Golfito is located just north of Panama and is about a three hour drive from San Isidro de el General, or about two hours from Dominical.  Golfito was a thriving port town when United Fruit Company was located there, which exported fruit all over the world.  In 1985, United Fruit Company went out of business and moved to Ecuador due to rising export taxes and labor disputes, and the town suffered greatly.  Shortly after, the Costa Rican government made an effort to bring back some revenue to this dying town by declaring Golfito as a Duty Free Zone.  Now, with some rules and restrictions, people greatly benefit with high quality goods which can’t be found anywhere else in Costa Rica for such a low price. 

One requirement is that patrons must stay at least one night in Golfito.  A shopping ticket, or card, must be issued one day prior to the date of any purchases.  Anyone eighteen years of age or older with a passport, or some other form of identification, is eligible for purchases up to $500.00 USD every six months. Just make sure to arrive before 4:30 p.m. to pick up your “tarjeta”.  You are allowed to browse the shops at this time, but cannot make any purchases until the following day. 

The stores open at 8:00 a.m. and offer great deals on major appliances, electronics, kitchenware and gadgets, hand and electric tools, liquor, wine, and beer.  If you are looking for shoes, clothing, high quality linens, or furniture, you should head down south to Panama.  As you make purchases, put your receipts together in a safe place, as they will be required for you and your items to leave the shopping center in a very thorough process.  If you are purchasing large items, arrangements can be made for delivery at an additional but reasonable fee. 

Accommodations are very basic.  Don’t expect many places to offer more than just a bed for the night, so bring your own hairdryer.  Insect repellant is a good idea if you will be out at dusk.  If you like seafood, Golfito has an excellent variety of the freshest fish in almost every restaurant.

Tags: costa rica, duty free zone, Golfito, port town, restaurants

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 at 8:48 am and is filed under Golfito, Hotels & Restaurants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.