Location

DIRECTIONS: EASY TO FIND
On your first night, your hotel should be easy to find. We are! Pura Vida Hotel is just 4 Kilometers from the International airport.

ARRIVALS FROM (SJO) INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: We have A FREE AIRPORT PICKUP for International arrivals (SANSA or Nature Air are extra). IF YOU NEED A FREE TAXI FROM THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - let us know your flight details ahead of your trip. As you exit customs you will pass through glass doors to the open air. TURN LEFT. 20 feet to the left of the exit will be a taxi/ticket booth. Ask them for a taxi to Pura Vida Hotel in Tuetal (there is more than one Pura Vida - give the airport taxi service our phone number - 2430-2929 or 2430-2630 if they are not certain). Tell them "HOTEL PAYS" - do not agree to pay the taxi driver. We will reimburse your taxi fare on arrival with the licensed ORANGE airport taxi (do not be distracted by unlicensed taxis or porters directing you to pirate taxis).
NOTE: we do not advise renting a car at night - if you are renting ask the car company to deliver to the hotel the next morning - if you need help with car rentals email us at info@puravidahotel.com

ARRIVALS BY TAXI OR TOURIST VAN: Say the following in the best accent you can muster "1500 metros de la fabrica de Punto Rojo en Alajuela, casa a mano izquierda, frente al cruce de la carretera de Tuetal norte y sur." If you hate speaking in tongues, hand the taxi driver this page and point HERE.

ARRIVALS BY RENTACAR: Point your vehicle at the International airport, follow the sign at the airport exit which says "Alajuela 2 KM". NOTE: this is not the exit next to the Hampton Inn/car rental - it is 1km west of there. Drive straight through the middle of Alajuela (and the 1 way section of town), past the Juan Santamaria square, past the Cathedral square (can't miss it, has a Cathedral at one end of it). There is construction in the center of town for a future pedestrian area. If you find a blockage manoevre around it by counting streets till you get back on the correct road going North. Continue past the court house (where the road becomes 2 way again). 500 meters past the court house, take the left fork (10 feet high religious cross on corner), 50 meters take right fork. Drive 1 KM, hotel is on left. NOTE: for back seat drivers - if you are still going in circles after doing this for 20 minutes, stop the first red taxi you find and ask them to lead you to the Pura Vida in TUETAL - it will cost maybe $3 and minimize nagging and optimize good vibes.



ARRIVALS BY INTERPLANETARY TRANSPORT: Beam your astral navigator to Alajuela, (about 25 KM from San Jose, close to the International Airport) - set your GPS to 10º01'51.00" N - 84º13'33.00" W - you can land your ship near the old Avocado tree, just south of the star fruit tree. Two notes: please do not alarm the guests with a noisy landing and remember Costa Rica is a peaceful country so leave your weapons on board.

STREET NAMES & ROAD SIGNS & BEING LOST:
One of the great charms of Costa Rica, no doubt supported by low local taxes, are a significant lack of street names, road signs and other mechanisms usually associated with getting to where you hoped to go. GOT LOST? Hail a red cab and show them this page - you are probably very close.

A VERY GOOD MAP
If this is going to be your first (second, third, fourteenth) trip to Costa Rica, you will need a really good map and a good guide book. One of our favorite maps is - A Travelers Reference Map of Costa Rica from International Travel Maps (www.itmb.com), 3530 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC -- V5Z 1E9 Telephone: 604-879-3621. TIP: They have a new waterproof one designed JUST for us (those that live in the beautiful tropics).

A COUPLE OF GOOD GUIDE BOOKS
One of our favorite guide books thanks to its wonderful detail including city maps of such fascinatingly unmapped places such as our own Alajuela (and even little Sarchi) is the Moon Handbook of Costa Rica written by Christopher Baker The Moon Guide ALSO Beatrice Blake thinks about conservation as much as she thinks about the traveller in Costa Rica. This guide book is an easy read and has lots of unique material. Get involved here: The New Key to Costa Rica

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: If you are having trouble calling other locations in Costa Rica, FROM MARCH 20 2008, all phone numbers in Costa Rica have an extra digit. For example 506-430-2929 is now 505-2430-2929. Put a 2 in front of land lines and an 8 in front of cell lines. Thank you.