Wifey and I are planning our usual Thanksgiving trip to CR. Normally we go up near Tamarindo but this year we're trying something new and going to the Tropico Latino Lodge (TLL) in Mal Pais area.

Been reading that a rental car is a good thing to have since the area is so spread out. My experience with renting cars in CR is you HAVE TO get the supplemental liability and Loss Damage waiver which adds about $25 a day to a car rental. For a cheapie Diahatsu I'm getting into $500+ for a week.

We chose the TLL because of potential for surf right out front, hammocks, seemed like a great place to chill (i.e. some days we'll just stay at TLL and not use a car). Was wondering how much and how convenient it is to take a taxi from the Tambor airport to the TLL? Does TLL provide airport service? Any rental car companies near TLL that we can rent a car on a day we feel like getting out? Is that feasible (i.e. no stock to rent unless you reserve early or you get rocked on the price for a 1 day rental)? Thoughts and advice are welcome.

Also any advice on surfing in the area, restuarants, etc... would be greatly appreciated as well. Wifey LOVES good ceviche.

Thanks

If you are just going to be in Mal Pais you won't need a car. Rent a bicycle for the day/week. If you want to explore further you can rent an ATV. There are no car rental facilities in the area

If you take Sansa Airlines to Tambor there will be taxis waiting. You can probably pair up with some other travelers from your Flight going to Mal Pais.

Other ways to get there are Interbus

We just returned from there 2 weeks ago. We found Carolina at Tropicano Latino to be very helpful. She arranged the airport pick up for us through Montezuma Expeditions. They have a shuttle that departs the airport at 9am which would've cost $35 pp but our flight got in after that so we had to take a "special service" at a rate of $55pp. Since our day had started at 2am we were glad to have someone else do the driving. For our return we were picked up by their shuttle at 8:30am at a cost of $35pp. There is a Budget car rental in the town only 1km from hotel. Carolina tried to help with confirming a car for us but the rate she quoted was higher than if we booked it online with the budget office. My husband was glad to have the car because he's the surfer & was able to drive around to check out the waves. Keep in mind that the TLL doesn't accept credit cards. The ATM in town doesn't always work. We had to drive to the next town to make a withdrawal to pay our bill. I don't think it's very easy to get transportation in the area. We had a great meal at the hotel next door, Luz De Vida & also at Brisas del Mar. If interested I did post a trip report on 6/13..just put tropico latino in search to find it. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the advice and tips. Seems like the taxis to/from the airport are 'no deal'. I could rent a Terios for $70 a day including the Liability and Damage waivers. The only thing you 'save' is the drop off fee for a one way rental if I don't hold onto the car for the full week.

We planned on doing the traveler's check thing to pay for the Tropico. Do they or other places in town charge a % for paying with Traveler's checks as compared to cash?

Hey petite1, just read your 6/13 post. Was curious what places in CR you liked better?

Even though I'm a beach person, I just loved Monteverde. (liked Arenal too) As for the beaches..we've stayed in Playa Grande (Tamarindo area) and Manuel Antonio & enjoyed them both. For our last trip I was looking for something more off the beaten path so I chose TLL but as I said in my trip report, I was a little disappointed. Just an example..during the week we were there I saw at least 4 men urinating roadside & 1 actually in the middle of the road. I can handle bugs, rain, humidity & mud but that just turned me off. A lot of the area also had a cesspool smell. I don't know if it had anything to do with the amount of rain they had or if it always smells that way. I thought Quepos had that same smell.
I don't mean to trash the place completely but this is the impression it left on me. Maybe it's better during the dry season. I do have to say that all of the people we dealt with were very nice & we were very happy with the hotel.

I don't know about the traveler's checks..I'd email the hotel to find out
if places there accept them.

Thanks Petite1, your candor is much appreciated. We're surfers so we stick to the coasts and areas near Tamarindo have been our main spots as well, mainly due to convenience.

We had a little extra time for this trip and thought we would check out Mal Pais for much the same reasons you mentioned. Alas it appears it has degraded some from the original charm we heard so much about a few years back. Yours is not the first story we've heard and stories of the surf lineup being as crowded as Tamarindo are down right disheartening, we hope it isn't so when we are there.

Thanks again.

tjmarshall,

Can't help you on your question but hope you can help me.

My husband is an experienced, long time surfer (since '60) and has surfed Peru, Hawaii, California, etc but not yet C.R. We finally plan to go in mid-May of 2007. He's a long boarder who prefers point and reef breaks over shore breaks and rights over lefts, but he'll surf anything if it's good.

Any advice you could offer as to where might be best in May for someone like him would be greatly appreciated.

Have a great trip in November.

Fran

Hi timarshall, Just came back from CR a couple of weeks ago. Had a great time I do talk alot about our time there, restaurants and beaches, please feel free to check out the trip report on 6/25. We stayed at Tropico Latino and they did take travellers checks (much to our relief) with no extra charges. Check out a thai massage with I think her name is Maria on the beach. It's a great time... Pura Vida

Not an expert but CDW can be covered by most U.S. credit cards. Call yours to check it out. Required to buy Supplemental Liability tho. Have not rented from these folks before but their rates sure seem reasonable. Try Advantage Rent a car. Have offices in Liberia and San Jose. My Liberia rental for Jan is $170 week for 4X4 and San Jose about the same.
You'll love Mal Pais. I stayed at Tropico Latino 2 years ago. Clean and nice and surf break right there. Just walk right out, hear the surf break all nite long. Good restaraunt, good pool.
If you get rental car out of San Jose remember that the ferry from Puntarenas does not run late. Learned that the hard way.
Have you tried Nosara??? I thought Mal Pais was more of a hippie/dred locked style and Nosara a relaxed, family, middle aged longboarder type. Not sure of your style. I am in the latter.
Have fun. How could you not in CR.

Thanks all for your comments. Couple things that I have found out.

1st as to the Damage Waiver and the credit card company handling it. I have 2 different Citibank cards that offer that service BUT in the fine print they only cover cars. When I called they said trucks & 4x4's are not covered.

As to great right point breaks, I've only surfed the areas in Tamarindo and northward. Ollie's is by far the best but it is a SUPREME pain in the A to get there. It's more like an expedition from Tamarindo. Best bet is stay in Playa Del Coco and catch a boat trip from their, that's a 2hr boat trip BTW. It's usually an Ollie's - Witches Rock combo trip. In May go before the kids get of school and you'll have a better chance for a small crowd session.

Still trying to find a decent auto rate for a week in Mal Pais. We opted for the Sansa flight from San Jose to Tambor so would prefer to p/u & d/o there. Best rate so far is in the $500.

Cheers!

One last thought on the car rental. We opted for the Budget in Map Pais over Tri Color (which we were pleased with in the past) because of the location. On our trip in Feb to Playa Grande we wound up with a flat tire. Because they have an office in Liberia Tri Color sent someone the next morning with a new tire. When planning Mal Pais we realized that if we rent from SJO & break down in Mal Pais they wouldn't be sending anyone to us because of the distance. I know Tambor is much closer but just thought it's something worth mentioning. I'll be looking forward to your trip report!

Thanks Petite1, the trip is still a long ways off but I will report back when we return.

You bring up an interesting point. I'll need to weigh the the $140 R/T shuttle ($35pp) from Tambor and our desire for flexibility to rent a car as we need it in Mal Pais against the costs and possible inconveniences of renting in Tambor for the full week.

Does anyone know if there's a Budget rental office in Tambor? We have a membership account with them and with the Budget office in Mal Pais we may get service should any mishaps occur.