dauber2

Message: Hello all:
Before going to Costa Rica, I pored over the information on this forum to try to prepare for the trip, so I thought I'd share some of what we learned about driving there, which was a great concern of mine. Here's advice from my husband (the driver) and me (the navigator).
1) Rental Agency - We liked the folks at Tricolor, and got a great price from them ($528 for 13 days). We had a Suzuki Ignis compact 4WD, which was fine, but I wouldn't recommend it in the rainy season. The Daihatsu Terios is higher and has a bit wider wheelbase I think.
2) Driving - On the Interamerican, no problem. Be aware of frequent speed limit changes, and ignore locals speeding by you. On other paved roads conditions vary greatly. Some in mountains are narrow and winding. Be careful of meeting big trucks on hairpin turns. Sometimes someone has to reverse (probably you). Most "paved" roads on Nicoya Peninsula are full of huge potholes (more like craters). Sometimes they extend across the whole road, and you have to go off road to partly avoid them or drive slowly through them. Gravel roads also have craters as well as huge rocks in the middle of the road. The road around Monteverde and Santa Elena just has to be seen to be believed! We drove from Monteverde to Tilaran at no more than 15 to 20 kph most of the time. Dogs sitting in the middle of the road wouldn't even move at our approach, we were coming so slowly! After that we had the best paved road in Costa Rica going around the lake to the Arenal volcano (apparently the road is brand new). Always give yourself more time than you think you could possibly need to get anywhere, and don't necessarily believe the time estimates of the locals. Also, be prepared for "voluntary road tax" booths set up here and there. Keep 100 colon coins handy in your pocket, and don't expect change if you give them more. We handed out 500 the first time, thinking we'd get change, but we only got a "Gracias". Oh well, the roads need our contributions!
3) Navigating - Get a good map. There's one published by International Travel Maps/ ITMB Publishing of Vancouver, Canada, that is available all over the place in Costa Rica. We bought it our first day there, and found it pretty good. However, even with a good map it's sometimes hard to figure out whether or not you're on the road you think you're on, because roads aren't numbered usually, and the towns are not identified by road sign as you enter them (at least not always - sometimes you're lucky). So often you're madly looking around for some indication of what the name of the town is. Just to confuse you further, some towns have 2 names, and your map may have a different name than the name you might see on a town building. We found it helped to be able to figure out the direction we were going in, to at least know that we were on a road going in the right general direction. In general, as long as you stay cool, you can usually find your way eventually. We found drivers pretty courteous at letting us in if we had to change lanes quickly, having just spotted a sigh telling us we had to make a turn!
So, if you plan to drive, good luck, and don't worry. As long as you aren't in a hurry and don't let yourself get hassled, you'll be fine.

TripleSecDelay

Thanks for the tips.

To make this an easier read, can you please post in the future with paragraph breaks?

Like I am doing here, it puts white space between the main thoughts and gives tired internet eyes a bit of a rest.

Newspapers and magazines do this, why not also do it on the 'net?

Thanks again!!

Percy

I agree with TripleSEC but also thank you for the great report.

I just got back last week after 16 days in Costa Rica.

I think if every tourist for the next year would bring a bucket of Asphalt with them we could repair all the potholes within a year !!!!

I could not believe the roads going to Monteverde,and it was lightly drizzling rain on top of it all!!

Our Van could not make it up one of the hills to Monteverde,so we all got out of the van and the driver took another run at it and made it this time !!

You really have to see to believe some of the roads and also the number of potholes.!!!

Percy

trevorjoyce

Percy...just curious, did you use Oscar? How is he?? Have a great Holiday! Joyce

Percy

Hi trevorjoyce

No, I did not use Oscar . I used Vargas Tours exclusively because they do smal group tours only.

4 of us went to Monteverde
and

4 of as went to Nicaragua.

6 for the Turtle Egg Laying Tour .

See my report on the Egg Laying Tour,where I mentioned About Vargas Tours.

You see Oscar is in San Jose and I was way over on the Papagayo Coast at Playa Panama at the lovely Fiesta Premier Resort.

It is much too far for Oscar to come.
But I e-mailed him just before I was going and told him that if by some chance he was making a trip from San Jose to Liberia...to look me up at Fiesta.

Then one evening after coming back from a tour, my phone rang in the room.

Ithought it was Ricardo Vargas, who just dropped us off.

I picked up the phone and heard this voice say:

"Hello Amigo." !!

I said " Hi " , still thinking it was Ricardo. Then he said , "this is Oscar".

Well we chatted like two lost friends.
he was having a little trouble with one of his Van's ..but it is all better now.
I told him that when I come around his area again...like going to Manuel Antonio etc.. that he will for sure drive me around.
He said, "You bet , just call me."

That is why I did not use Oscar..too far away. I did 7 day tours from Fiesta , all with Ricardo and they were just super.


Percy