Wanted to let everyone know about my wonderful experience hiring a reasonably priced driver and personal tourguide in Costa Rica:

His name is Danny and was recommended to me by Leonardo who is recommended elsewhere on this site. I'm a photographer and carried a lot of expensive equipment with me (like $50,000 worth), and was happy to find Danny who's an ex-police officer. He's also really super nice and fun to be with and he really knows his way around and his English is great. He was great at talking with the locals so I could get the pictures I needed and knew where was safe and where wasn’t. We had a great time driving around in his fancy air conditioned van in the mountains around Quepos, Jaco etc. and he took me to some great local restaurants and taught me how to eat ceviche the Costa Rican way and introduced me to some fruits I’ve never seen or heard of. He also picked me up at 5 am every morning to photograph the sunrise without complaints. He took me snorkeling which was super fun. I got stung by a poisonous sea urchin and he knew how to take care of it and get it out. His e-mail is [email protected] and he also has a website http://dannytravelscostarica.4t.com . He lives in San Jose, but drives people all over Costa Rica.

ps. His writing English is not the best, so don't be scared if he e-mails you back with imperfect language. He learned his English from living in the States for 3 years so his speaking is impeccable.

catknoch,

your only posts have been about this particular driver. Would you share more details about your trip? Where did you stay? Snorkeled where? I've heard snorkeling isn't great in CR -- did you think it was worth it -- how was the visibility and were there many fish?

youve been promoting this guy ad nauseum!

we get the point.
thanks for the advertising break!

I don't know about you, but my greatest concern going to costa rica was finding the right tour guide. Nothing would have ruined my trip as much as ending up with an ass. The only guide recommended here was the oliver guy who doesn't respond and leonardo who was booked, so I figured everyone should know there are other great options. Geez. I can't believe you guys are complaing about this!

catknoch,

Well, I thank you for the recommendation. I have booked Danny for this coming Oct. We will be on a cruise that stops in Puntarenas for the day. I emailed Danny and his reply was very quick. We have been to CR before (land based) and I want to see different places. Danny said he has several suggestions and we can pick where we want to go when we arrive. I am looking forward to meeting him.

BarbAnn - thanks for posting your appreciation. I know I trusted fodorite's opinions on drivers, that is where I found Leo Rodriguez, who we LOVED. Our first and last days of our trip were just as awesome as the other 7 days, even tho we were in a van for 5 hrs. each time. Leo explained about CR's crops, animals, government, education, culture, pointed out things we would have never seen, and he drove carefully. We will hire a driver the 2nd trip to CR and then maybe brave the rental car!! Leo is a college grad. His e-mail address is [email protected]

catknoch --

I just asked for more details about your trip.

Thank you so much for your great advice. Danny was exactly as you described. The first day he met us at the airport and we drove to Arenal making a few stops along the way. We visited Sarchi and then a botanical garden. I too travel with a lot of camera equipment and laptop so I appreciated his extra concern when we would leave our luggage in the car (even though I added a rider to my homeowners covering my equipment). We spent 3 days in Arenal and then his buddy Rene (also very reliable) drove us to Tamarindo. Three days later Danny met us again and we returned to San Jose. All three trips totaled $430. Both Danny and Rene spoke English, knew the roads well and most importantly drove cautiously with out speeding or passing indiscriminately. Not only did I find a couple of great Costa Rican drivers but I also felt I made a couple of friends and would never hesitate to use either one of them again next time I go to Costa Rica.

kodakk Glad you enjoyed your trip. I am a believer that private drivers - which are also good tour guides - is the way to go when visiting a country that you are not familiar with.