Anyone have recommendations for a rental car company in Liberia for a week long rental. We are staying 5 days in Playa Flamingo and then going to Arenal area for 2 days (staying at the Tabacon). Then back to Liberia to depart. Payless is coming up the cheapest on Expedia at around $279 for a Nissan Pathfinder or similar. I have heard I need to get an SUV.

How is the drive from Liberia to Arenal and back? My flight leaves at 2:30 pm. Can I drive back int he AM?

Thanks!

I was surfing this area and saw lots of refommendations for Tri-color rentals. SO I sent them a request for quote. But I also saw lots of recommendations for getting a driver. Anyone know how this works?

Big fan of Tricolor. They've given us the best rates consistently. And service has been excellent. I'd be very surprised if you found a better deal, pricewise.

www.tricolorcarrental.com

An SUV would be helpful for the extra clearance, although not completely necessary. The drive is okay, but a little rough around the lake. There are sections of unpaved road--not horribly bad, just unpaved. It was actually better this past summer than I remembered from earlier visits.

Because road conditions are so unpredictable (broken down trucks, accidents, fallen trees, any number of things blocking the road), you COULD have a problem making that flight. There is always that chance; and it is ALWAYS best to get yourself back near the airport the night before. That said, you could probably leave Arenal by 7:00 in the a.m. and do just fine--even have a bit of a cushion. Just know that things can and do happen (with some frequency) that greatly increase the travel time. Are you a gambler?

We have had good experience with Alamo, though they are not the least expensive.

This year I am going with Dollar. They came in with the best price for a large SUV. Mind you, "large" in CR does not equal "large" by US standards.

Be careful to check the vintage of the rental fleet. Most of the lowest prices I found provided older, refurbished vehicles.

If a GEO Tracker is big enough, check out 4x4 rentals, run by an expat, I think named Dave. Look on WeLoveCostaRica.com for an ad, discussion and the real name. There are some negative reviews, but the positives I have seen over time far outweigh. He offers a flat rate$35 daily, inclusive of the mandatory insurance.

The drawback of a GEO is the softtop, which is readily cut for theft and can get pretty dusty if traveling dirtroads for any distance.

I don't know if it is against any rules to post links to other sites, but I also read tripadvisor and there has been a lot of discussion on which companies to avoid for car rentals. Here's the link if you want to check it out

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic..._San_Jose.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...uanacaste.html

Another choice, the one that I used, was Dollar. They were waiting for us at the airport and brought us to their facility, in and out, no problems, really helpful and friendly and one of the cheapest around at the time. You can get rates at dollar.com. One suggestion, be aware of required insurances. Some travel sites don't show these except for the small print, Expedia for example. They don't always tell you about mandatory fees and insurance. I found this out the hard way on another trip.