Orosi Town services include internet services, dentists, doctor, pharmacy, bank, post office, souvenir shops, supermarkets, hair and nail salons, massages, tattoos, photocopy, bike repair shop, disco bars, bakeries, video rentals, pool halls, and a clothing repair sewing shop.
The town does have a small fruit and vegetable market on Saturday mornings and all stores are within 5 minute walk of the school and hotels. The town does local fair weekends throughout the year and religious Easter parades are starting on the Easter Thursday and all through the weekend. We are open all year round for accommodations and classes work around local holidays.
Weather
High season is from December to April. During this time the Orosi Valley’s climate ranges up to 32º C, with an average of about 30ºC during the day to about 20ºC during the night, which makes it great for sleeping.
Supermarket “Anita #2”
A home away from home, the “super” offers you everything you could possibly need, specializing in products that “only us foreigners” buy. From beer to peanut butter, Ziploc bags to bug spray, La Anita does their best to serve your needs. If you are around on Wednesday and Friday, their fruits and veggies are in ample supply. Need to change dollars? Buy something and they are quite willing with bills of $20.00 or less!
Communication
Montaña Linda offers free wifi in the school buidling, a phone for placing land line calls within Costa Rica and offers international calling cards. The town of Orosi also offers many Internet cafés allowing you to keep in touch. International Faxes cannot be made within town.
Laundry
Laundry services are available for guests and non guests including washing and drying directly at the Montana Linda Youth Hostel.
Water
Don’t worry about the water in Orosi. Our area supplies water to the San José and Heredia areas, making it well monitored and quite safe to drink. We do suggest to wean onto it slowly thought as too many changes to the body at the same time can cause stomach upset.
Bank
There is a bank here in town located 2 minutes away from the hotel and Spanish School. The bank is located 2 blocks from the hotel and school office buildings. Open from 8:30 am to 3:45 pm Monday to Friday they offer all regular banking services and changing of dollars and travelers’ checks. Please remember to take your passport original with you. No copies! There is an ATM at the bank that does work for must cards but not all international cards! If for some reason it doesn’t work then the next ATM’s are in Paraíso which is a 15 minute bus ride away.
PC Orosi
Located in the middle of the tourist district offers internet, copies and more. There are 2 more internet cafes in town as well and all are around $1.00 per hour!
Doctor, dentist and Pharmacy
Orosi has 3 doctors, 1 pharmacy and 3 dentists so most of your needs be it emergency or preplanned dental work, should be covered.
Hair, nail and tattoo salons
Need a hair cut? From $3.00 and up, you can’t go wrong. Lixi, Kenneth and José do a great job on all their work. Jose does from hair cuts to perms and colors, all for a great price compared to back home. There are Nail salones galore and Kenneth does a great job with Tattoos.
Sewing
Need some sewing repairs done?- Just around the corner from the hostel are 2 women that can do pretty much anything for a very cheap price. They also make clothes, so bring in a drawing and some material and you’re good to go for the best souvenir ever!!
Calling Orosi
When calling to Costa Rica from international destinations you must remember to Dial your local international code before dialing our number, usually 011 in north America or 001 in Europe then the country code 506 and the local number. If you hear a Spanish voice mail it could be the business’ box or it could also be the default voice message for the busy signal for that telephone number. If you hear the businesses name then it is their own answering machine or voice mail box and if not try again as the line may be just busy.
Tipping
We normally suggest a dollar when eating out in a soda or simple restaurant, the nicer the restaurant the nicer the tip. Suggested amount for families and teachers is $10.00 to $20.00 per each week of stay based on the service you have received.
Tourist Info
Montaña Linda & Otiac are also the local Tourist Information Centers. Please feel free to drop by, even if you are not staying with us and we will be quite willing to set up tours or supply you with any necessary information you might need.
Bikes
Bike rentals are available per hour or per day. There are many trails in this valley, some of which are suitable for bikes and other which are not, but the bike opportunity will allow you “to reach out and touch” that much more and help you stay within budget!!
Voltage
The electrical voltage in Costa Rica is 110, same as in America. Electrical transformers can be purchased in various electronic stores in Orosi.
Rent a car
Rent a car can be done upon arrival in Orosi. We work with Mapache and we can get you a good price when done through us. Please remember to mention “Montaña Linda in Orosi de Cartago” when doing online booking to receive free drop off in Orosi on all rentals of 4 days or more.
Post Office
The “Otiac” office is the official post office for both stamps and mailing of packages under 2 kilos!!
Mail will be received ONLY UPON prior confirmation from the Otiac Spanish school building office. Mail will be returned to sender if not authorized by the office first. Mail to Costa Rica can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months, so we suggest that nothing important be sent via regular mail. DHL and Fedex DO NOT come into the valley even thought they will normally tell you that they do!
DHL will allow packages to be dropped of at the Jimenez and Tanzi in Cartago if that address is put as a C/O… if not most packages will be left in their San Jose/Heredia offices and would have to be picked up there.
Is a mosquito net necessary and should I take Malaria pills for Orosi?
Although there are a few mosquitoes a mosquito net is not really necessary. There is no malaria in the area due to the temperature. Malaria pills are necessary if you are planning to travel in very rural areas in Costa Rica.
Pay in dollars when the price is in Dollars
Pay in dollars at places that charge in dollars. WHY?…For the business to deposit your Colones back into their dollar account the bank will charge them the higher rate therefore the business will always charge YOU the higher rate BUT…the bank will always give you the lower rate. So after you have just received the lower rate to change your dollars into Colones at the bank you will now be charged the higher rate to pay the business and have to pay more Colones then the bank has just given you as the buy and sell rate is different!!
I eat vegetarian, vegan and/or Gluten free.
No problem with being a vegetarian. Restaurants in town can serve vegetarian meals, but be sure to let them know your details before ordering. There is a great supermarket 3 blocks away from the school, hostel and guest house which has pretty much everything you could possibly need! Families can accommodate gluten free students as long as cross contamination is not severe, and Vegans as long as you are willing to give them some ideas on what works best for you. If you are in doubt then feel free to stay in the hostel or guest house where you can do your own cooking in our onsite guest kitchens.
