Driving -- Not DIVING -- In Costa Rica. Hire a Pro!
Written: Jul 29 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful country, lots to see, inexpensive.
Cons: Driving is a whole different ball game, hire a professional.
The Bottom Line: If you're traveing by car in Costa Rica, consider using tour guides as transportation rather than renting a car.
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| MsHooterville's Full Review: Costa Rica |
Just yesterday, my family and I returned from a week's vacation in Costa Rica, most of which was planned online.
I'll be writing about many aspects of the trip, but decided to start with the matter that caused the most pressing concerns: getting around the country from San Jose to the Pacific Coast, to the Arenal Volcano area in north Central Costa Rica, and back to San Jose for the return flight home.
Yes, We Know the Way to San Jose!
For American travelers, everything starts and ends in San Jose, the capitol city of about 600,000 people where there's an International airport. San Jose is located roughly in the center of the country, but you're wasting your visit to this beautiful and lush land if you spend too much time there.
Even so, you will probably need to be there for at least the first and last day of your trip, because Costa Rica's roads are narrow, winding, and packed with people who are badly in need of drivers' education programs.
Costa Rica is only about the size of West Virginia, and with our roads, getting across the entire state would probably only take you four or five hours on a slow day. But in Costa Rica, plan to spend four or five hours to travel 150 to 200 miles.
Renting a Car? Reconsider That Move
While planning our trip, I found numerous websites, like Dollar Rent a Car and others, where we could have rented a 4-wheel drive vehicle (a must for the roads in the "green" rainy season), insurance and milage included, for about $500 for the week.
But finding a safe place to park your rental car might be a challenge in any city, large or small, but particularly in San Jose. Break-ins are frequent, and secure parking isn't always available.
Finding a Driver Isn't Difficult at All
We arranged as much of our transportation as we could in advance on the Internet. I already knew exactly how we would travel from Jaco Beach and Quepos on the Pacific coast to the Arenal area's Tabacon Resort, because Monica at the Tabacon Resort had assisted us in hiring a driver from Jaco to Fortuna, and from Fortuna back to San Jose when we made our hotel reservations.
But we didn't have transportation from the airport to downtown San Jose. Finding a marked "official" taxi on Saturday night was no problem at all, and the fare was fair. Taxi drivers and other transportation professionals seem to be very honest with American travelers, and less expensive than those we have encountered in other foreign countries.
Check Your Hotel Shuttles and Have a Plan B
We made reservations at a Best Western resort in Jaco Beach, and the website said transportation from San Jose to Jaco was available daily. I requested information about that online when I made the reservations, but never got a response.
However, I felt we could check at the San Jose Downtown Best Western to see about the shuttle to Jaco. First of all, that Best Western was located in a very bad part of the city -- according to a tour guide who dropped us there reluctantly. We asked about the Jaco shuttle for the following day, but were told it was filled.
We were momentarily puzzled about what to do, having no other travel plans made. Then Tony, who was standing nearby, offered to take us for the same price ($20 per person). Tony is one of those guys you feel lucky to meet. He had a nice van parked outside, a business card, he spoke excellent English and he's a good businessman. He even has a website you should check out: www.tonytours.com.
He picked us up as promised the next morning at our hotel, and not only drove us to our Best Western in Jaco, but gave us a tour and narrative at interesting points along the way.
Double Your Pleasure and Go On a Grayline Tour
At practically every hotel where we stayed, there were tour offices where you could not only go from Point A to Point B, but have a guided tour with lunch and activities.
We used Grayline Tour busses several times instead of straight transportation.
If you're wondering how you will get around Costa Rica, especially from San Jose, you will have few worries, especially during the off season (April to November). Tours can connect you to almost every other major city and attraction in the country.
The Second-Highest Accident Rate in the World
One of our tour guides told us that Costa Rica has the second highest rate of car accidents in the world, and we believed it. Stop signs (they say "Alto") don't always mean "STOP" like they do here. They really mean "Are you feeling lucky today? Then just go, Amigo!"
If you're not feeling lucky and decide to stop, the amigo behind you might be feeling lucky and rear end you.
So if you're feeling lucky, then go ahead and rent a car and attempt to get around the country on your own. Many of the roads are paved, but I think you'll be happier letting a native do the driving for you.
My advice for getting around Costa Rica is to make use of the private and public transportation, which seems to be plentiful, pay them what they ask (which is usually very fair), and sit back and enjoy the astounding lush and green countryside you'll see.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
MsHooterville
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 - Top 200 |
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Member: Ms Hooterville
Location: Hooterville Green Acres USA
Reviews written: 596
Trusted by: 416 members
About Me:
News and feature writer, graphic designer and artist, wife and mother, small business owner.
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