Are taxis a safe mode of transportation in Costa Rica? I am curious to hear if anyone has had any "issues" with drivers, what fares typically run, and how available taxis are in the country? Particularly, are taxis easy available in the Arenal and Manuel Antonio areas? Any difficulties finding a taxi after dark?

Thank you!

-ttrain

We had no problems getting taxis in Arenal or Manuel Antonio. We always just had our hotel or restaurant call one for us, and they came pretty quickly. In MA, things are so close together that we were able to walk to most places; our most expensive taxi fare was five dollars. In Arenal, our hotel was set outside of town, and we paid anywhere from $12-17 based on how far we were going. We never felt unsafe at all, and all the drivers were friendly.

Thank you, volcanogirl. Were you able to easily grab taxis at the hot springs and restaurants in Arenal/La Fortuna? I have heard of some difficulties here and would be curious of your opinion.

Thanks,
ttrain

Yes, very easy - we had Tabacon hot springs and El Novillo call for taxis for us, and they were there in minutes.

t, there's also a central area of town in La Fortuna right by the big church; there were always taxis there waiting for people - seemed to be a central gathering point. We got a kick out of one of the drivers; he did not speak ANY English, but he recognized the name of our hotel and nodded he would take us there "Si, si" etc. We asked him some questions along the drive; he didn't understand a word we said. Luckily I speak some rudimentary Spanish. When we got back to the Lost Iguana and tipped him, he gave us his business card that had his name, and underneath the name it said "Bilingual taxi driver" - we thought it was a hoot. Maybe English wasn't the second language?!

Taxi's are fairly reliable, just make sure it's a licensed cab and you should be fine. In MA, during the day, it's very easy to use the bus to go to the beach/park & back.

When I stayed at Selva Verde, I so adored the taxi driver they called for me one day that I made sure they got him again the next day. Neither of us understood what the other was saying but we had a blast, if that makes sense