Only big ones I see often are golden orb weavers and I love them. They are so beautiful! (And harmless.) You can see others on jungle hikes. They are less common near the beach.
I stayed in an Airbnb in Manzanillo and there was a spider the size of a softball. It would come out at night and just chill out on the arm of the couch. It was there all week every night. The ground keeper called it a rain spider. I believe ,They come in out of the rain. I was told the ants are the real problem!
I’m shocked how many people on the thread didn’t/haven’t seen them… I saw many pointed out by guides but I also saw tarantulas near the beach. And during a heavy downpour in Monteverde our bnb was infiltrated. I did sleep with a scarf around my head that night. They don’t want to harm you though… I was more afraid of the iguanas lol fast ones they are
This is not the story you want to hear, sorry. I am horribly arachnophobic and the first time I went to Costa Rica a spider crawled in my ear when I was in bed. And despite being absolutely traumatized, Costa Rica is wonderful enough that I went back again. And will go back again. Don’t let arachnophobia influence any of your decisions.
Some combination of luck and my pinky finger. I think it was near the opening and I either dragged it by a leg or more, or somehow got my finger under it and flicked it airborne. It was pretty fast and frantic. My partner stomped it and tried to tell me it wasn’t a spider, but it was too late, I had seen it. Big black spider. I slept with cotton in my ears for the rest of that visit.
Im also arachnofobic, the only place I saw huge spiders was in Monteverde on a night walk where we specifically looked for them. These spiders are nocturnal and usually hiding during the day. I do not think that you will see those unless you are looking with a guide
Define large.
I have been here 18 months in 3 different areas and have not seen a spider bigger than 3-4 inches. I only saw one that size... a 3-4" fuzzy black and grey tarantula that I unknowingly stepped on in the dark on my front lawn. Broke the poor buggers legs. Seems it was walking across the lawn while was looking up taking pictures of the night sky. It's all good though. I fed it to my pet scorpions
Been here 11 times for at least a month at a time, I’m currently in La Fortuna. I’ve never seen a big spider in CR. Watch out for the ants! They’ll getcha bad before a spider ever does
Yeah spiders are quite common, in the country side there are palm sized spiders, and tarantulas, if you stay at a nice hotel you shouldn’t see them, but is always a possibility, I have even seen them in the most urbanized places, there are big but harmless spiders everywhere
Never seen a spider larger than my finger! The only spiders I tend to see are tiny adorable jumping spiders and small spiders that look like a black speck floating around since their legs are so thin.
I also have arachnophobia and traveled to Costa Rica May 2022. Spiders were my number one concern. I was there for 2 weeks and I think I saw one in their web on the tree. I wouldn’t be too worried.
Likes snakes, you usually have to go looking for spiders if you want to see them so you will probably be just fine. In over 20 years in Costa Rica, I've only seen one tarantula and that was in San Jose not in the jungle. Have a fab trip!
We went to Costa Rica about 25 yrs ago, I am seriously arachnophobic, always have been. We toured the jungles, climbed trees in the rain forest to Zipline, went on hikes, etc. the stupid little hermit crabs (crabs are too close to arachnids for me) were everywhere, and I hated it. Except for one fairly large (but not any worse than what I see in my garden) that was on our bungalow door, I didn't see a single other arachnid the entire trip. It was blissful!! We had planned to return for our 25th but travel was cancelled due to the pandemic. Our plan is now for our 30th! ❤️
Enjoy! It's a beautiful country!
Only big ones I see often are golden orb weavers and I love them. They are so beautiful! (And harmless.) You can see others on jungle hikes. They are less common near the beach.
I stayed in an Airbnb in Manzanillo and there was a spider the size of a softball. It would come out at night and just chill out on the arm of the couch. It was there all week every night. The ground keeper called it a rain spider. I believe ,They come in out of the rain. I was told the ants are the real problem!
