Adjusting for Local Deals
May 27th, 2007 Posted in Beers of the World, Cheap Latin America Travel, Destination reports, Travel bargains
Why a photo of three Imperial beers and one small bottle of 7-year rum? Because in a Costa Rican supermarket, these are roughly the same price. One beer in a store is close to $1 and a six-pack is just six times $1, making a nondescript Costa Rican lager about the same price as a quality microbrew in the U.S. (Thankfully, mark-ups aren’t as brutal in a bar or restaurant, so you won’t pay U.S. prices there.)
Rum, on the other hand, is a bargain. This 375ml bottle was about $3 in a grocery store, for the highly regarded Flor de Cana aged 7 years. I just saw a 750ml bottle at duty free in the airport for $5. What a steal! In a bit of irony, great rum from Nicaragua is cheaper than so-so rum from Costa Rica. That was $8.
Frou-frou cocktails by the pool are nice in the tropics: no crummy mix with lots of preservatives. Just rum and blended fruit chopped up on the spot. Tasty and full of vitamins!
Which brings me to the only other great bargain in Costa Rica: fresh produce. The elevation in this country ranges from sea level to around 10,000 feet (3,000 meters), so they can grow just about anything. You’ve got the whole range of tropical fruits you would expect, plus cashews, strawberries, potatoes, beans, you name it. Except grapes. If you’re a wine drinker, it’ll cost you—almost all of it comes from Chile and prices are higher than at home.
Sometimes when you travel, you need to adjust to fit the climate—in more ways than one.
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3 Responses to “Adjusting for Local Deals”
By Chris on Jun 4, 2007
If you really want to save some cash in Costa Rica you can buy a liter bottle of Guaro, the local firewater, for about 2 bucks. Maybe less. It’s similar to Cachaça from Brazil. It may be able to strip the paint off your walls, but it’s a great cultural experience and trust me they don’t export this stuff.
By Colleen on Aug 2, 2007
Cacique is the guaro readily available in at least the western half of Costa Rica. You can find a bottle of Anis liquor for nearly as cheap and with a drop of that mixed in your guaro you truly have a warming shot (less like rubbing alcohol).
Also, a bottle of 12 year Flor de Cana (about the same number of dollars in a Tico or Nica supermercado) is some of the smoothest rum on earth. The area where the rum is brewed near the pacific coast of Nicaragua north of Leon is not beautiful but is absolutely tourist-free and not incidentally the cheapest place to stay and eat that I’ve ever found in Central America. So you had might as well go to the source.
By tim on Aug 2, 2007
Thanks for the advice! I agree on the Flor de Cana, though I like the 15-year Guatemalan rum a bit better. As for the firewater, mix enough pineapple juice with it and I’m sure it’ll go down okay.