Like I previously mentioned, there are not many traffic laws in Costa Rica, and even if there are, I don’t think they are actively followed. Realizing that fact had originally made me nervous, but at this point, I’ve just accepted my fate: that if something happens, something happens. Although many of our host families and locals warn about the petty crime while commuting via public buses, I haven’t had such an incident yet. Overall, I feel safe when traveling around Costa Rica! So, it is good to be prepared but not to worry all the time!
Walking everywhere in Costa Rica is definitely a cultural value, here. If you ever need to go anywhere to buy something such as clothes, groceries, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, it’s preferable to walk everywhere and anywhere you need to go. Honestly, I believe ticos would look at you strangely if you decided to commute via taxi because it’s just a waste of money and unnecessarily polluting. Costa Rica is an environmentally-conscious country. In addition to walking everywhere, by having an extremely accessible public bus system, the government, here, has managed to reduce the individual carbon footprint. When talking to the ticos, you can see that each individual stresses the importance of protecting the planet!
