I feel like a lot of content creators are nervous to share scams but I think it's really important. Thank you!!

I’ve got news for you, you tipped every single time you went out to eat whether you realized it or not. The gratuity is usually disguised as some form of a tax at 10% which the government allows them to do automatically. If you get exceptionally good service then you should tip a little bit more but otherwise your tip is already included.

Sad to hear. But thank you for bringing it up. I live in Costa Rica and when I came here that happened to me repeatedly in Jaco . Every time, restaurants, grocery stores. It was 22 years ago. They overcharged. In one grocery store I saw the cashier put a pack of cigarettes in her pocket. And charge me for it in the bill… I live in Manuel Antonio and the fake guides have been a problem as long as I remember. Petty scams are a problem here. I am so sorry that it happened to you. Thanks for warning people. I live in a rainforest here and that has made up for the scam mentality. I also speak fluent Spanish so it is easier for me to address the problems. It is a beautiful country and I love that it is a tropical climate. The people I most love are Costa Ricans… They are very special people. Many of us have tried to stop the scamming at the national park . Occasionally the government does something to address it, but it gets out of control until public pressure forces the police to put a stop to it. It stops and then it slowly comes back. You are exactly right , people should be warned.

I am from CR and I am very sorry that you had suffered this stuff guys. I swear not all of us are like that but I apologize in the name of those people who didn't treat you right and clean. I wish you the best and thank so much for you beautiful instance in this country.😊

This is so useful!! We are traveling to Costa Rica soon and this is PERFECT timing for us! Thank you 🙏🏾 🙏🏾

We experienced the same parking scam at the ruins in Tulum. Just keep driving forward!

It’s easy to just show drone footage, slo mo shots and exotic places, but it’s nice to show the real and sometimes very ugly situations people can encounter when traveling. Good on you. Scams are everywhere, but it never hurts to educate yourself beforehand anywhere you go. Have fun in Egypt 🙂

Thanks for posting. My wife & I are heading to CR in a weeks time and you've helped to make me more aware than I would ever have been. We are ending our stay in Manuel Antonio so that was good advice too. I hope you enjoy Egypt, it's wonderful.

Great tips!! I’m Costa Rican and honestly I had no idea about the restaurant scam, but I can definitely confirm the scams and chaos at Manuel Antonio. There are lots of agressive “guides” who swarm tourists before they get to the official ticket office trying to trick them into buying the tickets from them and all sorts of other stories. Also, remember that it’sN OT necessary to tip waiters, drivers or anyone, they are already paid a decent wage and service is included in the bill. As in the rest of the world, tipping is customary for outstanding service, but now, thanks to Americans, workers at tourist hot spots have grown to always expect tips, regardless of the quality of their service.

Thank you!!! I totally appreciated this information. Especial the tip on how to easily bypass the scam regarding parking. I often smell bullshit but had a hard time “standing up” against it. Your advise - I can follow!

I actually found this more helpful than negative! Thanks for letting us know and all the best with your future travels. Happiest of belated Birthday Wishes too! I hope you enjoyed your day in spite of! 🥳

Aw thank you guys so much for putting this sort of content up! Also you guys look so great for constantly being on the move! What kind of workout routines are you guys following on the road???

Thanks for the information, I have heard worse from other travelers. Definitely a thumbs up for the video 👍

I appreciate the information, good to know so this way we are ready. Thank you so much guys! Pura vida!

Thanks a lot for this video! Going to Costa Rica soon and these tips are very valuable. Keep up with amazing content like this one 🙂

Thanks for these tips!

I studied abroad in Costa rica for 4 months and was robbed 3 times.... pickpocketed, someone broke into my airbnb and stole all of our belongings a child snagged my backpack at the hot springs in Arenal. Beautiful country but definitely watch out for the scammers. Drinks were consistently added onto our bill even in the small mountain town I stayed in and bus drivers would try to stiff me on my change repetitively.

Thanks guys. Very nice of you to share important info like this. Woot woot!

This was so helpful, thank you!

Appreciate the info!

You did mention the parking scam so great. Tips (10% usually camouflaged as a tax) is already included in your bill so don't tip unless you get exceptional service. Always have your taxi driver turn on the meter or you will be fleeced so get out of the vehicule. Ask before you close your door or put any bags in the trunk. Be more aware and careful in San Jose for the highest crime level in CR is mostly there !

Thanks for posting this!

Heading to Manuel Antonio in April so THANK YOU so much for this video!!!

Thank you so much for the info! I really appreciate it

Extremely helpful. Thank you

Thanks for sharing this wonderful video n also for alerting on d scam activities in Costa Rica. Great tips from u guys.

Ty Guys. Great advice! 👍

Thank you both for your honesty 🙏🏽🙇🏽‍♂️

Love this! You guys are great. Thank you for sharing this.

Thank you for sharing your experience in Costa Rica, I enjoy watching your vlogs and you will always find happiness even if you are tired. I am a Filipino who married an Algerian, so I can see even if you are of different nationalities, as a couple we are happy wherever we go.

I love this video! so useful!

