added an extra step to the above article for clarification. Please see instruction #2 under “Step #2: Using the caramel to create the flan’s base layer” for information about placing the baking dish in the fridge. As a side note, Ricky also prefers a flan with a slightly more cake-like texture. It may be the coconut shreds that make the difference. Some flan de coco recipes call for the use of coconut milk instead of shredded coconut, which likely creates a smoother flan. If you give the above recipe a try, please report back to let us know how it goes and whether or not your flan’s texture is similar to that of the flan made by your friend Rosa.

Pura vida! 🙂

Hi Dave!

Thanks so much for posting your inquiry!

To start, in case you haven’t already had a chance to read it, our blog post Costa Rica Day Tours: Should You Book Ahead Of Time Or Wait? should answer your question. 🙂

Although we go into further detail in the above post, I can at last offer you some brief information to help provide a quick answer. To your question, “is it feasible to book a tour from La Fortuna to my next destination within days of my departure?”, the quick answer is: it will depend largely on the tour you have in mind, the tour operator who offers it, and the time of year you plan to visit. Here’s why…

Most (but not all) tour operators in Costa Rica require a minimum of two people to run tours. Since you mentioned that you are planning a solo trip to Costa Rica, if the particular tour you have your eye on requires a minimum of two people to run and you only plan to book it for yourself, the tour operator (assuming it is company that requires a minimum of two people) will not be able to confirm the tour reservation until at least one other person books the same tour as you for the same date. If the tour is a popular one and/or you plan to visit Costa Rica at a busy time of year, this wouldn’t create as big of an issue for you as if you were planning to participate in a less common activity at a slower time of year. This being said, if you do plan to participate in popular activities during a busy time of year, that also invites the issue of availability, since availability can be limited for some tours during certain travel periods.

The other issue you run into if you opt to wait until the last minute to book is that you may end up having to pay full price for the tour. As described in our related blog post How To Save Money On Costa Rica Tours, discounts are available for many tours, however since the reservation deadlines to be followed in order to access those discounts typically requires reservations to be placed a few days in advance of any tour date, waiting until the last minute to book may be too late to reserve the item at its lowest rate.

Pura vida! 🙂

Hi Alicia!

Great question! We are not aware of a city-to-city transportation-inclusive tour that runs directly from La Fortuna (or Monteverde) to Uvita (where Marino Ballena is located). However, going through San Jose isn’t required; there are city-to-city transportation-inclusive tours that run from La Fortuna (and Monteverde) to Manuel Antonio, which will at least get you to the central Pacific coast while avoiding San Jose altogether. Uvita is another hour’s drive down the coast from Manuel Antonio, but you could always look into taking a local bus, a shared shuttle service, a private transfer service, or a taxi service from Manuel Antonio to Uvita to cover this stretch. 🙂

Pura vida!

Hi MS!

You ask such great questions! It sounds like you may have already returned home from your trip, but our answers to your questions may help future travelers with respect to their upcoming vacations, so we appreciate you sharing them on our Costa Rica Travel Blog.

We’ll start with a disclaimer: It’s tricky to say in all cases whether something is or is not legitimate, and therefore, whether you should or should not tip. There will always be sincere people just as there will always be people who try to take advantage of situations. The below recommendations are simply what we would do in each case, but the most important advice we can offer is to always trust your gut.

In response to question #1:

We tend to tip in this case. It isn’t required to do so, but we tend to give about $1-2 USD or 500-1,000 colones per hour of parking time. The people who keep watch over cars are usually members of the community, and the attendant job is their only source of income. This being said, there’s no guarantee that their vigilance will prevent problems such as vehicle theft, theft of possessions from inside the vehicle, and/or vehicle damage. Regardless, we err on the side of caution and take parking lot attendants up on their offers and have them watch our car.

In response to question #2:

We tend not to tip in this case. On rare occasions, we have encountered government- or school-run projects that request donations from passersby, but in these cases, the project is formally established as a fundraiser and has uniformed representatives or provides official donation receipts. With respect to road construction, it is rare to be asked on the spot for a donation, especially when details, evidence of the project, signage, and/or other representation are not provided. We usually only see this type of random, personal fundraising in town/community centers where residents roam the streets with a jar or a can in hand, asking neighbors for donations to help a loved one who is struggling. In these gut-wrenching cases, we usually provide monetary support.

Pura vida! 🙂

Hi again Jessica!

No problem at all! Thanks so much for your interest and preference. 🙂

Pura vida!