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Hi all, I have snapped up reward seats for Costa Rica for Christmas and New Year. My parents are going to meet us. I am looking for advice on vehicle hire if anyone has any please? Do I book direct with the big chains like Hertz?
http://Www.expedia.co.uk is always the best place to start to get an idea of prices (plus with free cancellation you can always book now and then rebook as prices go down)
I see your Expedia and raise you kayak.co.uk – covers a far bigger sweep of known resellers like Holiday Autos etc (plus some randoms) as well as Expedia.
Thanks to you both.
Noo, Skyscanner every time and if you don’t believe me check with MSE
Hi all, I have snapped up reward seats for Costa Rica for Christmas and New Year. My parents are going to meet us. I am looking for advice on vehicle hire if anyone has any please? Do I book direct with the big chains like Hertz?
The use of a big chain will not protect you from egregious charges for, for instance, minor lateness on return. Also strangely your local booking may never track properly for any benefit accruing with the chain or points or TCB. Were I to book again, I’d look carefully at reviews and book direct. Other tips:
– do not drive after dark
– get a 4×4
– do not drive after dark
– traffic in San Jose can be terrible
– do not drive after darkI used a mixture of hire car and local drivers on my last visit. You don’t save much hiring a car.
I’ve used Adobe rent a car a couple of times in Costa Rica and never had an issue. Polite courteous staff and newer vehicles. Last year, car was practically new with a few thousand miles on the clock and in great condition.
Is San Jose worth it for a couple of days? I have an upcoming business trip there and I could spend the weekend before there. Alternatively, are there any day trips from there worth it? Thanks!
Is San Jose worth it for a couple of days? I have an upcoming business trip there and I could spend the weekend before there. Alternatively, are there any day trips from there worth it? Thanks!
Just back from CR, will update this thread later
I wouldn’t go out of my way to go into San Jose but you can get to the coast Jaco / Puntarenas in about 2 1/2 hours with a good driver / good traffic.
And there are a couple of the volcano parks closeAs a PSA at the moment there are roadworks around the airport and it is making the traffic even more loco than ever – think 30 minutes plus to do 3km, lots of car hire shuttles getting stuck in gridlock .I will try and get the expected duration but it’s Tica so an estimate with a shoulder shrug.
Check SLI (Supplemental Liability Insurance) is included in the quoted price. If I remember correctly it is required in Costa Rica, and I recall isn’t always included in the first quote you’ll see when looking online. That said you can add it on.
We got a small 4×4 and it was useful to have, but roads were decent. Only issue was traffic. One lane roads and a lot of traffic mean you average about 40mph.
Having a car is great though for exploring.
Is San Jose worth it for a couple of days? I have an upcoming business trip there and I could spend the weekend before there. Alternatively, are there any day trips from there worth it? Thanks!
Totally worth it. There are 101 day/weekend excursions you could make, eg volcanos, cloud forest, you could even realistically get to the coast for a couple of days (Jaco for instance).
We based ourselves at the Hilton or Doubletree between town and the airport. Car and driver for 2 days, took us up to the volcano at Poas and the La Paz waterfall gardens, pointing out some cool stuff on the way (incl sloths).
Second day he drove us down to Manuel Antonia and dropped us there. Car and driver wasn’t dirt cheap but not prohibitively expensive either.
We didn’t go into SJO but couldn’t find any reason too. The small village we drove through on the way up to Poas was apparently far more typical.
Driving after dark is completely fine, I’m always bemused about the reasoning for suggesting this.
By far the best way to rent a car is locally not through international chains but even national Costa Rican chains will be better.
Never leave luggage in your car even for five minutes.
I see your Expedia and raise you kayak.co.uk – covers a far bigger sweep of known resellers like Holiday Autos etc (plus some randoms) as well as Expedia.
The difference being you book with Expedia (so conditions are always same) while Kayak just sends you to another provider (so conditions could differ when it comes to cancellations and customer service and you need to know which providers to trust or not).
Agree that Kayak covers more providers so a good option to gauge the price!
