Riu Guanacaste Costa Rica Airport Transfer Shuttle and Weddings

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Brad

The Riu Guanacaste Hotel is a beautiful, all-inclusive resort located about a 45 minute drive from Liberia Airport in north west Costa Rica. It’s situated on a nice quiet beach on the Pacific Ocean.

The resort is very private and quite isolated. Great if you want to just relax and enjoy the pool, the beach, the all inclusive bars and restaurants, and the various activities that the resort offers. The nearest town is Playas Del Coco, about a 30 minute drive, or Tamarindo is about an hour away. It’s about a 45 minute drive from Liberia Airport and under an hour from the town of Liberia, where you can find shopping, restaurants, bars etc. There is even a mall and a movie theater.

The road to the Riu Guanacaste was a problem for the first year or so after the hotel opened but in July 2011 the road was finally paved all the way. From Liberia Airport you need to head south towards Tamarindo. Turn right when you see the sign for Playas Del Coco (there’s a gas station on your left). Then just after the turnoff for the Tico town of Sardinal you’ll see the other gas station. Just after that there’s a turnoff to your left. Follow that road and you’ll come to the Riu Guanacaste Resort.

I can help you with airport shuttle transfers to The Riu Guanacaste. The cost is $50.
If you are renting a car it might be an idea to take a shuttle to the resort, relax for the first day or two, then have the rental car delivered to you at the resort. I work with a car rental company that will deliver your vehicle to you at your resort for no extra charge. I believe basic car rentals are around $50 a day, small 4×4 SUVs are around $70 a day and large 4×4 SUVs are around $85 a day.

The Riu Guanacaste is also a great place to get married! If you are considering a destination wedding, I can recommend a few wedding coordinators, photographers, videographers and of course, musicians. I specialize in providing musical accompaniment for your wedding ceremony, cocktail hour and dance reception. Visit my other website at Live Music In Costa Rica for more details. I also offer a Free Guide To Getting Married In Costa Rica, giving tips to make it easier for you to coordinate your dream destination wedding here in beautiful Costa Rica.

Send me an email and I’ll try to help you. You can contact me here:

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Cabinas Coco Azul – Cheap Hotel Hostel In Playas Del Coco

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Brad

If you are going to visit Playas Del Coco and you want to stay in a cheap hostel, try Cabinas Coco Azul.

You can rent a basic room with a bed and private bathroom, or some apartments have a small kitchenette.

The advantage of Cabinas Coco Azul (apart from the cheap price) is the location. The cabinas are beside downtown and the beach. But be careful at night because the area around the soccer field has a few unsavory characters hanging around.

When you come into Playas Del Coco, go down to the beach. You’ll see the green (very green) catholic church beside the soccer field. Follow the dirt road around the back of the church and you’ll see the sign for Cabinas Coco Azul. There is parking for around 5 cars.

I believe rooms start at around $25-30 a night. You can contact Steve at or Phone: 011-506-2670-0431

And I can help you with airport transfers from Liberia Airport and the cost is $40. Please send me an email at and I’ll help you get it organized.

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Ultralight Tours In Costa Rica

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Brad

There are many things to do when you visit Costa Rica, but how about soaring high above the beautiful Costa Rica coastline in an Ultralight Aircraft?

Ultralights come in different types of aircraft including powered paragliding, powered parachutes, powered hang gliding and weight shift controlled trikes.

There is a company in Costa Rica specializing in Ultralight tours, from Tamarindo, Tambor and Samara. They offer a 2 person aircraft and you go with an experienced pilot. It’s noisy but they provide headphones which allow you to communicate with the pilot throughout the flight.

Check out the video:

Pure Life Adventures in Playas Del Coco can help you get this organized if you’d like to try it! The cost is $160 for 30 minutes, or $240 for one hour.

Please send me an email at

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DJ For Your Costa Rica Wedding

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Brad

If you are looking for an excellent DJ for your wedding in Costa Rica, please visit Live Music In Costa Rica. We offer live music for your wedding ceremony and cocktail hour, but we also work with an experienced, professional DJ to provide dancing for your wedding reception!

Our DJ specializes in providing your favorite songs for weddings, including the first dances, father & daughter dances and a full selection of party dance music, guaranteed to get the dance floor filled!

