Time to make reservations for a car rental in Feb. I"ve read many of the threads where drivers were discussed. Sounds like a great idea. How much more expensive should I expect a driver to be? Do they charge by the vehicle or the person? I was interested in being transported from the airport to Arenal and than 3 days later to MA. The last big transport would be from MA back to the airport I assume they come with a vehicle so I don't rent one?? Having a driver for those 3 longer trips would mean that we would not have a car when we are at Arenal and MA. I assume taxis are available. Will not having a car be a big problem?

Rates will vary, I would email several to see what they are charging and then go by reviews and how you fel about their emails to you. I'd say, ballpark, rates will run around $150, higher for the longer routes. They provide their own van. In Arenal you'll need to get around with taxi's, in MA you don't really need a car - either use taxi's at night or the bus which goes by every 20 minutes or so. It runs from Quepos and dead-ends at the park, then back to Quepos, you can jump out wherever you need to go.

We usually pay $120 to go from SJO to Arenal, but this year, it jumped up to $140. We paid $180 to go from Arenal to MA a couple of years ago. They charge by the van, so if you have 6 people or 1 person, the cost is the same. If you wanted something more affordable, you could check Interbus.

Thanks Tully and volcanogirl. Can I expect that a driver will give us more than a delivery service? By this I mean, more of a tour guide than just driver?

We've been pretty luck with ours; they've pointed out wildlife for us, stopped at a nice place for snack and bathroom break, talked to us about local life and politics. It really depends upon the driver you get though; we did have a driver that spoke very little English on one of our trips. Totally safe drive but not much in the tour guide area. We usually book ours through our hotels, so if you do that, I'd specify what you want.

Just a few weeks ago there was a large response to this same question with 20+ people providing their opinion. Because I feel so strongly about this topic I had to write again but you may want to do a search to find that thread.

We hired a driver – Wilson Rojas, and he was one of the top three best decisions we made during our trip this summer. I went with getting a driver b/c I didn’t want to deal with getting lost or having my head buried in a map while my husband navigated, missing the surroundings. Also, after pricing it out hiring a driver was only about $75 more. Yes you lack having a car in your destinations but cabs are so cheap ($3 - $5 one way) and for whatever activities you decide to do, transportation pick up and drop off from your hotels are included in those prices. We only used a cab for dinner.

None of the drivers in Costa Rica consider themselves just transportation – Wilson went out of his way to educate us about his country, point out things along the way, take us to local stores, went to lunch etc. He will get you to point A and B or if you want to see more along the way he will make suggestions depending on what you share as your likings. This was all at no additional cost (other than us giving him several great tips).

We actually used Wilson for the same routes you need – he could not take us from Arenal to MA but recommended his friend – his friends quote was higher than another one I received – once I told him that he matched it. He was great but not as amazing as Wilson.

Wilsons email: [email protected]

You can also watch a video I made on my blog about my trip which highlights Wilson as well as read detailed trip reports about the same itiernary you have. www.hollywoodwannab.blogspot.com (you may have to scroll down to the bottom and click on “older posts”)

Good luck & PURA VITA

Parker, I need more guidance on your blog!!! What do I look for? I'm looking at Wilson.

Thanks

I am not going to recommend Wilson again because I don't want him to be busy when we need him. Just Kidding! He & Elsy have become dear friends and you can't go wrong with him or anyone he would recommend.

We have a home & car in CR but when we want to sightsee, we always use a driver. We are there to relax afterall.

I've posted this before but I want to support the earlier responses you got that the drivers in CR see themselves as much more than drivers; they are very helpful, anxious to help you learn about their country, etc. We have used Martin Mora extensively, including having him pick up our daughter alone to meet us at the airport when we arrived to visit her. He is excellent; his email is [email protected]. Parker Sunshine made very helpful comments to you....why worry about road conditions, mechanical problems, directional challenges...if you have a reliable driver, you just relax and enjoy. I can assure you Martin's photo is well displayed in our scrapbook...he added immensely to our experience.

I'd like some info about using a private driver. Did you use the driver just to transport you from one place to the next, and then spend a few days and then have him come back to take you to the next stop? Or did the driver stay with you for the whole time? we are planning an 8-10 day vacation and want to see several places -- but staying a few days at each. I guess we'd want tours at some of the places but understand that the hotels can arrange that.

When we've used drivers, we just book them when we book our hotels; we've used different drivers to take us from city to city, but not stay with us the entire time. We usually just book all our tours ourselves, but your hotel can help you with it if you'd like them to.