I’m currently planning Costa Rica for my birthday & watching endless amount of todo & not todo videos 🙏 thank u so much for the warnings, tips and honesty!

Thank you for sharing!!!

Thank you so much for all your tips I was taking notes as I was listening. My husband and I plan on going in July

Thanks soo much for all the info. and what to expect. Going to Costa Rica but gathering infor. before I go. Good vibes from Rhode Island.

thank you so much for this video !!!

Thanks for the info! Keep it up

Thank u for these useful tips. I definitely appreciate it

This is really good to know, thank you

Just found your channel! Me and my friend are going to Costa Rica in March. Thank you so much. You have a new subscriber! ❤

Appreciate this very valuable safety knowledge 😊👌

Thank you for these tips! You should make these kinds of videos for every country you’ve visited. They are so helpful for future travellers.

Every tourist place in the world have people that are out to scam you. It’s nice that you are sharing it so people can be aware.

I think every country you visit something like this would be so helpful. The good the bad and the ugly just so we know. I appreciate the truth you give to your viewers.

Great tips thanks! Heading there in a few months

Thanks for the tips! I'm going to costa rica in July/August :)

Excellent straight up

Woot woot yep yep Ariba Ariba !!!!!! You guys are awesome safe travels thank you for amazing footage

Great tips thanks

Useful guys. Thank you

Merci beaucoup pour tous les conseils, qui nous ont aidé pour notre voyage ! 💪

THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP.

We will be there in one week. Thank you for doing this video!

I wish I'd seen your video before I went to Manuel Antonio National Park. I got suckered into pulling into the beach area and paying $10 to park. When I got to the bottom of the road I could tell that was not where I wanted to be. I turned around and went on my way but it left a really bad taste in my mouth. I'm glad to say that that was the only time I felt hustled in CR. Comparied to Jamaica (where I'd traveled 24 times before CR) Costa Rica was a dream. You can't step out of your room in Jamaica without someone being there to beg you something. I traveled there solo and felt very safe but then I'm an experienced traveler and am more guarded than most.

You haven't been negative guys. Life has good and bad things and many times is good to say that uncomfortable part because help us a lot. So, now we know 😅😅 and we're gonna be alert 😅. Excellent video as always!

Also, the service tax is included over here, so leaving tips is not necessary or obligatory. Watch out

Thank you for this content! More travellers need to know these things when travelling to different countries

You’re not being negative. This is reality! Thanks for sharing!!!

The prayer call is meant to be loud and heard by all those in the city - that’s the point of it. :) thanks for sharing your insight

Strange, we've lived here for 20 years and have never caught restaurants doing that. Maybe we need to pay closer attention. The Manuel Antonio 'guards' are definitely a thing!

I've traveled to 125 countries, heading to Costa Rica Jaco in April, my 126th country. These are really good tips. Thank you.

Cabs: Use Uber. I live here and there are definitely mistakes made in billing (Be diligent). Yes, car rental companies suck here. It's better to use a shuttle and then use local buses, Uber, etc. The whole parking thing in Costa Rica has to do with "parking attendants" offering to watch your car in return for cash. My way of avoiding this is to park in designated lots (It costs more but avoids the hassle you're describing). As for Manuel Antonio Park, all other parks here are much, much, much better. I subscribed so I can follow you on your travel adventures.

Thank you for the tips, you guys seem sweet ❤️

Thanks for sharing! You should know that the tip is automatically incorporated into your restaurant Bill, sounds like you were double tipping.

Thanks for letting us know what really goes on in Costa Rica.

Crazy! We've lived here for 5 years and have not experienced this! Sorry it happened to you. Everyone should always check their bills anyway, no matter which country you are in. We always keep track on our notepad in our phone just in case it ever does happen, or if we are out with friends so we can split the bill. Just had this video come up on our recommended, we are also KZfaq content creators! Keep having fun!

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤Amazing

Definitely true we have experienced this already and called them out and they had to fix our check. This has happened to us a few times.

Some good tips to know. We just returned from Panama and are planning our next trip to be Costa Rica. Thanks for letting us know the local BS to be on the look out for.

Should make a list of Restaurants who scam bills so that we can avoid it

Thank you for letting us know because I am from Costa Rica and I never 👂 that before 😮

Would love to give Ana my tip 😊

Hi, I live in Costa Rica and for the locals everything is very expensive but they definitely take too much advantage of tourists with excessive prices.We locals rarely use cabs because they are thieves. I think at least you had a great time. Regards.

Thank you we're heading over soon 👍

Love your videos but as someone who worked for enterprise business rental sharing corporate codes is a huge no, and if a company were to find that an employee was giving out their code it could be a fireable offense. Most companies will cross reference rentals using their code with employee names and travel dates (unless they have a separate code for business and as a recreational benefit) I am sure you guys will be okay but I wouldn’t put that out there on the internet if you know what I mean.

