Winter in Costa Rica

Hi Limey,

Please can you be more specific about the information you are looking for? This might help us to guide you in the right way.

Thank you,

David.

Expat-blog team.

Hi David, Thanks for your interest. If I see accommodations advertised on the blog, how could I verify that the deposit required, is going to a bonafide person?

In my opinion there is NO WAY you should consider renting off a Blog or advertisement.  If you have narrowed your choices down to a certain area by all means find a B&B in that area and then come down and do your own looking.  The rentals that are advertised are only a few of what you will find once you get down and are able to look by "word of mouth".
Cheers .... a Fellow Canuck

Totally agree with TerrynVivs advice. This way, you maybe able to also negotiate the price...after you have personally seen what is being offered.

Yes, you can rent a hotel or b&b or whatever for a week or so, then get down to Costa Rica, check it out so if you don't like it you can change to another.

Once you get set in a temporary hotel or whatever that you like THEN look for a rental for a longer term.

Rentals in Costa Rica - like in the USA - aren't always as advertised. You might get there and find out it isn't at all as described or that there are other factors that would rule it out for you.

What area are you planning to stay in or do you know that yet? Beach? Mountains? Rain forest? City? For how long to you plan to visit?

I suggest you do your best to narrow down the area you want to rent in to 2-4 areas, then check them each out - depending on how long you plan to stay in Costa Rica. If you're staying for more than a month then this step is much more important.

If you're only going for a few weeks or month then I would suggest just touring around. However if you are thinking in terms of retiring there you will want to visit various areas in the climate or type area you are interested in, and live in each area for at least a couple weeks at time, and make sure to do things like banking, ordering services, etc to get a feel for how it is to actually live there as opposed to just vacationing. Vacationing is so much easier. When you start having to stand in lines at the bank, at the phone company, ordering cable or internet, etc. it is a bit more, um, challenging... You will quickly learn to take books or magazines, snacks, etc for long waits (they don't always allow phones or computers to be used while waiting).