It’s a very reasonable expectation that when you come to a place like San Jose or Sosua or Medellin, that you will be able to “get laid” without difficulty, as often as you like, finances permitting. On the other hand, NOBODY enjoys getting “screwed.” There are scammers the whole world over, even in your own home town, I will wager, but I will also wager that you will meet a lot more of them traveling to a foreign country than you will back home. Your unfamiliarity with the local culture, language and such make you a prime target. On top of that, there is the perception that you are more likely to have money than the locals. Add all that together, put in a little cilantro, and you have “potential sucker” stamped on your forehead in day glow letters.
The most obvious thing travelers want to avoid are muggings and thefts. Any travel guide will give you basic advice such as not wearing jewelry, not putting your wallet in your back pocket, not dangling your camera around your neck, not playing with your iPhone on the street… things like that. But there are a lot more ways to get “screwed” than being mugged.
On a typical trip, your first chance to get screwed is in exchanging money. You may bring down several hundred dollars and as you are leaving customs, you spy a money exchange booth. “Great!” you think, and walk over and trade your greenbacks for the local funny money. What you probably won’t realize is that the exchange rate you will get there is BY FAR the worst you can find in the country.
Then you will want to get from the airport to your hotel. If you insist on renting a car, you need to be very vigilant regarding any scratches or dents in the car you rent, as one favorite scam is to try to charge you for dents that were in the car before you rented it.
Most hotels won’t try to screw you over, as they depend on repeat business. It still pays to check your bill over very carefully, but it’s what awaits you outside your room that you need to be most wary of. Most taxi drivers are honest, but those that aren’t are going to be those waiting for tourists just like you. In San Jose, for example, those parked in front of gringo hangouts are the most likely to overcharge you.
Not all night clubs are clip joints, but if you hop into a taxi outside the Del Rey Hotel, for example, you may be steered toward one of the half dozen or so clubs that have no qualms about socking it to you, big time.
In a future post, I will talk about a few other things to watch out for, some relatively minor and one or two that are major. Stay tuned.