After arriving in Costa Rica after being in Panama for quite some time, I was slightly disappointed.
Costa Rica is much more expensive than Panama in almost every way imaginable (sans rent as rent in PTY is fairly high) and I didn’t really see any benefit in being in CR over Panama.
Still, I spent around 5 weeks in Costa Rica with a majority of them being in San Pedro, the university town suburb of San Jose. San Pedro is a five to ten minute taxi ride to almost anywhere in San Jose.
I skipped a majority of the tourist areas after a disappointing time in Puerto Viejo (way overpriced, gringo’d out, and too much of a weed culture for my tastes). I did go check out Montverde and the zip line there. I highly recommend you do the same if you are in San Jose.
I did here some great things about Tamarindo, CR, which is a beach town on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica with good surf and nightlife, but I didn’t check it out.
Pros of San Pedro
Good Nightlife: I really enjoyed going out in San Pedro / San Jose. The nightlife is good in my opinion. I usually only go out once or twice a week, but in Costa Rica I started to go out 3-4 nights a week.
Cute Chicks: The Ticas are typically a good-looking bunch. I was especially impressed with their faces. Bodies can be hit or miss. I had one chick I thought was gorgeous only to get naked and be disappointed she was carrying an extra 10 pounds. The ass and face were incredible, but the diet of Ticas has been Americanized and it’s not helping their looks.
Safe: San Pedro seemed to be a pretty safe spot to me. I stumbled around drunk numerous times late at night, sometimes alone and sometimes with a girl. I never had any issues. I wouldn’t expect the same results in downtown San Jose though.
Cons of San Pedro
Ugly Place: San Jose and San Pedro are both ugly places in my opinion. You can see some mountains in the skyline, but the architecture is not impressive.
Americanized: Costa Rica on a whole is way too Americanized. I hated this fact. The place was probably paradise 20 or so years ago, but today Costa Rica as a whole is played out and gringo’d out.
Where To Stay
I would not recommend staying in downtown San Jose. The place is not that impressive and a bit gritty. There are a few other suburbs near San Jose that may be worth checking out one being Heredia.
If you are staying in San Pedro, I would skip hotels and hostels and try to grab an apartment. Being a university town, the rent is cheep. Weekly rates can be found for $125 to $150 with monthly rates going for $400-500.
You can check Airbnb.com for nicer accommodations, but Craigslist has a number of cheap and available options for San Pedro.
You’ll want to grab a place as close to the University (UCR) and the mall (Mall San Pedro) as possible.
If you decide to stay in downtown San Jose, you can grab hotels for $35-45 a night in the center (I did for a night). Try to stay as close to Club Vertigo as possible.
Day Game
I am not a huge day gamer, but Costa Rica made me give it a try. I did a majority of my approaching walking near UCR in San Pedro and at the mall. I even tried to get some numbers at the gym (My thirst was real…).
The area near Theatro Nacional in downtown San Jose is crawling with women during the day and is a decent day game spot. I did a few approaches there one day, but nothing came of it.
Night Game
I found the nightlife in San Pedro and San Jose to be pretty good, but it still did not make up for how much I disliked Costa Rica on the whole.
However, the nightlife is pretty basic. At least it was for me…
On Tuesdays I went to Hoxton in San Pedro. It might be my favorite club in the world on Tuesdays. They play hip-hop mixed with some Latin Music on Tuesdays. I went every Tuesday I was in San Pedro and pulled 3 one-night stands.
The place is filled with Ticas who love gringos and American exchange students / teachers who are not into Tico guys. It’s pretty simple to find a hook up here; just run standard Western game and you will score.
On Thursday I went to La Concha De La Lora en La California. The bar has a ladies night on Thursday and plays reggae roots. The crowd is more Tica than Hoxton on Tuesdays, but the party is great.
I went a few times and always grabbed at least a few numbers before heading home. I never pulled a one-night stand from here, but always had a good time. The party is pretty fun.
On Friday and Saturday, I found the best bet was to grab a taxi and head to downtown San Jose. There is a block downtown with 3 clubs right next to each other. They are: Club Vertigo, Rhapsodia, and Fuzzies. All three places often had a good crowd on Friday and Saturday.
Online Game
Surprisingly, most of the women I got with were from night game. However, I did manage to hook up with a fair amount of girls using online dating during my month in San Pedro. I mainly used Tinder, PoF, Badoo, OkCupid, and Latin American Cupid.
Bring your “A” game for online game in Costa Rica. The girls have met a number of gringos before and you will not be anything special, especially if your Spanish is average.
My Experience & Thoughts
I did not enjoy San Pedro or Costa Rica as a whole much. While I had no comparisons to make after my time in Panama, I do now. I much prefer Panama City to San Jose / San Pedro.
I ended up sleeping with 7 girls while in San Pedro, but my quality was higher in Panama City. Still, I was not too upset with the girls as the quality was still a bit better than back home.
