First I want to say that I had a lot of fun in Costa Rica. I arrived in San Jose in my usual I’ll wing it style at 10pm with no where to stay. I headed to Sportsman’s lodge, which is a great place to chat and meet people. They were full and so recommended a nearby place to me. It was within a 5 minute walk to ground zero (Del Ray). I stayed there about 4 nights and then wanted to be nearer the action and have a little more comfort. I thought about moving into Del ray, but heard really good things about Hotel Presidente. I moved into Presidente which is a very good hotel that allows guests and does not charge.

I don’t think you ever forget how you feel when you first walk into Del Ray!! It was like being a kid in a candy store. After a few days though, you learn to relax and really understand it and enjoy the fun that can be had there. You meet some fun people in there at the bar. There was an Italian (mafia looking chap) that would walk round and chat to you and for some bizarre reason hand you money. I expected him to say “One day I shall call upon you for a favour”. I kind of gathered that he was a bloody good gambler and liked to share his winnings, but I’ll never know.

If you go to the sports bar around 5pm I think you will meet others off this board that are sitting at the tables by the entrance. You can pop across to the pool bar opposite and play the barmaids for a few games. That can be fun as they like to win and being a gent I made sure that never happened! Although maybe on reflection I shouldn’t have done a winners lap around the table with the looser hand signal, but couldn’t resist.

I found the area around the Del Ray to be safe and was fun going between the three bars. It’s open 24 hrs a day and it’s the place to arrange to meet before going out.

I found a Colombian lady there (very cute) for $40 for the hour and she was great fun. However I may have been lucky because most will try for $100 hour. I used the place more for drinking coffee and chatting to people. I did take two ladies back and had a threesome, bit weird cause they wouldn’t interact with each other and one would fuck, the other stayed in the bathroom. They were nice but I knew I could do a lot better.

Then I ran into a great guy called Chip from New York. He had family here and was fun to hang out with. He is friends with Don Gordo and so I met them one night with Sparky and Bulldog. This was the real beginning of the trip! We had dinner at the Peru restaurant which was superb and very good prices. Then we all squeezed into a taxi. That was very funny. I’m only 9 stone and well the others are, well there’s just a lot more of them to love. This is no joke the taxi actually was scrapping along the ground at some points. Anyway we did a great tour of the parlors.

I asked Don Gordo if he knew of a lady that was good at bj’s. I’ve never had a good one honestly! He smiled and said Zona Blue to see Rachel. Well now I have a benchmark for all bj’s in the future and no one has lived up to it since. He said at the time that it’ll ruin me for the future and he was right! If you have CRT VIP cards you get a discount (well worth getting) and the management is American and friendly. You can now actually stay there too as they have some rooms above. The girls are fun, talent is good and you can relax in the bar at the rear where there is no pressure to buy drinks from either the owners or girls.

We went to Oasis, Eros, but to be honest I liked Idem the best. There was an amazing blond Paolo 18 years old, best body I have ever seen. Well she took a shine to me and the sex was really good. She didn’t speak any English at all, but when I went back two nights later she was busy and I saw someone else. When I came downstairs she was at the bar and looked pissed! As I left she looked at me and said “bad boy” and I couldn’t help laughing.

We visited many other places including some local strip joints that none of us had ever been to. I can’t remember the names, but they seemed really shocked to see Gringos in there. The talent in these places can be really good and cheap. Worth a hunt for them, although many can be for gay guys only so best check b4 you get a surprise. Speaking of that you will see many transvestites one the street corners at night, like in Colombia too. I asked who goes and sees them and apparently the taxi drivers enjoy that sort of thing. Each to their own, you can’t knock it till you try it, but it’s not my thing.

Things I have learnt:

If you take money out there, take dollars. I was silly and took sterling which I soon discovered was not easy to convert. There is one bank only in San Jose 5 minute drive from Del Ray that will change sterling if you get stuck.

Stay in the hotel Presidente if you want to be nearby and have a safe place to stay. You can get apartments, I know Don Gordo does this and it can be very cheap and you can cook, wash etc. Del Ray seems ok to stay in, but the girls eyes do light up if you are staying there.

Ok, always say, “I have been to San Jose before, I am here for another week and visit every 3-4 months.” It leads to better service and negotiations (most the time).

I liked to watch for a bit when I went into Del Ray. I like to see how the girls act, have a chat with them. I usually offer them a coffee and I was lucky and got some fun girls that way. When I offered them a vodka etc their mates all wanted one too. Although I met one part timer in there and we got drunk and had an amazing session together, so it’s up to how you feel about it.

Take a taxi at night, unless you are nearby. It’s a fun, safe place, you meet lots of good drinking buddies and the service and prices are great Costa Rica is well recommended. I have moved on though and like to try other countries, but I will be back!

Thanks for the report. I'm going there for my first time next week. Staying at Sportsmens Lodge. You're right about the VIP card from CRT. Well worth the money.

There is no better authority on BJ's in CR than DonGordo.

Glad you had a good trip HG.

Hugh, nice report and I'm glad you had a nice trip.
The only thing that I'm not comfortable with is the "safety" issue. A few weeks ago, a couple of guys from another forum, were assaulted in the area between El Presidente & Del Rey. People might get the impression that SJ is really safe and let their guard down. There's a lot of crime in SJ and people should be aware of the problem. As a matter of fact, some are recommending (always) to take a taxi at night, even to go between those two hotels. It's a short walk but dangerous!

Hi Gypsy. That's sad to hear! You get the little kids trying to get money off u between the DR and Presedente. I always make sure i never walk at night drunk, that's for sure. Also a heads up if anyone goes to venezuela be very careful, it's the most dangerous place i've ever been. We had knives put to our throats 20 meters from the hotel. Guys hopefully we all keep safe, but as Gypsy points out, best be on your guard, esp at night!!

Nice report.You were most definitely in the best possible company for advice with Don Gordo. I agree Idem is a great place.rbc100

I am heading down to SJO tomorrow (hopefully) anyone else going to be around?