Driving after dark is completely fine, I’m always bemused about the reasoning for suggesting this.
By far the best way to rent a car is locally not through international chains but even national Costa Rican chains will be better.
Never leave luggage in your car even for five minutes.
Leaving luggage in your car if it’s just for a few minutes is absolutely fine. I’m always puzzled by people who take this scare-mongering approach.
Driving after dark is completely fine, I’m always bemused about the reasoning for suggesting this.
By far the best way to rent a car is locally not through international chains but even national Costa Rican chains will be better.
Never leave luggage in your car even for five minutes.
Leaving luggage in your car if it’s just for a few minutes is absolutely fine. I’m always puzzled by people who take this scare-mongering approach.
Well I’ve met plenty of people who have had all their bags stolen in less than five minutes.
I’ve yet to see any road in the country that would pose a problem at a different time of day.
Though please do enlighten me why you think this is valid advice?
Is San Jose worth it for a couple of days? I have an upcoming business trip there and I could spend the weekend before there. Alternatively, are there any day trips from there worth it? Thanks!
Just back from CR, will update this thread later
I wouldn’t go out of my way to go into San Jose but you can get to the coast Jaco / Puntarenas in about 2 1/2 hours with a good driver / good traffic.
And there are a couple of the volcano parks closeAs a PSA at the moment there are roadworks around the airport and it is making the traffic even more loco than ever – think 30 minutes plus to do 3km, lots of car hire shuttles getting stuck in gridlock .I will try and get the expected duration but it’s Tica so an estimate with a shoulder shrug.
No issue taking the regular bus from the airport at the moment. About 17 minutes into town at the tail end of rush hour.
Driving after dark is completely fine, I’m always bemused about the reasoning for suggesting this.
The roads have surprising holes/trees/sudden reductions in width, but most importantly, wildlife, that can pose a hazard.
I’m sure it’s fine in towns/cities, but in rural areas, seriously, why take the chance on a holiday?
I am currently in Costa Rica and very happy not having to drive! The traffic and the roads are horrible and the average speed is 30kmh only. Shuttles are more expensive, but much more relaxing than driving.
I am currently in Costa Rica and very happy not having to drive! The traffic and the roads are horrible and the average speed is 30kmh only. Shuttles are more expensive, but much more relaxing than driving.
I’d second this, with the caveat that I don’t actually have a licence!
The traffic is awful (honestly @memesweeper isn’t kidding about the sudden reductions in width – they happen all the time, and with very little warning), and it looks horribly frustrating, being the driver. Staring out of the window at the scenery rolling past, and trying to spot sloths, toucans and monkeys in the trees, on the other hand, is lovely.
I highly recommend using shuttles.
Driving after dark is completely fine, I’m always bemused about the reasoning for suggesting this.
By far the best way to rent a car is locally not through international chains but even national Costa Rican chains will be better.
Never leave luggage in your car even for five minutes.
Leaving luggage in your car if it’s just for a few minutes is absolutely fine. I’m always puzzled by people who take this scare-mongering approach.
Tell that to the multiple people who nip into UK motorway services for a pee only to return to their car minutes later missing all their luggage. This happens daily.
Can anyone recommend a hotel at SJO or nearby the airport?
Can anyone recommend a hotel at SJO or nearby the airport?
Er what $$$ and why at the airport ?
SJO is not that far into town or across the Escazu
Most people stay near the airport to drive to La Fortuna or Monteverde early the next day. Although if I were doing that I wouldn’t bother staying anywhere nice.
Most people stay near the airport to drive to La Fortuna or Monteverde early the next day. Although if I were doing that I wouldn’t bother staying anywhere nice.
Exactly this.
We stayed near the airport on arrival and departure and had no car. So our priorities were free airport shuttle and price. We stayed on arrival at the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson and at the Barceló San José on departure. Both have a pool but it was too cold to use them. I would not necessarily recommend them, but they were both acceptable and very cheap.
Be aware that the traffic near the airport is very, very bad.
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