Any Electronics you use.

  Unlocked Cell Phones - 4G or later are preferred. If the phone is unlocked, you can use local pre-pay cellular service. 

  TVs - We packed two 32" televisions in our luggage. This may not be a priority for some, but we enjoy watching television in bed. TVs are expensive here, and most homes do not have a bedroom TV. So far, our rentals have only offered one television in the living room.

  Quality Camera - You may be thinking you'll simply use your smartphone's camera, but that may not be enough. If you do some exploring, you will encounter beautiful sights that you may wish to capture and share. Cameras are available in Costa Rica, but they are pricey and selection is limited.

  Game Console and/or Casting Device - We use Netflix daily and use either Chromecast or our PS3s to play it on the TV. We also enjoy gaming from time to time. We even use online gaming to stay in contact with our older kids in the States. This has increased the frequency of hearing from them, so we stay in touch better.

Kitchen Appliances and Utensils

Options and selection for appliances are limited in Guanacaste. Specifically, we recommend you shop for what you like and bring the following small appliances:

  Juicer

  Pressure cooker/slow cooker

  Pineapple slicer - We brought a metal one that is much better than the plastic ones available here.

  Strong plastic or wood spoons

  Hot water kettle - For making tea, instant soups, and we use the Costa Rican method of pouring water through a cloth "sock" of coffee grounds to make our coffee.

  Measuring Cups/Spoons - Surprisingly difficult to find.

  Meat thermometer

Miscellaneous

  Hygiene Items - Any products that you are particular about. Although you can find most products here in some form you may have a hard time finding ones that you prefer. Pay attention to the products you use regularly and consider how important that brand or type of product is to you. If you feel you don't want to be without it, you better throw it in.

  First-Aid Kit/Medicine - We brought the staple items from our medicine cabinet. We didn’t want to arrive and have an emergency before we had a chance to locate the pharmacy or a grocery store that was open. Diarrhea can happen suddenly, and many first-aid items are expensive as well.

  Lightweight Clothing – The first consideration is lightweight and quick-drying clothing to work well in the hot humid climate. Another consideration is finding your style here, which may be difficult. In the beach towns, bikini's and swimsuits are suitable, if not standard attire, even in most restaurants. Shoes are optional in most coastal places. Once you leave the beach, it is a different story. You will find very few people not wearing at least shorts and tank tops. Some locals wear pants or jeans, and several loose the flip-flops and opt for tennis shoes or high heels.

  Raincoat/ Umbrellas - A quality raincoat can make your life much more comfortable in the rainy season and when you take trips into the rainforest/cloudforest.

Bonus items

The following is a list of items that we found to be extremely important to us.

 Hard Plastic Suitcases - We purchased a couple sets of suitcases with the four pivoting casters and bright colored zippers. These cases protected our electronics and breakables in transport, and the free rotating wheels on all corners made them much easier to maneuver through the airport. Ours even had TSA locks allowing us to keep them locked in transport.

  Towels - We ordered quick-dry microfiber towels from Amazon that we love. Although thick heavy towels sound very comfortable, they are extremely difficult to dry (especially in rainy season). Thick towels also hold a ton of sand which then fills your washer and dryer.

 Bed Sheets (If you know the size of bed) - Finding quality sheets can be difficult and expensive.

 Tools - If you plan to work on any hobbies or are buying a place that you would like to work on yourself, quality tools are expensive and the selection is very limited.