The DJ is based in Guanacaste, Costa Rica and speaks English and Spanish, using the highest quality sound system equipment, to assure you that your event will be a wonderful and memorable experience! We have huge playlists of the most requested party songs including popular Latin, Reggae, World, Lounge and Electronic Music. We can also handle requests for any style of party.

Please send me an email at if you are looking for musicians or a DJ for your destination wedding here in Costa Rica. We are based in Playas Del Coco, near Tamarindo in the region of Guanacaste. Remember to include your planned date so I can check availability. Thank you!

Si usted está buscando un excelente DJ para tu boda en Costa Rica, por favor visite Música En Vivo En Costa Rica. Ofrecemos música en vivo para su boda y la hora del cóctel, pero también trabajamos con un experimentado y profesional de DJ para proporcionar el baile de la recepción de su boda!

Nuestro DJ especializado en la prestación de sus canciones preferidas para las bodas, incluyendo los primeros bailes, danzas padre e hija y una completa selección de música de baile del partido, garantizado para conseguir la pista de baile llena!

El DJ se basa en Guanacaste, Costa Rica y habla Inglés y Español, utilizando la más alta calidad de sonido equipos del sistema, para asegurar que su evento será una experiencia maravillosa e inolvidable! Tenemos listas enormes de las canciones más solicitadas del partido incluyendo el popular América, Reggae, World, música lounge y electrónica. También podemos manejar las solicitudes de cualquier tipo de fiesta.

Por favor, envíenme un correo electrónico a si usted está buscando para los músicos o DJ para tu boda en Costa Rica. Estamos ubicados en Playas del Coco, cerca de Tamarindo en la región de Guanacaste. Recuerde incluir su fecha prevista para que pueda comprobar la disponibilidad. ¡Gracias!

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La Dolce Vita Italian Restaurant In Playas Del Coco

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Brad

Last night I spent the evening at La Dolce Vita in Playas Del Coco, Costa Rica. It’s a nice Italian restaurant located in the Las Palmas area, just north of downtown Playas Del Coco.

The restaurant is under new management and they have created a very nice atmosphere and ambiance there. Melissa and Francesco moved here from Italy just a few months ago and I think this is going to be very successful for them. The restaurant has a courtyard with around 10-12 tables and there are another 10-12 tables inside.

The food at La Dolce Vita is excellent. They offer a full selection of Italian specialties including a large variety of pastas, seafood, a salad bar and of course, pizza! Last night I had the Suprema Pizza which was excellent. The pizza bases are thin crust with a rich tomato sauce. They also have a great wine selection and a full bar service.

Last night I played with my guitar duet in the courtyard. The music was very relaxed, jazz and bossa nova style. People seemed to like it and a couple visiting from Norway bought us a round of drinks! I think there will be regular live music at La Dolce Vita, and maybe next time I will add my piano player from Los Mojitos to provide some latin music.

** UPDATE – Los Mojitos will be performing at La Dolce Vita on September 15 and 30, 7-9pm with a mix of latin, pop, jazz, reggae and bossa nova! **

To get to La Dolce Vita, go into downtown Playas Del Coco, at Lizard Lounge turn north. It’s about a 10 minute walk and on the right you’ll see a parking lot and a small shopping area. The restaurant is in the courtyard. It’s open from 11am till 10pm.

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Musicians For Your Wedding In Costa Rica

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Brad

This week I played at a wedding in Costa Rica, at a beautiful resort called Bahia Pez Vela, near Playas Del Coco. It’s located about 40 minutes from Liberia Airport and about an hour north of Tamarindo. In Playas Del Coco take the road to Ocotal, when you get to Father Rooster and Ocotal Resort, follow the road to the left, south of ocotal and you’ll come to Bahia Pez Vela and Picante Restaurant.

Beautiful destination wedding venue at Bahia Pez Vela Resort in Costa Rica

It was a small wedding of around 15 people from North Carolina. I played as part of a jazz and classical guitar duet for the wedding ceremony. We played some easy listening jazz standards and then the bride wanted to enter to Pachelbel’s Canon in D. We also had our piano player from Los Mojitos sit in.

