Hi! We're flying into and out of Liberia and will need a car for a week, probably a small 4x4 like a Terios or Jimmy. Anyone have any experience with the Liberia rental companies? Any recommendations?

Also, our flight home leaves at 7:00 AM. I don't think any of the rental agencies open before 5:00 AM. Will that give us enough time to return the car and make our flight? I'm thinking that might be pushing it a bit. Anyone know of any agencies that will pick up our car in Playa Hermosa the night before?

We used Tricolor to rent a 4x4 out of Liberia in March. They had the best price including all insurance, picked us up at the airport, shuttled us to the office (10 minutes away), absolutely no problem with them. I don't know about Playa Hermosa pick up or what time they open, you'd have to check it out.

www.mapache.com also good web specials
local service be sure all insurance is included.You can use your credit card
rental insurance with them and save $20/day or so...

good comp site www.carrentals.com for LIR good deals sometimes but service frequently not as good.

U-save and Europcar tend to be the cheapest recently did a week in a Sentra with U-save $96/tax.Got my
money's worth but the service could have been better.

Forgot Economy Rental Car has Toyota Coupe for $108/week including tax great value unless you are going off
road you do not really need an SUV...
Just did all of CR even the bad roads
in a Nissan Sentra did great.

We have used several of the rental companies out of Liberia, all with good success: Alamo, National, Thrifty, Budget, Poas, Advantage. Shop online with the big chains and bring the reservation printout with you to guarantee the quoted rate.

One thing you can do in the early AM is to bring your car to the airport, check in, then take the car back to the rental office. Then you have no luggage to handle and you can get the car in later. Get your departure tax paid ahead of time, and you save even more time at the airport.

Anyone use Payless in Liberia? They seem to have good rates, but I can't find an e-mail address that they actually reply to. I tried the one on their web site a week ago and have not heard from anyone

Okay, I just found that Thrifty has an even better deal going right now. They pretty much match the quote I got from Tricolor including insurance. Between the two, I'd rather go with Thrifty since I am more familiar with them. However, I can't find an e-mail address direct to their Liberia office. Does anyone have an e-mail address for them by any chance?

I just found out Thrifty does not have a local e-mail address. I think my choice is down to the following:

Both companis are about the same price including insurance.

Thrifty - Opens at 5:00 AM, cannot pick up our car at hotel. If we pay our departure taxes ahead of time, will we have enough time to make a 7:00 AM flight if we drop the car off at 5:00 AM? Is it safe to drive from Playa Hermosa to Liberia at 4:30 AM?

Tricolor - Can pick up the car in Playa Hermosa, but then we have to pay $40+ for a taxi to the airport so this ends up a little more expensive. We're also a little concerned about Tricolor, since I've seen a few not so great reviews of their Liberia office.

I have to reply here as when I first saw the Liberia Tri-color office I was wary, but the guy who waited on us was wonderful. He gave us an upgrade that we were skeptical about until we turned the car in and saw the Ignis that we had reserved. The Jimmy was definitely an upgrade.

The charges were exactly what he said they would be, nothing hidden. Even though I was concerned we couldn't have had a better experience with a car rental. I have had plenty of 'bad' experiences in the states with the reputable companies.

I will use Tri-color on my next trip to Costa Rica.

You should be okay on time. The bulk of the airport employees tend to roll in via public bus. I believe it was about 6 a.m. We learned this by standing out front from about 4:30 a.m. on. Oh well, nice sun rise plus we will be smarter this fall when we go back. Most of your group, along with your luggage, could get in line while someone runs the car back to the rental office. If nothing else, maybe have a taxi from the airport could follow you to your rental office and then run you back to the airport after you drop the car. Many of the rental offices are along the main drag near the airport which would help you get back quickly.

Thanks for the tips! I think we're going to stick with Thrifty since they open early and then we won't have to pay extra for a cab from Playa Hermosa. I'm not sure what time Tricolor opens. I asked them in an e-mail but didn't get a direct reply to that question. If their price was cheaper, I'd definitely give them a try but it came to almost the exact same as Thrifty for whatever reason.