Costa Rica for 9 days -- recommendations?
Curtis Jackson
on March 5 and returning March 14. Our current plans are to find
a four-wheel-drive to rent and head west; no reservations.
I have what I believe to be three good guide books on the country,
and will shortly be picking up a Spanish phrasebook, a Spanish
dictionary, and a Costa Rica road atlas if such exists. My wife and
I each studied Spanish in a previous lifetime (i.e., years ago), so
we figure our major weakness will be vocabulary.
I have one specific question and one general one:
1) Do you recommend renting a vehicle ahead of time, or finding one
when we arrive? We're arriving on a Friday morning if that makes any
difference.
2) The guide books are nice, but personal recommendations/observations
are always more valuable. Anything you can post/email would be very
much appreciated!
Thanks,
--
Curtis Jackson '91 Black Lab/Blue Heeler "Studley Doright"
cjac...@mv.us.adobe.com '92 Collie/Golden "George"
DoD #721 KotB '91 Hawk GT '81 Maxim 650
"I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead." -- J. Buffett
Stephen J. Mezias
(Curtis Jackson) writes:
>Hello, all. My wife and I will be arriving in San Jose, Costa Rica
>on March 5 and returning March 14. Our current plans are to find
>a four-wheel-drive to rent and head west; no reservations.
If by West you mean the resorts on the Pacific Coast, some of them
will undoubtedly be very crowded.
>I have what I believe to be three good guide books on the country,
>and will shortly be picking up a Spanish phrasebook, a Spanish
>dictionary, and a Costa Rica road atlas if such exists. My wife and
>I each studied Spanish in a previous lifetime (i.e., years ago), so
>we figure our major weakness will be vocabulary.
>
>I have one specific question and one general one:
>
>1) Do you recommend renting a vehicle ahead of time, or finding one
>when we arrive? We're arriving on a Friday morning if that makes any
>difference.
Having rented a car twice in Costa Rica, most recently a 4-wheel
drive, I cannot recommend renting a car there. The roads are awful,
very dangerous, and the car rental people are mostly thieves. Most of
the smaller 4-wheel drive vehicles are very unstable; this can be
quite problematic on roads with filled with heavy traffic and scarred
with potholes the size of moon craters. That said, a car can be a
great convenience. Make sure you keep in mind that it can take an
awfully long time to get anywhere. If you call around to all the
companies before you get there you will probably do as well as you
possibly can once you get there without wasting any part of your time
there seeking out the best rental deal.
As an alternative to renting a car, I'd recommend serious
consideration of using very cheap Sansa flights to get to someplace
nice and staying there. For example, you can fly to Manuel Antonio
and stay right at the park a few days. The flights were $12.50 last
may. You can stay at great hotels and still spend less than if you
had rented a car. Sansa also flies to Tamarindo, Samara, Golfito, and
other places.
SJM
Stephen J. Mezias
mayorga@mr_slate.cis.udel.edu (Anibal Mayorga) writes:
>Costa Rica doesn't have a highway system like rich countries do.
>However it is NOT true that is dangerous to drive there, unless, of
>course, you want to drive in very country areas where some roads are
>neither paved nor graved; and even this could be a lot of fun.
I did not intend my post about driving in Costa Rica to bash their
lack of a modern highway system. I think the priorities that the
Ticos show in how they spend their money are quite appropriate. Costa
Rica, however, has one of the highest, if not the highest, highway
mortality rates in the Western Hemisphere. It is not only in very
country areas that the roads are bad. The InterAmerican highway south
from San Jose goes through very high mountains with poor weather
conditions and has few shoulders or guardrails. South from San
Isidro, potholes that exceed one meter by one meter and are over 20
centimeters deep are *common*. I just drove this road in December.
>Probably to use Sansa is quicker and more comfortable but you CANNOT
>get every- where by air in CR. I strongly suggest you rent a car.
>Regarding the prices of rental cars, I've found them, in general,
>cheaper than the rental car companies here in US.
Going weekly rates for Costa Rica: $228 for a car without AC, $252
with. Plus during high season the operators will force you to buy
insurance at $10+ perday, regardless of what you are told in the US
ahead of time. Going weekly rates for the US: Look at the NYTimes
Travel section any Sunday: Alamo $128 per week in nationwide was
advertised recently. Your experience of US versus Costa Rican rates
is atypical.
Renting a car in Costa Rica can be fun. It can also be dangerous,
slow, and nerve-wracking.
SJM
Jan Faires
about anywhere. Yeah, the busses are smelly, but they are incredibly
cheap. Also there is a new (this year?) commuter train from Heredia
to San Jose and out to San Pedro near the University.
My experience with rental agencies is that 1) women are not taken
seriously, so take a man along to talk for you when/if you rent a
car -- hey, I don't like it either, but that's how it is! and 2) while
the police patrolmen we met were basically friendly and helpful, they
*DO* carry guns, we saw one with a machinegun, and if you're not loaded
with charm, colones and some grasp of the Spanish language, it could be
pretty tense. Road blocks are common. AND 3) when we had a tire blow
out, there was no spare in the rental car. A phone call to the agency
in San Jose wasn't much help -- they told us to buy a new tire and have
it put on. Then there was a hassle getting the agency to reimburse us
for the tire.
Alternate suggestion: look in the Tico Times for people who advertise
themselves as tour guides by the day/hour/week. But use the same rule
for hiring a taxi: settle on a price FIRST!!! And if you are lucky
enough to have a Costa Rican friend, let your friend do the business
part of the deal for you, as prices for nationals are considerably
less expensive than for tourists.
TheTicoAgency.com
There is a place to plan the best vacations with the best people at the
best location, Costa Rica and your frendly travel service
http://www.theticoagency.com