the dreaded four-letter word

an inevitable and rather unpleasant topic for those planning to travel to the tropics... shots. i have done some looking around this week to sort out the inoculations we may or may not need for travel to costa rica.

the up side is that nothing is required. when the bosworth boys traveled to playa grande with a big crew a year and a half ago, no one in their group got any vaccinations before going and there weren't any issues.

the down side (unless you love shots) is that the more conservative approach - the CDC approach - recommends three inoculations for travel to costa rica (see the CDC website for more info)

• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Typhoid

the region where playa grande is (guanacaste) has had only rare cases of malaria, though it is more common on the caribbean coast (specifically limon province) so if your adventures are going to take you to the other side of the country, you might want to think about getting malaria meds.

i checked out the guide books we have to see what they provide as additional context for the CDC recommendations.

from the rough guide to costa rica: "No compulsory inoculations are required before you enter Costa Rica unless you are coming from a country that has yellow fever [nope]... you may, however, want to make sure that your polio, typhoid and hepatitis A and B are up-to-date, though none of the diseases is a major risk."

and from eyewitness travel guides: "No specific vaccinations are required to enter Costa Rica. Malaria is prevalent along the southern Caribbean coast, and anti-malarial medication is recommended for this area. It is wise to be immunized against diseases such as typhoid as well as hepatitis A and B, and to make sure your polio and tentanus vaccinations are up-to-date."

if you are interested in learning more/getting any of the recommended inoculations, you should plan to see a travel medicine provider 4-6 weeks before you leave for costa rica. be sure to leave yourself plenty of time to schedule the appointment too... i called the University of Washington Travel Clinic this week, and they schedule their appointments about three weeks out.

the moral of the story is that you'll make your own decision (not helpful, i know). for what it's worth, brendan and i are leaning away from getting additional inoculations. we got Hep A when we went to southeast asia two years ago, and are thinking we aren't going to worry about the others. let us know if you have any questions on the topic and we can try to provide more guidance.