My family of 7 adults are going to CR this March. It was suggested that I could hire a driver/guide that was bilingual for 4 days almost as cheaply as I could rent a van large enough to haul us. I am having problems finding web sites to find driver/guides and their rates. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi Ohio Rob, This is Ohio Sue.
We have a guy that we use that we just love. He has worked in the tourist industry for several years and struck out on his own a couple of years ago. Early thirties, married with children. He is Costarican and a lot of fun. Last year we hired him for ten days and it ended up being one of the cheapest trips we have made. He has a large van that holds 12 people. We already have him reserved for 8 days this year. His name is Orlando Vargas and can be reached at [email protected].

Suzie
Ref your driver guide friend in CR
does he do transfers from San Jose to Guanacaste?
Paulette

Paulette,
Not sure how he works just doing transfers. When we are with him he stays in the same hotels or nearby and works exclusively for us during that period. I do know he mentioned having a network of people who he calls if he is busy. He travels all over the country driving people around and is even taking us up into Nicaragua on our next trip.

any others? he is busy when we need him

Using a driver/guide is a great idea. There are two that I recommend:

Carlos Mora -- A dude I've used personally and recommend whenever I have friends/family who visit. He has a small fleet of driver/guides...but if you can get him, he's the best. Mention me and he'll probably give you a discount email: [email protected].

An old gring pal of mine started a driver/guide company recently and also has a staff of good guys. [email protected]

Good luck!

Casey

Here are the names of two personal guides who do transfers from San Jose to Guanacaste and also specialize in private tours. They are both Costa Rican and speak fluent English.
Ricardo - [email protected]
Federico - [email protected]
Casey's reference to Jim Proctor is an excellent one too - [email protected]
Over the last few years (when I had a sailing charter business) I have refered hundreds of people to them and have only heard glowing reports.
Good Luck.

I was in CR this August and used the services of Federico - [email protected] as mentioned above. I was traveling with my wife and two children ages 3 and 8, and another couple. We found Frederico to be a very easy going person, who was very knowledgeable about his country. He was a wealth of knowledge about the plants and animals of CR, and tried to answer all of our questions. He also made sure we travelled at our own pace, which can vary when travelling with young children. I will be giving him a call again in the spring when we go back.