I will travel to Costa Rica from David, Panama for 3 days or so to renew my tourist card for another 3 months stay in Panama.

I was excited at first about traveling to CR, however, after hearing so many stories about how safety is really a concern down there, my perception will be completely different than it was before.

Could you guys give me some advice especially on safety issues, like where to stay and stay out of, what hotel is safe to stay in, and what to do, not to do and etc. Also, is there any safe and fun place to stay at near the CR and Panama border? I don't think I will travel to San Jose or too far away from the border.

Thanks for your advice, I really do appreciate it.

Im really not sure where you are getting that CR isnt safe from unless things have changed drastically recently. You can get yourself into some trouble in San Jose (or Limon in certain areas) if you're out at night alone but other than that when I was there i never felt threatened (was there around a month). As far as places to stay, Puerto Viejo isnt that far from the Panamanian border on the east side and its pretty chill. There is really no need to book anything in advance IMO. I dont know where you are crossing though so that may not help at all. Seriously though, CR is one of the safest, if not literally THE safest countries in central america so dont sweat it too much.

yea wtf costa rica is most def. safer than panama. Punta Arenas was the only place I didn't feel totally comfortable.

costa rica is awesome, only times i felt unsafe were drunk out late in san jose

I'm flying into Liberia with a friend and planning to spend 12 days in CR and possibly Nicaragua. What are some good things to see in the northern part of the country? We are planning on Tamarindo and Arenal so far...and also the rainforest, any other ideas?

I am also going to ne in Costa Rica. Is it Ok (legal) to play online there. I read somewhere that the sites based in CR can not take wages from inside the country. Is this true? Can anyone staying/living in CR help me out.
Thanks

Tamarindo is a lot of fun but doesnt much feel like being in CR. not because its ultra touristy because it isnt but because there are just tons of expats from other countries that own most of the businesses there. if you like surfing though its a fun place to be. if you're a little more adventurous you should cross the border into nicaragua and go to San Juan Del Sur, which is at the very bottom on the west coast. its beautiful, cheap, and there are lots of ocean things to do. most of my trip was based around surfing so we were usually just going to other places on the coasts.