Getting around in Costa Rica !

In Costa Rica it is even harder to “keep your bearings” since street signs are few and far between, and most houses don’t have numbered addresses. Memorize the Spanish phrases below and you should be able to find your way around, locate addresses and, hopefully, not get lost.

Vocabulary
How far is…?		A qué distancia queda…?
Driveway		entrada
Where is…?		Dónde está…?
Corner		la barbería
Take the first street		Tome la primera calle
Near		cerca de
To the right		a la derecha
Far		lejos de
To the left		a la izquierda
Opposite		enfrente de
Straight-ahead		directo, derecho
There		allí
Diagonal to		diagonal
Here		aquí
Next to		a la par de
Traffic light		lel semáforo
Turn right		Doble a la derecha
I’m lost		estoy perdido
Turn left		Doble a la izquierda
North		Norte
A block		una quadra
South		sur
A block		cien metros, cien varas
East		Este
West		Oeste
Is there a ....... around here?		Hay un ....... por aquí?
Can you show me how to get to…?		Puede indicarme el camino…?
First right, left, etc.		La primera derecha; izquierda, etc.
Second right, left, etc.		La Segunda derecha; izquierda, etc.
At the intersection, crossroads		en el cruce

Here is your Costa Rican expression or tiquismo for the week. "Pipa" is a word used for coconut in Costa Rica, and is also used for an intelligent person. "El hombre tiene mucha pipa" - "The guy is very intelligent."

© El Residente ARCR Administración S.A. San José, Costa Rica N.B. Like all information on the internet, this article may currently be incorrect or out of date.