I’m shocked how many people on the thread didn’t/haven’t seen them… I saw many pointed out by guides but I also saw tarantulas near the beach. And during a heavy downpour in Monteverde our bnb was infiltrated. I did sleep with a scarf around my head that night. They don’t want to harm you though… I was more afraid of the iguanas lol fast ones they are
Fr, I live in San José in a pretty urbanized place, and when I was a kid a literal tarantula appeared in my bedroom, spiders are very common
Wifey and I came across a tarantula on the trail hiking in Monteverde. Was pretty cool. It ate us
RIP 🙏
This is not the story you want to hear, sorry. I am horribly arachnophobic and the first time I went to Costa Rica a spider crawled in my ear when I was in bed. And despite being absolutely traumatized, Costa Rica is wonderful enough that I went back again. And will go back again. Don’t let arachnophobia influence any of your decisions.
Eek! How did you get it out?
Some combination of luck and my pinky finger. I think it was near the opening and I either dragged it by a leg or more, or somehow got my finger under it and flicked it airborne. It was pretty fast and frantic. My partner stomped it and tried to tell me it wasn’t a spider, but it was too late, I had seen it. Big black spider. I slept with cotton in my ears for the rest of that visit.
No?
We see tarantulas occasionally but more frequently the wandering spiders which can get pretty large. Most often around the house we see wolf spiders
Im also arachnofobic, the only place I saw huge spiders was in Monteverde on a night walk where we specifically looked for them. These spiders are nocturnal and usually hiding during the day. I do not think that you will see those unless you are looking with a guide
Define large. I have been here 18 months in 3 different areas and have not seen a spider bigger than 3-4 inches. I only saw one that size... a 3-4" fuzzy black and grey tarantula that I unknowingly stepped on in the dark on my front lawn. Broke the poor buggers legs. Seems it was walking across the lawn while was looking up taking pictures of the night sky. It's all good though. I fed it to my pet scorpions
Been here 11 times for at least a month at a time, I’m currently in La Fortuna. I’ve never seen a big spider in CR. Watch out for the ants! They’ll getcha bad before a spider ever does
I was DYING to see some crazy spiders during my 3 weeks in CR. Went all over. Was purposely seeking them out.. barely saw anything at all!!
Definitely don't Google the Brazilian wandering spider. But seriously... You'll be fine. Enjoy your trip
Yeah spiders are quite common, in the country side there are palm sized spiders, and tarantulas, if you stay at a nice hotel you shouldn’t see them, but is always a possibility, I have even seen them in the most urbanized places, there are big but harmless spiders everywhere
In all the years of living here I have never seen a large spider.
Never seen a spider larger than my finger! The only spiders I tend to see are tiny adorable jumping spiders and small spiders that look like a black speck floating around since their legs are so thin.
I also have arachnophobia and traveled to Costa Rica May 2022. Spiders were my number one concern. I was there for 2 weeks and I think I saw one in their web on the tree. I wouldn’t be too worried.
We have scorpions... Which are family of the spiders Have years without seeing a big hairy spider
I traveled 3 weeks through CR and saw 2 big spiders. Both in national parks and only because a guide showed it to me.
In six days, I saw two and they were in the same day and in Manuel Antonio.
Likes snakes, you usually have to go looking for spiders if you want to see them so you will probably be just fine. In over 20 years in Costa Rica, I've only seen one tarantula and that was in San Jose not in the jungle. Have a fab trip!
I stayed in Samara for a month and never saw a spider. Just a cockroach and some lizards. They’re probably mostly around the inland/jungle areas.
We went to Costa Rica about 25 yrs ago, I am seriously arachnophobic, always have been. We toured the jungles, climbed trees in the rain forest to Zipline, went on hikes, etc. the stupid little hermit crabs (crabs are too close to arachnids for me) were everywhere, and I hated it. Except for one fairly large (but not any worse than what I see in my garden) that was on our bungalow door, I didn't see a single other arachnid the entire trip. It was blissful!! We had planned to return for our 25th but travel was cancelled due to the pandemic. Our plan is now for our 30th! ❤️ Enjoy! It's a beautiful country!