I am flopping back and forth in regards to private driver vs. rental car.

We are going from airport to local B&B (per suggestion on these boards).

arenal 5 days
manuel antonio 5 days
peace lodge 2 days
b&b 1 day

Does the driver stay with you? How do you get around once at your destination? Do you need to depend on taxis? 2 kids would require car seats (per my preference and law in CR).

I love the idea of a private driver/guide (to keep my hubby's stress to the minimum and allow him to enjoy the sights), but at the destination I would want to be stuck at the hotel.

Sorry if I am not "getting it". I am just not sure how this works.

Thanks,
Maggie

We just hired drivers through our hotels. We had a different driver for each leg of our trip - one would pick us up at one hotel and drop us off at the next. When we left that hotel, a different driver would take us to the next location. In MA, it was really easy to get around; we walked most every where. We took a guided tour of the park, and our guide picked us up and dropped us off. We also used a taxi to get to a distant restaurant - only cost 5 dollars and was easy to get. There's also a public bus you can use. In Arenal, getting around is a little more difficult because things are more spread out; our hotel had a free shuttle that we used, and we also used taxis. At the Peace Lodge, we just stayed there and enjoyed the grounds and waterfalls. You could hire a driver to stay with you the entire trip, but it would be quite a bit more expensive.

Just to agree with what vg said, and add the bus runs up & down the road that dead-ends at the park all day long, about every 20 minutes or so, costs about .30 per person. Very easy to use!

I'm with magsbubble...We've driven Belize and in other countries but are a bit more apprehensive about CR. We don't like the inflexibility and waiting around that hiring drivers seems to require and loved having the care in Belize to go around and sample local restaurants. I'm really nervous about leaving bags in the car if we happen to want to stop enroute to someplace. Can we do that with a driver or do we have to unload bags, schlep them around and then wait for another driver when we're done site seeing?

If there were things we were interested in seeing along the way, we just told our drivers, and they stopped and stayed with the car while we took pictures, etc. We wanted to see the Rio Tarcoles full of crocs, but it's a notorious spot for car break-ins. There was even a sign stating not to leave any possessions in the car. The driver said he would stay with our stuff while we went to check out the view and take photos. He also stopped if we wanted snacks/drinks or to use the restroom. If you were doing some sightseeing that would take a great deal of time, I would work that out with the driver beforehand. Personally, I would not ever leave possessions unattended in a car in CR - too many stories of breakins.

We leave on Saturday for a trip and have hired a driver to do the following:

(We are taking the hotel shuttle to our hotel near the airport.)

Next morning: Driver to take us from Marriott to Waterfall Gardens - wait while we tour and have lunch and then take us to Arenal.
While in Arenal for 3 nights, he will be available in the area to take us to tour sites, restaurants, other.
Then he will drive us to Quepos (Manuel Antonio) and we will be on our own from there. (I have read we won't need a car there.)

From MA we fly to Puerto Jimenez and then later we fly from PJ to San Jose and home.

We worked out the timeline and prices with him via email. I emailed several drivers and this seems to be the way they work. I also contacted the hotel who can arrange drivers for any and all legs of the trip, including being available while you are in a particular area.

Hope that helps. I will post our experiences after December 1st when we return.

All - Thanks all for the replies. The picture is clearer now!

Campjulie - I am interested in your trip report after december. I will look for it. Your trip plans seems similar to what I want to do.

Maggie

There are different ways to hire drivers/guides. Just straight transfers like interbus shuttle or private transfer. These are scheduled and, pretty much, you just get driven without much chit chat or discussions about the country along the way.

There have been several private drivers who own their own companies mentioned here. We use Orlando all the time, Leo is a favorite and another, Oscar hasn't been mentioned much lately but I am sure he is still around. These are going to be transfers that can be fun, convenient and informative. The drivers know their country and are happy to share.

Then you have your driver/guide that you pretty much hire full time for a period of time. Want to go for a hike, they take you. To dinner, they take you. Just about anything you want to do they can make arrangements for. You pay their expenses in the price. As far as sleeping arrangements go, they generally stay in the rooms that many of the hotels/lodges have for that purpose or they stay at an inexpensive place nearby. You do not need to pay their entrance fees into the attractions and you already have a nature guide built in so you don't have to hire another one. We use this type of arrangement with Orlando. If you want private time just say so. Orlando likes his siesta in the afternoon when he is with us because we get up so early to go birding. We like some quiet time in the afternoon as well so he takes off for an hour or two and then comes back for dinner. Orlando pretty much gives us 8-9 hrs a day to use any way we want in the price. Orlando is also a naturalist with a spotting scope for birding and night vision goggles if you want to do some birding/nature walks and night hiking with him.

As far as cost. The shared shuttles would be the least expensive (other than public bus of course) and the private driver/guide would be the most expensive. Interbus has set prices. You can view the shuttle prices on line. The other prices will vary from driver to driver. Orlando for instance does ask a little more for some things because he is a more experienced naturalist guide. If you want to stop and do a little touring on the way with him as a guide then it will be factored in.

Suzie2,
How did you find cars/drivers?
I need a mini-van that will seat 5 adults plus driver and guide.
Need to be picked up/ returned from Puntarenas for day of touring in SAn Jose.

I found Leo Rodriguez through a tour group, we had a couple drivers and he was by far the best. #1 Great driver, #2 speaks fluent English (college grad) #3 a wealth of information #4 So personable - our then 18 and 21 yr. old children loved him also #5 Prompt and I could go on and on; [email protected] is his e-mail address. I have read people comment that when he has been too busy to drive them, they were very happy with his staff or recommended driver. Pura Vida

I found Orlando by asking on another forum years ago. We have used him every year since. A good bit of his business is full time guiding/driving. A lovely woman from Mexico used him for several weeks this past summer. She contacted us personally to thank us.
[email protected]

About 13-14 years ago we used drivers/guides that worked for Costa Rica Expeditions. We frequently run into CRE still doing the same thing. Many tour companies have people like that.

Orlando has always been a one man driver guide unless he has a huge group that he takes out in a larger vehicle. He has a nice new van with leather seats and a video screen for kids. He has a yearly thing where he does a senior group and has to hire a driver, nurse, large bus. He did have help last year with a huge wedding party that saw my recommendations for him.

I understand that each driver/tour guide will negotiate their own rate. Can you give me an idea of what would be reasonable for a 10 day stay for a English speaking driver who could show us around between Poas, Arenal and Playa Hermosa?

Thanks,

The roads in Costa Rica are the worst. We hired a driver to pick us up at the airport from an online company that had a Miami phone number. After that we used travel agents in towns or thru the hotels. We always took a taxi into town to check out the supermarkets and usually found an agent without the hotel comission. . rove there and the other drove back.Rates are reasonable and it is not worth the worry of a car bottom hitting the road. Everyone was wonderful and honest. Have a great time.