I was searching these boards for a driver while in CR and was contacted by a travel agency. I have made tentative arrangements with them. I am now being asked for payment in full, together with a copy of my credit card and passport. Cancellation policy is no money back within six days of trip. Is this typical or should I be hesitant? On the other hand, Oscar is not available but says he can find someone for me. He seems to have been well reviewed on these boards. Is that taking a chance though? I can't decide what to do. These transports are for Arenal - MA, and then MA to SJ for a family of five.
Thanks for any adivce -- I'm afraid of making the wrong decision!
Laurie

We have someone that we spend almost 2 weeks with every year. He sets up everything and travels with us for much of our trip. We still set up part of our trip on our own that he isn't involved in but he helps us with in country air tickets as well. [email protected] I learned about him on AOL and have been using him for several years. He is just as much a friend as he is tour agent. Pat Hewitt on AOL who you have probably seen postings from is also another good person to help.

If you like the arrangements the tour company did up for you....it isn't unusual for the hotels/drivers to want at least some of their money up front. As long as you have it in writing what the cancellation policy is.. 6 days isn't much to worry about. Some compensation is only fair if they have turned down work because they have commited to you. There are very slow periods for tourism in CR so they have to make their money when they can.

We just returned from a 12 day trip on February 27 and haven't had the opportunity to post our trip report yet.
We also had contacted Oscar (kind of short notice on my part) and he was unavailable but said that he would have a driver waiting for us.
Our first morning we were greeted by our driver, Alex Saenz Quiros. Alex was the most friendly, laid-back reliable person you could imagine. He has been friends with Oscar for many years. He owns his own van, that would be very comfortable for your family of five. We used his services for our first three days, and he left us at Los Lagos near Arenal. We enjoyed his company so much that we asked him to pick us up in Manuel Antonio near the end of our trip and he drove us around for two additional days.
He charged us $120 per day, which we felt was more than fair to cart the four of us around. He stopped at a few nice places to eat and shop and we invited him to join us for lunch. We gave him a little extra at the end of a few particularly long days.
He speaks excellent English and we feel that he really added to the enjoyment of our first trip to Costa Rica.
You can contact him directly at [email protected] or try his cell at 506-385-4502. He always has the cell on.

Mary, we are also family of 4 going to Las Lagos in June. How did you like it? Our driver is currently planning to take us from SJ airport to Arenal area, stay there with us 3 days then take us on to other locations. Do you think we should retain him around Arenal, or not need his services while there, such as use local taxis and hotel shuttles? Thanks

4explore: We had a lot of rain while at Los Lagos. The mountain barely came out for a quick peak.
We took a slow sightseeing drive to Arenal with Alex and made stops along the way at Grecia and Zarcero. The countryside in the central valley was beautiful.
We also had a tour booked for a trip to the Cano Negro the following day.
There are many local activities near Arenal and we didn't keep Alex for the time we were there. Taxis could be taken very inexpensively into La Fortuna and the tour company picked us directly at Los Lagos.
Though we didn't get to explore at Los Lagos as much as we hoped because of the rain, we really enjoyed the hot pool, gardens and restaurant there. The breakfast was very good and the dinner menu even better. The rooms were very clean and the staff exceptionally friendly. We would stay there again without thinking twice.
Good luck with your planning, you will have a great time in Costa Rica. Our kids loved every minute of it!

Mary S , could I trouble you to make contact with me so I can get some advice. I'm family of 5, three children 7,9 and 11 - heading to Arenal and Manuel Antonio April 14. I'd love to get some of your advice. Can you email me at [email protected]. Many thanks. Did the kids like the Cano Negro tour?