finding drivers in Costa Rica
 

Hi all. With your much appreciated guidance we have planned our 1st trip to CR this month. We have hotels set, and have a good idea of what we want to do in each area, but still have some transportation issues to work out. We're flying in to San Jose and our 1st stop will be Arenal. After a few days there, we're flying to Manuel Antonio to spend the last few days, then back to San Jose. My question is about lining up a driver for the SJ to Arenal and the MA to SJ legs of the trip. For several reasons, we don't want to rent a car and are OK to pay a bit more for a driver (no public buses etc.), but I am wondering if it is best/easiest to arrange transportion through the hotels (they have both said that can be done) or find someone on our own. If we arrange ourselves, can you suggest any resources? I have been putting this part off b/c I am just not sure where to start. Thanks!

We had our hotel arrange for the driver and it worked out just great. You pay a little more but they will tend to use someone they know who is reliable, etc. I'd do it that way again in a heartbeat.

JoniC

www.tripadvisor.com/members/roadadvisor

Works with Toucan Limo they are great...

I like to arrange it through the hotels; it kind of gives you a backup if something goes awry, and you can know the hotels will hire trustworthy drivers. We've always had good luck doing it that way - drivers waiting hours for us while our flights were delayed, bringing blankets and pillows so we can rest, providing water, etc. We use the Lost Iguana and have been happy with their drivers.

You could do a search here for drivers and many would come up. We used Wilson Rojas and he was very good. Very professional and good conversation throughout the ride! He drove us from Arenal to MA and then had one of his other drivers take us from MA back to San Jose. Both he and his driver were fine. The vans were clean and both trips were pleasant. I'd recommend him! His email address is: [email protected]

Hi. We have friends who recently bought a condo in Jaco and they have a driver they always use to bring them back and forth. We used him and he was great - a really nice guy. He arrived early both times he needed to pick us up, and suggested some interesting stops along our route.

His name is Geovanny Molina and his e-mail is [email protected].

He drove us from LaFortuna to MA, and a few days later from MA to the airport.

thanks for all the input. I have contacted Wilson for one of the trips, and he has been great so far, suggesting stops for sightseeing, lunch etc. Very responsive! I am packed and counting down the days. will post a full report after I return!

I think you'll be really happy with Wilson! He took us to an Italian place on the way from Arenal to MA, it was in Aetnas (I think) - it was really good - great view and good food.

Have a great trip! I'm looking forward to the report.

I have to add another praise for Wilson.
I'll also have to ask him the name of the Italian Rest. mentioned above. We just returned from a week in Atenas on Fri. and would like to know where we can eat italian on our return.

In case anyone needs another name, we used Carlos Bogarin. We booked him through the Lost Iguana, and he was great.

I assume all of the drivers mentioned speak good english. My spanish is very rusty and DH can't speak more than hola, adios and cerveza!

Carlos is fluent in English; I would assume that most of the drivers people rave about are - pretty common in the tourist industry.

Geovanny is fluent in English as well.

We just returned from the same trip you are planning. We used Leo Rodriguez to transport us from SJ to Arenal, he stayed with us for 3 days in Arenal then transported us to MA. He returned to MA to transport us back to the airport. He did an amazing job. He is fluent in Engish, very helpful to have our own interperter. Every suggestion he made was terrific. He took us to the best restaurants that we would never have found on our own. He was our guide in the volcano park, La Fortuna waterfall and was very knowledgable !! He was particularly good with our kids, they loved him!!! Our only mistake was to not keep him with us in MA (at least for the park)
I highly recommend him (if was less expensive to have him drive us and stay with us, than renting our own car)
Leo Rodriguez A. [email protected]

I can't recommend Wilson enough!!!

What does it mean for a driver to "stay with you" -- do they stay in area at their expense and you pay for them to drive you around for the day? We are booking Wilson and they are suggesting he stay with us for a day.

Has anyone driven from MA-Osa recently? I've had several diff estimates (from people in CR) ranging from 3-5.5 hrs.

Well I just sent an email to Wilson to confirm our reservation for travel between SJO and Monteverde and then again from Arenal to SJO. He and Elsy (his wife) have been very responsive.

However, from the sound of things on this board...you can't go wrong with any of the drivers mentioned.

Who is Wilson and how do I get a hold of him?