Costa Rica - transportation advice needed
 

Hi - we are honeymooning in CR in a couple weeks. Going to MA, then Arenal then FS in the Guanacaste region.

We are thinking of hiring private drivers from SJ to MA, renting a car from MA to Arenal and keeping the car while in Arenal as we are staying at Lost Iguana - we have heard it is far out and a car is nice to have. Then we want to drop the car either in La Fortuna or Liberia and get a private transfer to the FS.

My question is:

Can anyone suggest good private drivers that speak English that they have used recently. I have searched the messages but some on this topic seem outdated (or maybe it is just me!).

I am having a hard time finding an affordable car rental agency that allows pick up in Quespos and drop off in La Fortuna or Liberia? Any suggestions? When I say affordable it seems that a private driver or renting a car is coming around $200 for that one segment which seems high. We would be renting the car from Nov 10th in the monring to mid day on the 13th.

Thanks!

We used Leonardo "Leo" Rodriguez in May. We are 50, our children are young adults. Leo is a college grad (his father is a college professor) and speaks fluent English. He owns his own 2002 Toyota van and loves to surf. He knows alot about all of Costa Rica as he has lived on the Pacific Ocean, now lives in San Jose and family owns property on the Caribeean side. Leo lines up Canopy tours, river rafting, scuba diving, sport fishing, horseback riding, mountain biking, surfing, etc. for you and your traveling companions.We used Leo for our 4 hr. drive to Tamarindo, then used other drivers and Leo was the safest driver by far. He is the only person we plan to use in future trips. There is a picture of Leo (and opinion of his services) on www.frommers.com Costa Rica's thread: Costa Rica Trip Report: Privated Driver, Hotels, etc. by Beebeck.

hello, my family and I also hired Jonathan Sedo and it was one of my better decisions I have ever made. He was great with his knowledge of the Country and getting around it. Believe me you will want a driver, because the roads are horrible and confusing.
Jon speaks english as we do and is a true gentelmen.He also is very prompt and always on time. He has a great feel for the beast resteraunts throughout the country. Also a big help when bargining for goods.

I'm quite interested in asking Jonathan to be our driver for our 8 day honeymoon. What sort of vehicle does he have? Excuse my ignorance, but when you hire a driver, do they generally only drive you between regions or do they stay where you are for the entire trip and drive you to daily activities? Thanks!

Hi...
for those of you who have used jonathan sedo, did you pay him upfront using western union? I would feel better about using him knowing that that is his standard policy. Please let me know! THanks

Hi djfresh,
My husband and I looked at hiring Jonathon Sedo as well for our winter '06 vacation but also felt the same reserve as you are having right now. He wanted us to wire him the money with western union also. Having never sent a money transfer before I was a little uneasy about it. In the end, we used an agent from Costa Rica Vacations (Dave Horn) to book our side trip that we have planned to arenal and area. He made all our arrangements from private drivers, tours and excursions to our hotel reservations. By using a travel agency, the private transportation was 60.00 more than what Jonathon quoted, while everything else was exactly what would of cost us had we booked it ourselves online. I look at the extra $60.00 as peace of mind. Our trip is not until Feb. '06 but at lease I won't be spending my time worrying about whether or not my driver will be there. If there are any problems at all during our trip, I will just contact the travel agency.
If you are still set on using Jonathon as your private driver, I was talking to another couple while we were making our plans. They emailed him their concerns and he sent back a list of references. It was a bunch of people that had used him previosly. You could call them and ask about their experience with him. Use your own judgement, but what I say about references people give out...is that they never give you the name of a bad reference.

Karen