I've been here since 2005, recently naturalized citizen. I have never experienced what happened to you regarding restaurant servers/bills. Always a good habit to check your bill. Thanks.

thank you

Actually, maybe you are not aware, but I am from Europe, and I feel the same in America. Everything costs to me more than it costs to Americans, I can't get even a car for a normal rent because I do not have a crdit card, and I have to use company Turo which costs double price per day. I have to sleep in hotels, I cannot get a possibility to rent, and so on. The way I am Greengo in Costa Rica, I am Greengo also here in USA (Currently I am in Florida) and I will go back to Costa Rica in couple of days. I feel that the atmpsphere is more friendly otwards me than here in US. I also have to pay insurance on top here. it is for a cheap car the cheapest possible it comes 68$ per day.

Wow that is so funny the same guy in your video stopped us in Manuel Antonio. Since this is my second time coming to Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio I didn't fall for there trap. During my stay in this area I noticed that a lot of tourist sadly were stopping and were convinced that they were official park staff. Lots of people stop and give them money to pay for parking when they are not official people at all. Also the item scam happened to me and my group of six twice in Manuel Antonio. They added an extra items and we told them we didn't order this and they immediately gave us our money back. They however didn't factor in the tax and we had to ask them again and they easily gave us the tax portion.

Thanks for this informative video. Which waterfall is it at @1:39 time in the video?

Americans are used to tipping, but often in Costa Rica, gratuity is included in the restaurant bill. You don't need to tip. As for the restaurant bill scam, there is another KZfaqr who recently did a video on this in La Fortuna, so it is a thing. It is disappointing to be seen as a walking ATM and not a human being, as is the case in so many tourist places.

Which airline did you use to get those deals? Every time I search for an airfare from Miami to Liberia comes up around $1000 ☹️

I'm going there, but it will be in June, I really want to go to the real thing like the hood and stuff. Did you guys went to the hood? Or did you guys stayed more at the tourist area?

You should come back to Malaysia. The borders will be fully opened on April 1. You should visit the beautiful Perhentian, Redang or Kapas islands. White sand beaches and turqoise blue waters. Best of all, its the only Asian country where scams are not part of our culture! 😊✌🏻

We just left Costa Rica for the last time because it happened nonstop. And more than just food. My husband had to go to urgent care and we went to a pharmacy and we were charged $50 for 10 20mg prednisone pills. That’s obscene. It’s like they make up the prices once they size you up. We were in the la fortuna area (to which we had never been) staying at amor arenal (I do not recommend this resort btw) and we couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Sad when a vacation turns into a nightmare (for more reasons than the extreme overcharging) but yikes. What a shame because I feel like it didn’t used to be this way ( at least in the other areas in which we’ve stayed.

As Costarican I appreciate this video. It's not right what happened to you. I am so sorry. 😢 Not so Pura Vida.

Initially I thought you guys were "thirst trappy, self absorby" folk but realized you guys are LEGIT and interested in promoting life and awareness. I was planning on going to CR but gonna pass for now because I'm feeling like not being hypervigilant. Even in Cancun I had to keep my guards up. Nice Cairo shot out!

I have been in CR 6 months, yes you must be very careful and really practice some destination or something because you'll get scams every day more or less. We moved to Panama, here it is the same but much much lesser

As a Costa Rican, this can happen even to locals, we always have to be careful, always be one step ahead. The taxi scam and restaurant or bars they tend to do that. And the “wachiman” or watch man please be aware.

I am in Escazú now. After watching this video I realized that the Mexican restaurant next to my hotel charged me double, plus I left the tip. Not going to happen again. Thanks so much for the heads up very helpful.

I'm glad you guys mentioned enterprise. Been with them for over a decade. At least I know they wont have hidden fees of it. I'm going to Costa Rica this December! AHHHHH

For all who are going to Manuel Antonio/ quepos: Remember to go to the main entrance. Near there there are parking spots on the road and if necessary an assigned area to park for a fee of 10$. Also to get past the people trying to get you to park , you can just keep driving and they will move. It’s what the locals do and a pretty easy way to not get hassled by the hustlers.

Thanks for the tip! I meticulously checked every restaurant bill before paying...fortunately none of them attempted to scam me! :)

Love all your videos! Would love to see a video about how you guys pack for international travel as I am really curious how you pack light but still bring everything you need! Espeically with going from place to place with such little time in between trips.

I am a Costa Rican and let me say I do not think you are negative. I think it is extremely shameful that people here behave this way and I am half north american so I look like a tourist and have experienced this as well (not when I am with my family that looks more Costa Rican...) Sadly this scamming behavior is from desperation and disproportionate wealth and resources here, but definitely that is no excuse to treat visitors badly in any which will in turn harm the local reputation and business for honest people. Actually, thank you for sharing this. These types of concerns need to be made more public so that the government actually has motivation to take action.

I'm from CR and I just have to say I apologize for this, wish you the best, this country is difficult :(

Just got done visiting Costa Rica without watching this video, take that! Pura Vida

Appreciated

I loved my Costa Rica Trip! 🤍 Pura Vida 🍻

I live in Costa Rica and cashiers also often give me the wrong change by like many dollars. It happened to me three times in two weeks that I knew of and every time, they weren't surprised. I'm wondering if they normally pocket that money.