Exotic Costa Rica is known for its lush jungles, cool creatures and some of the finest beaches in the world. Visitors to this prosperous Latin country often find themselves awestruck by the friendly locals, pristine coastline, endemic wildlife and great food. While there are plenty of things you certainly should see and do on your visit to this tourist paradise, there are a few things to avoid and be wary of. Here are 20 things you shouldn’t do in Costa Rica.
1. Don’t Feed the Monkeys
The adorable monkeys are a big hit with tourists, but please don’t feed them – for your sake as well as theirs. Conditioning them to expect human handouts diminishes their self-reliant survival instincts. Monkeys usually roam 17 km per day, but if they know people are going to feed them, they get lazy and don’t get the exercise they need. Our food isn’t good for monkeys and, contrary to popular belief, even bananas aren’t the ideal food choice (many are laden with pesticides). Monkeys can pass diseases onto humans and, visa versa, we can pass on bugs to our primate cousins. Furthermore, the monkeys can be rather aggressive. They’ve been known to take swipes, snatch bags and even purposely pee on people standing under them. It’s also against the law, so forget the tempting photo-op and just don’t do it.
