Costa Rica Shuttle service advice? Recommendations?

[The Original Nick]

Hi All – I’m going to be arriving in San Jose on Christmas Day and my parents arriving in the evening. We need to get to Monteverde on the 27th. I was going to hire a car ( I may well still do) but from what advice I’ve had from others on here i think it might be better to get us all on a private shuttle. Has anyone got any recommendations of companies I can contact in advance?
Thanks
Nick.

[kelliea1]

We used interbusonline.com. Were reliable for all our transfers but isn’t a private service so may take longer picking up others.

[Not Long Now...]

I’ve seen lots of stories of how dreadful driving is in Costa Rica, but we did 2 weeks self drive, and apart from one road (OK, it was in MonteVerde, about 4 miles of RNT606, which unfortunately you probably want from San Jose, and then just take it easy and try to avoid most of the pot-craters), it’s really no worse than a myriad of other worldwide places. Is it as easy and smooth as UK? Mostly, but obviously unfamiliarity plays a large part, and at night, signage could be a lot better, and wildlife is slightly more abundant (in places).
Having said that, buses are abundant and generally reliable especially between tourist hubs, and private transfers equally so, but haggle!

[The real Swiss Tony]

We used Costa Rica Driver (www.costaricadriver.net). That was 8 years ago but the driver couldn’t have been more friendly. Did a day tour from San Jose then they drove us to Manuel Antonio (the 727 hotel…) the next day.

Just dug back in the e-mails and it was $120 for the day tour then $140 for the transfer. Obviously there’s going to be a lot of inflation to contend with, but hopefully that gives you an idea.

[The Original Nick]

Thanks to all.