Search the internet for "Costa Rica rental cars", you will get several places to check out. We used Dollar last time and they were fine. Just be sure to confirm before you leave the total cost including insurance. Like you, I am confused by the term "Mandatory...". Whatever; just make sure you confirm ALL the costs, get the full name of everyone you negociate with and take copies of the e-mail msgs you get. It is cheaper to rent by the week and you don't always need a FWD SUV. Good luck, you'll have fun!

David, Thanks for your reply and advice.

Karen, we also used Dollar - at the time we travelled they had the best rates (inclusive of insurance). We found them very reliable.

Iza, Thanks for your reply, We have arranged the car with Dollar and they sent us a fax with all the costs involved, hopefully. We decided to go with an intermediate SUV since we are doing Monteverde and Arenal. I will do a trip report. I enjoyed yours when I finally found it. Thanks. Karen

Hi all,

I'm also leaving to Costa Rica by the end of July. My wishes are to rent a car with my wife and "hit the road".

Karen, how much did the intermediate SUV is going to cost you and for how many days?

Thanks in advance for your answer.

last time we were there we rented from toyota rentacar in san jose - we rented a rav4 for what seemed like the best deal in town for a couple of weeks - they delivered the car to manuel antonio for a small fee.

later we were concerned about the tires making through some areas we were going without roads and lots of water and mud.....so they delivered ON THE ROAD a set of 5 new wheels and tires half way through our trip and didn't want a tip - it took two vehicles to get them to us

this company really went the extra mile for us - highly recommended