What to buy when in Costa Rica

[hobbyhrs97]

Hello:

 

We are heading to Costa Rica in Jan on the Carnival Freedom. I already have a tour book for sloths, river cruise and banana plantation,market,beach,city points with Charlie Soto. The tour is only 5 1/2 hours and we are there for 8-9 hours. What do do suggest to do for the last few hours we are there? Is there a marketplace close(walking distance to the pier)?

 

I know to buy coffee,vanilla(still hav lots left from Mexico) and of course T shirts when in Costa Rica but what else?

 

Thanks.

[LilMermaid]

Costa Rica has a covered open-air shopping market off the pier, and it is one of the nicest we have been to. One of the big selling items is painted feathers of all sizes (framed), with many different scenes, such as beach, Caribbean buildings, and animals. We bought one last time we were there, and can't wait to get another when we go back in December. I think I paid like $20 for ours, and it was framed. You should walk all the stalls before you make up your mind as there are lots to choose from! I remember we didn't have a lot of time after our excursion to shop there, and we walked away saying we wished we had more time to spend looking around.

[Merv1]

Costa Rica is also known for it's beautiful wood pieces. I bought (in the market place right outside of the pier, once we returned from our excursion with Oscar Brown) a beautiful handmade salad bowl with matching serving pieces (large spoon and fork). Still use it and it looks brand new - it is about 5 years old now. It was reasonably priced - much cheaper than what you would pay for a wooden set here in the States.

[ellbon]

if in lomon go to the supermarket and buy booze.. only place i found my coffee flavor after dinner drink. also and orange flavor one.

[gordandmichele]

If you find a duty-free store and like rum, you can get Ron Zacapa Centenario (23 year old) rum in C.R. It's from Guatemala.

 

Zacapa Centenario has won the Platinum award at the Caribbean Rum Fest and was the first rum to be inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2003 after five consecutive First Place awards in the Super-Premium category (1998-2002) in the 13-year history of the event.

 

If you can't find the Zacapa, you will be able to find Flor de Cana Centenario (either 21 or 18 year old) pretty much everywhere. It's also excellent and is from Nicaragua.

[Springwater21]

we were on a land based holiday in Costa Rico. I opted out of buying t-shirts and bought the framed hand painted feathers. Back in 2003, they were 3.00 for the size I bought.(5x7) Everyone appreciated it more than a t-shirt. I'm sure the prices have gone up. I still have them hanging on our livingroom wall. Also bought coffee. Dona

[mysparky]

It's "just" a condiment and I can't exactly explain to you what it tastes like, but it adds great flavor to chicken, rice, eggs, etc. I guess I would equate it to a Costa Rican version of A1 sauce or Heinz 57, but it's different.

 

This is truly an authentic Costa Rican item - it sits on every table in just about every restaurant in Costa Rica.

[gordandmichele]

It's "just" a condiment and I can't exactly explain to you what it tastes like, but it adds great flavor to chicken, rice, eggs, etc. I guess I would equate it to a Costa Rican version of A1 sauce or Heinz 57, but it's different.

 

This is truly an authentic Costa Rican item - it sits on every table in just about every restaurant in Costa Rica.

 

It's called Lizano Salsa. We always buy enough to last us until our next trip to C.R.

[cruisin zonies]

I am kicking myself for not buying more coffee..we bought Cafe Rey's Cafe Puro Selecto (it's in a blue and red bag) and it was $2.50 a bag. It's an inexpensive souvenir, all my coffee friends are raving about it, and I ran out of these "gifts" way too quickly...

[Putterdude]

Be careful about wooden souvenirs, both US and Canadian customs are clamping down on wood products entering the country. There is a concern about untreated wood carrying parasites that will impact native vegetation.

[hobbyhrs97]

Be careful about wooden souvenirs, both US and Canadian customs are clamping down on wood products entering the country. There is a concern about untreated wood carrying parasites that will impact native vegetation.

 

That sucks due to the fact was planning on getting one for my DD for her new house purchase..may rethink it now.

Thanks for the heads up

[SMSACE6]

When I was in the Limon Costa Rica shopping area last week ( a tented area, just a bit off the pier), I noticed that besides t-shirts, the better items available were leather items, ( bags, satchels, coin purses etc ), as well as wooden bowls, and carved wooden products. Other than this tented shopping area, there is not much else within walking area of the ship, but certainly plenty of opportunities to find something special to take home from Costa Rica.:)

[m steve]

and coffee. They make some wonderful place mats, wine bottle cradles, salad servers and boxes as well as wooden jug saw animals for children.