3 extra days in Costa Rica and also advice on renting a car
 

Hi

I am going to Costa Rica for the first time and had a couple of questions.

Current Schedule. Arrive Sunday Nov 21 in San Jose at 1 pm. Open from Sunday afternoon through Wed the 24th evening (have to be back in San Jose to meet my girlfriend who is arriving then), 24th evening in/near San Jose, 25th morning to 27th sometime in Arenal area, 27th night through 30th morning in Manuel Antonio. Leave from San Jose on Nov 30th at 3 pm.

1. Looking for suggestions for 21st through 24th esp given current schedule. (interests are hiking, rafting, seeing natural sights, and also taking classes like surfing, etc)
2. Thinking of renting a car for sure from 24th to give us mobility and also thinking about renting one for the first 3 days. Any tips on that including places to rent, general road conditions/advice on driving are welcome (I plan on getting a 4WD).

Other advice most welcome too.

Shriram

You could do a rafting trip on the Pacuare; those are really popular. The Osa Peninsula is awesome for hiking and wildlife. Be sure to check on the road conditions in Manuel Antonio; they've had some damage from all the rain.

This is the place I would stay for a few days:

www.casarioblanco.com

They can set you up with rafting, hiking. Plus it is only about an hour/ hour & a half to the airport.

We loved our stay at Casa Rio Blanco and wished we could have stayed longer.

Thanks for the information.

Any suggestions if renting a car either for just 3 days or for the other part of the trip is recommended. (was thinking since we have two people for the 7 days would be good to have mobility flexibility)

Shriram

We rented a small SUV from Tricolor. We never needed 4WD and you probably will not either since you a going to mainly developed areas. Compare rates to see the best deals for the times you are thinking of.

Also look over trip reports here to get recs on cars or other types of transportation options.

We don't rent a car, but have seen lots of recommendations for Tricolor on the board. If you decide not to rent, Interbus is a cheap option.

Wild Rider is also a great car rental company. We rented from them in May, and everything was easy and upfront. Great price too.

We were in Costa Rica June of 2009. A rental car came with our package. When it was delivered they offered the option of a GPS. We decided to take the GPS option and are very glad we did. Maps & signage were very poor. If it weren't for the GPS we'd probably still be trying to find our back to San Jose. Often we travel with just maps and maybe some local verbal directions. We wouldn't of been able to do that in Costa Rica. Hope you have a great trip. I know we loved it.

If you are just going from site to site, buses and or taxi/van services are great. You can get to just about anywhere you need to go. We have been to Costa Rica 3 times and have had fun driving all over. If you plan to cruise at all off a main road, you need 4wd. GPS is a must. There are little or no signs and most are not accurate. You will see a sign for a city 20k away, and drive 15K and then the next sign will say the same city is 15 more K. The math just doesn't add up, and many towns aren't on the maps. Also make sure to gas up in the big towns. If you like to tour you, literally, may not find ANYWHERE to get gas. You can see lots of great things off the beaten paths. But get out of San Jose immediately, driving there is a nightmare.