Costa Rica is much more expensive than Panama in almost every way imaginable (sans rent as rent in PTY is fairly high) and I didn’t really see any benefit in being in CR over Panama.
Still, I spent around 5 weeks in Costa Rica with a majority of them being in San Pedro, the university town suburb of San Jose. San Pedro is a five to ten minute taxi ride to almost anywhere in San Jose.
I skipped a majority of the tourist areas after a disappointing time in Puerto Viejo (way overpriced, gringo’d out, and too much of a weed culture for my tastes). I did go check out Montverde and the zip line there. I highly recommend you do the same if you are in San Jose.
I did here some great things about Tamarindo, CR, which is a beach town on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica with good surf and nightlife, but I didn’t check it out.
Pros of San Pedro
Good Nightlife: I really enjoyed going out in San Pedro / San Jose. The nightlife is good in my opinion. I usually only go out once or twice a week, but in Costa Rica I started to go out 3-4 nights a week.
Cute Chicks: The Ticas are typically a good-looking bunch. I was especially impressed with their faces. Bodies can be hit or miss. I had one chick I thought was gorgeous only to get naked and be disappointed she was carrying an extra 10 pounds. The ass and face were incredible, but the diet of Ticas has been Americanized and it’s not helping their looks.
Safe: San Pedro seemed to be a pretty safe spot to me. I stumbled around drunk numerous times late at night, sometimes alone and sometimes with a girl. I never had any issues. I wouldn’t expect the same results in downtown San Jose though.
Cons of San Pedro
Ugly Place: San Jose and San Pedro are both ugly places in my opinion. You can see some mountains in the skyline, but the architecture is not impressive.
Americanized: Costa Rica on a whole is way too Americanized. I hated this fact. The place was probably paradise 20 or so years ago, but today Costa Rica as a whole is played out and gringo’d out.
Where To Stay
I would not recommend staying in downtown San Jose. The place is not that impressive and a bit gritty. There are a few other suburbs near San Jose that may be worth checking out one being Heredia.
If you are staying in San Pedro, I would skip hotels and hostels and try to grab an apartment. Being a university town, the rent is cheep. Weekly rates can be found for $125 to $150 with monthly rates going for $400-500.
You can check Airbnb.com for nicer accommodations, but Craigslist has a number of cheap and available options for San Pedro.
You’ll want to grab a place as close to the University (UCR) and the mall (Mall San Pedro) as possible.
If you decide to stay in downtown San Jose, you can grab hotels for $35-45 a night in the center (I did for a night). Try to stay as close to Club Vertigo as possible.
Day Game
I am not a huge day gamer, but Costa Rica made me give it a try. I did a majority of my approaching walking near UCR in San Pedro and at the mall. I even tried to get some numbers at the gym (My thirst was real…).
The area near Theatro Nacional in downtown San Jose is crawling with women during the day and is a decent day game spot. I did a few approaches there one day, but nothing came of it.
Night Game
I found the nightlife in San Pedro and San Jose to be pretty good, but it still did not make up for how much I disliked Costa Rica on the whole.
However, the nightlife is pretty basic. At least it was for me…
On Tuesdays I went to Hoxton in San Pedro. It might be my favorite club in the world on Tuesdays. They play hip-hop mixed with some Latin Music on Tuesdays. I went every Tuesday I was in San Pedro and pulled 3 one-night stands.
The place is filled with Ticas who love gringos and American exchange students / teachers who are not into Tico guys. It’s pretty simple to find a hook up here; just run standard Western game and you will score.
On Thursday I went to La Concha De La Lora en La California. The bar has a ladies night on Thursday and plays reggae roots. The crowd is more Tica than Hoxton on Tuesdays, but the party is great.
I went a few times and always grabbed at least a few numbers before heading home. I never pulled a one-night stand from here, but always had a good time. The party is pretty fun.
On Friday and Saturday, I found the best bet was to grab a taxi and head to downtown San Jose. There is a block downtown with 3 clubs right next to each other. They are: Club Vertigo, Rhapsodia, and Fuzzies. All three places often had a good crowd on Friday and Saturday.
Online Game
Surprisingly, most of the women I got with were from night game. However, I did manage to hook up with a fair amount of girls using online dating during my month in San Pedro. I mainly used Tinder, PoF, Badoo, OkCupid, and Latin American Cupid.
Bring your “A” game for online game in Costa Rica. The girls have met a number of gringos before and you will not be anything special, especially if your Spanish is average.
My Experience & Thoughts
I did not enjoy San Pedro or Costa Rica as a whole much. While I had no comparisons to make after my time in Panama, I do now. I much prefer Panama City to San Jose / San Pedro.
I ended up sleeping with 7 girls while in San Pedro, but my quality was higher in Panama City. Still, I was not too upset with the girls as the quality was still a bit better than back home.