Jazz and Classical Guitar Duet Available For Wedding Ceremonies in Costa Rica

Then for cocktails and dinner I played with my Los Mojitos group. That is usually a duet of piano and bass but this time we had our saxophone player join us, and the guitarist stayed and played as well.

Los Mojitos performing with additional saxophone and jazz guitar.

After dinner we supplied a DJ to take over and he provided dance music from 7pm till 10pm.

If you are interested in having Los Mojitos perform at your wedding in Costa Rica, please visit us at www.livemusicincostarica.com or email . Remember to include your planned date so I can check availability.

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Diesel V’s Gasoline

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Brad

In different countries in the world, diesel is sometimes more expensive than regular gasoline. Of course in general, diesel offers much better fuel consumption but if it costs more to buy than gasoline then that defeats the purpose.

In Costa Rica, diesel is about 10% cheaper than regular gas and 20% cheaper than premium gas.

I filled my car yesterday (August 1, 2011) in Liberia, Guanacaste with regular gas and the cost was 683 colones per liter (around $1.35 a liter). And the pump said diesel was 636 colones a liter ($1.25 a liter).

I did a quick comparison to the average gas prices in Canada. According to Calgary Gas Prices.com the national average regular gasoline price today is $1.26 a liter.

I visited Britain last month so let’s compare the prices there. The average cost for regular gas there according to Petrol Prices.com is £1.36 a liter…at today’s exchange rate that’s $2.21 a liter! And because Britain has more diesel cars than regular gasoline, the diesel prices are higher than gasoline (funny how that works), at £1.40 a liter…that’s $2.28 a liter. Yikes!

Unfortunately there aren’t nearly as many diesel vehicles here in Costa Rica. A quick comparison with CR Autos showed 378 pages of vehicles for sale in Costa Rica but only 65 pages of diesel vehicles, which means about 16% of vehicles are diesel.

Another problem is that the vast majority of diesel vehicles in Costa Rica are manual transmission. I much prefer automatics but there aren’t many of those around.

I wish we could hurry up and provide the people with economically priced, good looking, super efficient, clean & self sufficient electric or solar powered cars.

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Computers and Laptops in Costa Rica

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Brad

If you are coming to Costa Rica you’ll probably want to bring your laptop with you. Computers in Costa Rica are quite a bit more expensive than in The States and most airlines will let you bring on a laptop computer as carry-on, without an extra charge.

But if you prefer to buy a computer here, there is a store in Liberia called Maxi Bodega which is owned by WalMart and they have laptops for sale starting at around $450.

However, there is an independent computer store, also in Liberia that sells used computers. They also repair computers. Here is an example of their products, as advertised on Info El Coco:

10,000 colones is approximately $20.

Internet service in Costa Rica is OK. It’s not as reliable as in The States or Canada and often there are times when it goes off, sometimes just for a minute, others times it can be for hours. Wireless internet (WIFI) is terrible and only works occasionally.

There are two internet providers in Guanacaste: Amnet and Cable Tica. They both charge around $25-$30 a month for basic high speed internet.

But I believe you can also get service from ICE (pronounced ee-say) who are the cell phone service providers.

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Cheap Flights To Liberia, Costa Rica with JetBlue

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Brad

JetBlue Airlines now offer cheap direct flights to Liberia in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, starting mid-November 2011.

I looked at some fares to get an idea of prices and I saw one cheap fare from JFK New York to Liberia Costa Rica for $350 return including taxes at the end of November 2011.

You can check fares at their website here: JetBlue Airlines Flights to Liberia, Costa Rica

If you plan to visit the beaches of Guanacaste in Costa Rica, such as Tamarindo, Papagayo, Playas Del Coco, Playa Hermosa, Playa Flamingo, Playa Potrero, Nicoya, Nosara, Samara, Santa Teresa then you will find it a lot easier to play into Liberia instead of the capital San Jose. If you fly to San Jose then you’ll have a 3-4 hour drive to get to the beaches of Guanacaste, but Liberia Airport is only a 30 minute drive to many beaches in NW Guanacaste.

I can help you with an airport shuttle transfer service in Liberia. Send me an email with your dates & destination and I’ll quote you the price. My email address is

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