Help!!! We need driver(s) for our upcoming trip
 

Can anyone help me find a reputable driver for our upcoming trip? I have emailed Oscar, but never heard back and suspect it is too late now to get him since we arrive in CR on July 14. I would love to have someone recommend a particular person (or company) who could be with us for the whole trip. Each of our hotels has offered to help, but since we are staying at 4 different places, I think it might be a bit confusing trying to keep up with several different arrangements. FrenchFry----if you are reading this-----I know you did some research on drivers, but I couldn't find a post with any specific names or companies.
ANY help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Wonderwoman, Gerardo has a small fleet of first class air conditioned vans with on board tv and Karaoke, you can call him at (506) 442 1145,(506)386 6192 or coodinate it with Casa Girasol at [email protected]

Someone clue me in on this driver thing, especially the costs. We were in CR in June and rented a car for our 10 days, but many people are asking about our trip, and I thought I should be able to tell them about the option to hire a driver.
For instance, we went to 4 different locations during our 10 days. Would the driver stay with us the whole time? Where would he stay while his clients are staying at an upscale hotel, such as Si Como No? Who would pay for that??

Thanks a bunch
EK

ekellyga

Yes,the tour guide drive will stay with you ,though in perhaps a "cheaper" accommodation that Si Como No .

Tour driver/guides work a little better if you are stationed in one place and doing day tours, but they have and will go wherever you want to go.

My second trip to Costa Rica I stayed 9 days at Vista del Valle and had Oscar for the full duration.

We left at 7 :30 to 8AM and many times did not return until 7 PM , just in time for a lovely dinner at Vista del Valle.

I feel like I toured the Central Valley from head to toe and missed very little.

Oscar went out of his way to show me places thatI would have never known about, and I did do my homework well before I left home .!

I also had a list of all the places I wanted to see.
I saw them all and many extra places ,Thanks to Oscar.

Hiring a Tour guide driver is not for everyone,and it depends ,I guess , in part as to where you are going and what you want to do.

For example,if you want to lay around the beach at Manuel Antonio for a few days, then you do not need a tourguide/driver.

But he could drive you there and pick you up a few days later.

If the cost is more than renting a vehicle , then you see more, you do not have to drive,so you just look at the scenery etc. and enjoy, and get a running commentary about anything you want.

I took 7 tours with Vargas Tours last December from the Guanacaste Area and they could not have been better.

It was like having your private driver every day.
He only does small group tours.

Only four of us went to Nicaragua with him.
Four of us went to Monteverde.

Six of us to Rincon de la Vieja .

It all depends what you want and where you are going.

Ican only add that I have had a wonderful experience with a private driver.

Percy

we have traveled around in costa rica by many means but really enjoy being with a driver/guide. they will be yours for the duration, taking you out on day trips as well as transporting you around the country. the guide we have used has even taken us up into nicaragua as well as down into panama.

as far as where they stay....it all depends. some lodges actually have housing for them. If not then they stay in a less expensive place nearby. the actual cost will depend on their expenses.

It will be a little less expensive I would assume to go directly to a driver/guide to hire them rather than go through a tour company but this is an option. Our driver is a licensed tour operator so we don't have the extra expenses to pay the tour company as well. He can arrange most things for us even if he isn't traveling with us at the time. Unfortunately, Orlando will be traveling around with my husband and his father for several of the days that you will be down there. His email is [email protected]. He might be available for the first few days. He has worked in the tourist industry for many years and has a network of people who he refers to if he can't do it.

some people are concerned about the lack of privacy by having a driver/guide with you so much. Orlando has become a good friend and we love spending time with him. as percy mentioned, these people can show you places and things off the beaten track. He and Oscar have become great friends also. generally, we are with him for about 8hrs during the day. we head out early for birdwatching and touring around. depending on what the day brings, he will go take a siesta or take care of business in the afternoon while we do our own independent things like reading, or relaxing by a pool etc. and then have dinner with us or spend the whole day and then go off by himself for the evening.

Our trips actually ended up being less expensive traveling with him than with tour companies. we do not do "tours" and all of our trips over the years have been self designed and all we did was ask the tour companies to make it happen ie make the hotel reservations that we wanted and arrange for point to point transportation, or even make the car rental arrangements when we were driving ourselves. the tour companies have a larger staff to pay so the cost is higher but it was nice having just one person to deal with for all of our reservations.