Costa Rica Travel Answers

Baloney to the people that say it is dangerous driving. I drove all over CR in December and found no issues. It might be different in the rainy season as I arrived shortly after it ended and they looked like they had a hard season. We rented a 1996 Suzuki Sidekick for700 all-in. It wasn't pretty but it got us around. At that time of year a 4x4 isn't necessary but I like the extra clearence height as you can encounter some bumpy roads like the drive from Arenal to Monteverde. Only takes less than three hours but the last 40kms are not paved and get a little bumpy. It seems like they can't build a straight road in the mountains which I assume is related to erosion but it isn't crazy like in some countries I have been to in Central America. You don't need a GPS. I just took a map with me that I bought in Canada and it was fine. There aren't a ton of roads anyways to confuse you and they are reasonably well marked. Sometimes the sign may be just something someone painted and nailed to a tree but it did the job. Plus most people speak some English there and are more then happy to help you out. One piece of advice I would give you is if you are off a main road make sure you have lots of gas as I didn't find many gas stations (read none) when on the dirt roads and we got down to running on fumes at one point. One thing i noticed is CR isn't a very big country and you can cover a lot of ground in a 3-4 hour drive. Quite frankly, I found a lot of people's horror stories about travelling there to be crap. To read some reviews you would think the place was rotten with pick pockets and thieves everywhere - never saw anything like that. They talked about the roads being terrible - not that bad. I was travelling over Christmas and was told I would never be able to find a hotel room due to the holidays and nothing would be open. Quite the opposite as everything was open and I never spent more than ten minutes to find a place to stay anywhere. You are going to love CR - I can't wait to go back. Check out my CR page for some ideas or just drop me a line if you have any specific questions.

Huge potholes was my experience. You get a lot of scare stories (from the local car rental companies themselves) about thieves accosting you if you're stopped on the side of a road to fix a tire or whatever. I assume there is some truth to those stories, but I doubt it's a given for everyone that happens to stop on the side of the road. Traveling at night is not fun because of the potholes. The roads in the countryside are in poor condition. In the daytime, you still have to go slowly in most places, but it won't kill you. I think a car with high clearance is a good idea (some of those potholes are VERY deep, with stones piled in them to keep your car from disappearing altogether!) I didn't find driving in San Jose to be particularly annoying. I am used to city driving and this was really not bad at all.

WE just finished 3 weeks in Costa Rica, our 7th trip in 20 years, and we rented a car for 10 days. We were on the Nicoya Pennisula in the Montezuma area, and also in La Fortuna/Arenal. The main highways around La Fortuna and in the central area around Liberia (where we flew in and out) were much improved over the last time we were here (5 years ago). There were even a few signs with highway numbers, which were NOT on the map we received from Alamo. But off the main highways and along the coast, the roads are dangerous and the drivers are wacky. Take heed about not driving anywhere at night until you get a feel for the area. Yes, in the dry season (Jan-March) it is better but the unpaved roads, curves, no lighting, no painted lines, and few rules, make it very dangerous to drivers and the people who are walking and biking along the road. I was more afraid of killing a pedestrian than actually having a wreck. Depending on where you will be, taxis and buses are good, cheap options. The only time we were robbed was the first time we rented a car. No, don't leave anything in the car; it was our one and only experience with robbery. We parked in daytime in a bank lot with a guard, and still they took our backpacks. That being said, it is much safer here than anywhere else I've traveled around the world. Just don't expect first world conditions or take valuables that you can't easily replace. We love it here and keep coming back. Enjoy the trip!

Man, if you people find Costa Rica roads and drivers bad, then you wouldn't last a day in Guatemala.

Oh, I love Guatemala, and Hanoi, Beijing, Zwaziland, Zanzibar, but I just don't drive in those places (though I did almost hit a cow in Zwaziland when I tried once)! And taxi drivers are the best source of information almost anywhere you travel. So, yes, Costa Rica is much easier to drive in than other places I go, but it still bears some caution. Safe travels!